Lustrum CIT: Sixty years of computing at the University of Groningen

On 12 November 2024, the Center for Information Technology celebrates a milestone: on that date the former Computing Center of the University of Groningen was officially opened sixty years ago. What started with a single calculator for all researchers has grown into extensive ICT facilities that today are impossible to imagine the university without.

Under the influence of computers and ICT, education and research at the UG have undergone a true transformation in recent decades. This also applies to the university's business operations. Nowadays this is unthinkable without ICT.

Watch the lustrum video of the AV Services of the UG with an overview of the development of information technology at the university over the past sixty years.

'Zeer Eenvoudig Binair Reken Apparaat' - Very Simple Binary Calculation Device

Actually, the UG's first computer was acquired as early as 1958: the ZEBRA (Very Simple Binary Calculation Device). The electronic calculator with a speed of 500 flops was set up in the basement of the Mathematical Institute on the Reitdiepskade in Groningen. As the ZEBRA quickly gained a major influence on research at various faculties, expansion and replacement were soon sought and it was decided to set up a separate Computing Center for the new computing facility.

Number crunchers

Over the past sixty years, the UG has always profiled itself in the field of High Performance Computing (HPC) with state-of-the-art computers. Because the university board recognized the importance of investing in computers at an early stage, Groningen scientists were able to compete with their (inter)national colleagues. In particular, Groningen chemists and astronomers in particular developed a preference for advanced computers, the so-called 'number crunchers'.

Continuing need for computing power

Developments in the field of information technology have followed each other at a rapid pace over the past sixty years, from centrally located supercomputers with a doubling of computing power every two years to the arrival of PCs, networks and the Internet. The demand for reliable data storage and high-quality computing power from the university continues to increase. To meet this need, the new computing hall Coenraad Bron Center became available in 2022, which meets today's requirements in the field of High Performance Computing. The new HPC cluster Hábrók, which was put into use last year, can also count on enthusiastic use of the UG's large calculators.