Plans to build what is described as one of the world's most powerful computers were unveiled on Thursday.
The computer at the university will be the size of a tennis court
The Welsh Assembly Government said the planned super computer will be at the heart of plans to make Swansea a leading scientific research centre.
The deal is a partnership between the assembly, Swansea University and international computer giant IBM.
The super computer, the size of a tennis court, will be built on land owned by the university.
The new generation computer is expected to take just seconds to do complicated calculations which take existing machines hours or even days to complete.
It will be used in biology-based research, including work on disease prevention.
Some £52m is being invested in the project, including from the assembly government, some of which is European Objective One funding. IBM is also involved in the scheme.
It is thought around 240 scientific jobs will be created when it is up and running in two years' time.
The computer will be based at the new clinical college at the campus and there are hopes the project will also bring a number of spin-off companies, bringing further jobs.
The assembly government sees information technology as a vital part of its plans to make Wales a successful economy by 2010.
Its £115m Broadband Wales strategy aims to see broadband internet connections available across the country.