## New Supercomputer ”Fir” Boosts Canadian Research & Innovation
A new supercomputer named “Fir,” housed at Simon Fraser University’s Cedar Supercomputing Center, is poised to accelerate research and revelation across Canada. Accessible to researchers nationwide, Fir empowers innovators to tackle complex challenges with unprecedented speed and scale. The Cedar Centre currently supports over 17,000 users, with approximately 70% located outside of British Columbia, fostering collaboration between scholars and industry partners.
Fir is designed for computationally intensive tasks like AI model training, simulations, and large-scale data deployment. Importantly, it allows Canadian researchers to harness world-class AI infrastructure while maintaining data sovereignty, security, and sustainability.Powered by clean energy in British Columbia, Fir represents a significant investment in Canada’s future.
“Having one of the world’s most powerful computers in B.C. creates huge potential for researchers in the tech,life sciences,and innovation space to contribute to our province being the economic driver for the country,” stated Ravi Kahlon,Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth. “Fir will help attract and retain top talent, supporting B.C.’s innovation ecosystem and creating good jobs.”
One researcher already benefiting from Fir’s capabilities is Dr. Fiona Brinkman, a distinguished professor of molecular biology & biochemistry at SFU. Dr. Brinkman is a leader in microbial genomics bioinformatics, developing tools and advising on data integration efforts to improve population health monitoring and infectious disease response. Her collaborative work, bridging government, private sector, and academia, was recently recognized with the Genome British Columbia Award for Scientific Excellence from Life Sciences BC (2025).
In 2024, Dr.Brinkman led the publication of the Canadian VirusSeq Data Portal – Canada’s first national microbial sequence database – enabling real-time infectious disease monitoring. She is also spearheading the progress of CHILDdb,a complete health and environment database linked to Canada’s largest longitudinal birth cohort.
“This Canadian resource is absolutely critical at a time when we wont to capitalize on AI while protecting the security of Canadian data,” Dr. Brinkman emphasized. “Fir’s speed and energy efficiency are invaluable as we analyze growing datasets, supporting research that will identify efficiencies for our healthcare system and benefit Canadians and our economy.”
