Text: Marianne Fuglsang Welling Farsinsen, ITS Photo: Josefine Linn Poulsen, ITS og Marianne Fuglsang Welling Farsinsen, ITS

 

AAU's own IT research support unit CLAAUDIA, in collaboration with DeiC (Danish e-infrastructure Coorperation), had created the event, which partly aimed to ensure better knowledge of the current services offered to AAU researchers via DeiC, and partly to provide contextual examples of how HPC makes a difference in research.

DeiC offers all researchers at AAU a wide range of services, which is the result of a national collaboration between the Danish universities and DeiC. Director Gitte Kudsk, DeiC, was the first speaker, and in her presentation she focused on clarifying the different services offered to AAU researchers and how AAU researchers can get a share of the attractive HPC resources. All Danish universities have the opportunity to apply for the HPC resources, but this is the first time this type of event with a clear focus on HPC alone has seen the light of day at a university. Gitte Kudsk explains:

- The ambition of DeiC is to give researchers access to HPC resources that provide far greater opportunities for, among other things, scaling up, speed and precision in research, which would not be of the same caliber or impact in the absence of HPC. Therefore, it is also a great pleasure to be invited to stand here today and help make these opportunities more accessible to AAU's researchers through information, dialog and with the help of the very good examples presented by the two AAU researchers. AAU's initiative today with this event is for me a really good example of how a university's researchers can be informed, engaged and supported for valuable use of HPC - an initiative that we are very happy to participate in, says DeiC Director Gitte Kudsk.

AAU-cases and CLAAUDIA

The two AAU cases mentioned by Gitte Kudsk originate from Associate Professor Casper Steinmann, Department of Chemistry and Biosciences, and Associate Professor Rolf Lyneborg Lund, Department of Sociology and Social Work. Both have applied for and been awarded resources through DeiC, and in their presentations they gave an excellent insight into how HPC is an important element in research. For Casper Steinmann, HPC is a crucial factor in the replication of laboratory experiments, and for Rolf Lyneborg, HPC is valuable for analyzing satellite photos of urban neighborhoods around the world.

The two very inspiring presentations with the AAU cases were followed by a final presentation by Associate Professor Thomas Arildsen from CLAAUDIA. As a conclusion to the previous presentations, Thomas' presentation aimed to provide very specific information on how CLAAUDIA can help AAU's researchers with e.g. identifying which resources best match the research in question, and in continuation of this, help with the actual application for resources. Thomas explains:

- In the latest application round at DeiC, we can see that for the applications we are involved in, the majority of them actually succeed in getting a grant for HPC resources for AAU researchers. CLAAUDIA was created to help and support, and with four new data stewards and a comprehensive service catalog in the pipeline, we have the capacity and skills to help even more AAU researchers to the value of HPC where it makes sense in their research. It starts with them knowing the possibilities and knowing that we exist and are here to help - which this event helps to highlight, explains Thomas Arildsen from CLAAUDIA.

The event was rounded off with good questions from the more than 60 participants and a big thank you to all presenters and others involved, after which the good dialog could continue during the networking part of the event over a light lunch. In the wake of the event, CLAAUDIA has received very positive feedback from the attendees and moreover, inquiries specifically about the HPC opportunities for AAU researchers. Professor Kåre Lehmann Nielsen from the Department of Chemistry and Biosciences, who is also part of the management of CLAAUDIA in his role as chairman of the steering committee, is delighted with the positive feedback that this event reflects:

- An event like DeiC's visit to AAU, where CLAAUDIA, DeiC and our own AAU researchers show the value of HPC for research, helps to open the doors to the great potential of HPC in AAU research in the future, concludes Kåre Lehmann Nielsen.

Further information and presentations from the event

For information, support and guidance on HPC opportunities for AAU researchers, please contact CLAAUDIA at claaudia@aau.dk

See services, application deadlines etc. at DeiC (Danish e-infrastructure Cooperation): https://www.deic.dk/en

See DeiC Director Gitte Kudsk's presentation from the event

Read more about Casper Steinmann's research

See Casper Steinmann's presentation from the event

Read more about Rolf Lyneborg Lund's research

See Rolf Lyneborg Lund's presentation from the event

See Thomas Arildsen's presentation from the event