Purdue set for supercomputer 'barn-raising'

Purdue University on Monday plans to install a new supercomputer on its campus in a single day, in an effort it's calling an "electronic barn-raising."

Approximately 200 employees will help build the machine, which will be the size of a semi trailer and is expected to have a peak performance of more than 60 teraflops, which means it would be able to perform more than 60 trillion operations in one second, according to a Purdue press release.

Once it's completed, Purdue's supercomputer still won't top the list of the 500 fastest supercomputers, though the university says the machine will rank in the top 40. IBM's BlueGene/L at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory currently claims the crown for the world's most powerful supercomputer, but turnover on the list is rampant.

Organizers of the campus event posted a spoof trailer on YouTube called Installation Day that takes a jab at the film Independence Day.