The complex nature of questions in cosmology often means that advances require supercomputer simulations in which a virtual Universe is allowed to evolve for 13.8 billion years from the Big Bang to the present day.

[6] Durham University's extragalactic astronomy group was founded in the late 1970s, and secured in 1984–5 with the appointments of Carlos Frenk, Richard Ellis and Tom Shanks.

A dedicated building for theoretical cosmology was then funded through private donations, principally from alumnus Peter Ogden, and opened in 2002 by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

[13] COSMA-5 includes 6720 2.6 GHz Intel Sandy Bridge Central processing unit (CPU) cores, 53,760 GB of RAM, and 2.4 PB of data storage; it is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.

[14][15] A full-time outreach officer is employed to develop teaching materials that draw upon current research and coordinate a programme of activities in schools across the North East of England.