NEWS

Newsletter 8/2024

Luxembourg, 11 December 2024 – The European AI Factories Call results, which will support Europe's broader deployment of AI tools in society and industry, have been announced in Luxembourg. One of the winning projects is the LUMI AI Factory, based on the successful LUMI consortium. Until recently, it operated the most powerful European supercomputer, which the Czech Republic is also involved in through the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center. IT4Innovations will participate in all activities of the LUMI AI Factory.

The Supercomputing Conference 2024 (SC24) in Atlanta has reaffirmed its status as the world’s premier gathering of high-performance computing (HPC) professionals. The event attracted over 18,000 attendees and 494 exhibitors, showcasing cutting-edge advancements in the field. Among the participants was IT4Innovations, the Czech national supercomputing centre, proudly presenting its latest projects and services on the global stage.

Patrick E. Farrell is a Professor in the Numerical Analysis group of the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford. He works on the numerical solution of partial differential equations, focusing on finite element methods, bifurcation analysis of nonlinear PDE, adjoint techniques, their application and automation, preconditioners, and fast solvers. The London Mathematical Society and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics have awarded Farrell.

Prague, 14 November, 2024 – An unparalleled interdisciplinary centre of excellence, CLARA, the first of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, will be established in the Czech Republic over the next six years to focus on developing a new generation of applications using artificial intelligence, computational modelling, and quantum computing. The aim is to push the boundaries of research in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease, by processing large-scale multidimensional biological and clinical data using powerful supercomputers and quantum methods. The centre has a total budget of €43 mil. (CZK 1.1 bln.), with the European Union providing €15 mil. (CZK 380 mil.) under the Horizon Europe Teaming for Excellence programme.

Gaia Radić, a Croatian new media artist studying architecture in Slovenia, explores the relation between virtual and material space by combining computer graphics with spatial installations. For her latest project, CHORA, she collaborated with Milan Jaroš from the IT4Innovations Infrastructure Research Lab. Radić was granted access to the Karolina supercomputer through the EuroHPC JU open access grant competition, which allowed her to turn her vision into a living virtual world.

Atlanta will become a global meeting point for experts in supercomputing and quantum technologies this fall. The community of professionals will come together for a week of sessions, lectures and networking opportunities. The Supercomputing Conference (SC), taking place from 17–22 November, is a unique event bringing together thousands of scientists, engineers, researchers, educators, programmers and developers.

At the 8th Users' Conference of IT4Innovations,
79 participants gathered for a two-day programme focused on their use of IT4Innovations computational resources in fields ranging from machine learning and quantum chemistry to molecular dynamics and materials engineering. The programme featured
22 talks and 33 scientific poster presentations.

For two days, the Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam was transformed into Europe's main supercomputing stage. The second edition of the EuroHPC User Day attracted scientists, supercomputer administrators and representatives of research institutions from all over Europe, including the Czech National Supercomputing Centre IT4Innovations. They met to discuss the latest trends and challenges in European supercomputing.

Newsletter 7/2024

On 11 October 2024, an important milestone for the European supercomputing community took place in Lugano, Switzerland. At a ceremony, the first 18 graduates of the pioneering EUMaster4HPC master's programme received their diplomas. The two-year programme, funded by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, educates the elite in high performance computing (HPC) and prepares them for future key roles in academia and industry.

In just five hours, an incredible 730 visitors came to IT4Innovations for the Researchers' Night and had the unique opportunity to get a glimpse into the fascinating world of supercomputing. And what did they discover?

Luxembourg, 26 September 2024 – Europe has taken another step towards enhancing the European quantum computing infrastructure by signing a contract for the acquisition of the LUMI-Q consortium's quantum computer. The quantum computer will be housed in Ostrava, Czech Republic, at the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center, part of the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. The contract was signed between the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) and IQM Quantum Computers, the company selected to supply the unique technology.

Over the last ten years, we have seen several pandemics. The Zika, Ebola, flu, and COVID-19 pandemics have significantly impacted global health, the economy, and society. These pandemics have created a need for collaboration, prevention, and rapid response to new infectious disease threats. The results of research involving researchers from IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava should help. The research aims to create a range of small molecule-based antiviral agents that can be widely used and rapidly developed to treat infectious diseases.

In September 2024, IT4Innovations had the honor of welcoming Jack Dongarra to the Czech National Supercomputing Center. During his visit for the PPAM conference, which IT4Innovations co-organized, Lubomír Říha had the privilege of interviewing him. You can listen to the interview on Spotify.

Newsletter 6/2024

The EUMaster4HPC Summer School, held from 18 to 24 August 2024, at VSB – Technical University in Ostrava, Czech Republic, brought together students from universities across Europe for an intensive week of learning about HPC in data science.

Researchers at IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center have developed a new method for optimising the performance of finite element method (FEM) computations. Having been published in the Computer Physics Communications journal, their innovative adaptive solution, which adapts computations based on parameters specified at runtime, achieves up to eight times faster computations.

In May 2024, the 6th International HPCSE Conference, organised by IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center since 2013, took place. This edition attracted 85 participants worldwide, including experts from the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Austria.

Ostrava, 5 August – The European FFplus initiative is looking for innovative companies and start-ups. It will distribute EUR 8 million to selected companies that decide to use a supercomputer to address their needs. The initiative is aimed at businesses with no previous experience in supercomputing or those active in the artificial intelligence (AI) field. The companies will receive not only financial support but also access to supercomputing infrastructure and expert advice from HPC experts.