Thirty scientists from two research institutes met on Thursday, 4th November, at IT4Innovations in Ostrava to present their research activities to each other and discuss the possibilities of mutual cooperation. The introductory workshop aimed to find synergies in the areas of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.

“Digital technologies are increasingly finding their way not only into all areas of science and technology, but also into everyday human life. We have years of experience in their application to a wide variety of tasks, which we are able to offer to you, our colleagues from CATRIN. So let us introduce our research activities and find common topics in the form of joint workshops," said Tomáš Kozubek, the IT4Innovations Scientific Director, at the beginning of the workshop.

This is the spirit of the workshop, during which a total of 12 research topics are presented by IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center of VSB - Technical University of Ostrava and the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN) of Palacký University in Olomouc. The purpose of the presentations and subsequent discussions is to look for topics in which both sides can help each other. Especially those that are able to employ supercomputers or use artificial intelligence methods.

“Significant progress in science cannot be achieved in isolation from the rest of the world. Today's scientific projects bring together dozens and sometimes hundreds of scientists, often from different parts of the world, but especially from different scientific disciplines. Today's science is primarily a team effort, and every networking of scientific departments bears fruit. Finding common themes and linking research teams more closely with each other is what I hope to achieve from today's meeting with my colleagues from CATRIN," comments Tomáš Kozubek on the need to develop cooperation.

After the workshop, it is clear that the two research institutes are working on a number of topics in which they can help each other. "If we combine our expertise and know-how in the development of new nanomaterials and procedures for their rational design or computer simulations of biomolecules with the experience of our colleagues from IT4I in the field of artificial intelligence and HPC, then we can push the boundaries of knowledge even faster and more efficiently than before. We share a common interest in emphasising cutting-edge science and harnessing the potential of the widest possible multidisciplinary collaboration. We want to jointly target important topics such as new functional nanomaterials, efficient electrical energy storage or the design of systems for targeted drug delivery inside cells," said CATRIN Director Pavel Banáš.

The November workshop will be followed by another joint meeting at the beginning of next year, this time at CATRIN in Olomouc.