Press Releases

SHARCNET is issuing a call for proposals for Round V Dedicated Programming Support. This programme provides support for computational projects of exceptional potential that will have lasting impact and value and that require significant support from SHARCNET to proceed.

For Round V, applications are encouraged that satisfy the programme objectives and priority will be given to proposals that:

• Propose to make novel, effective and large-scale use of non-standard architectures especially GP-GPU.
• Propose to develop innovative visualization applications and techniques that emphasize the visualization of large datasets especially using distributed/parallel visualization/rendering techniques.
• Propose a programme of work that will enable innovative projects from disciplines that are traditionally not major users of HPC.

Applications are submitted via SHARCNET’s webportal and are due by December 21, 2014. Note that users must have a SHARCNET webportal account in order to access the online form.

For additional information, please refer to the application guidelines. Questions should be addressed to research-support@sharcnet.ca.

HPCS, Canada’s foremost supercomputing conference, will be held in Montreal from June 17-19, 2015. The event will be co-hosted by Calcul Québec and Compute Canada at Sir George Williams Campus, Concordia University. The three days of the main event will be preceded by two days of tutorials and workshops.

A full day of the three-day program will be devoted to sessions showcasing Big Data and its applications. Other themes in the agenda include:

• Chemistry and NanoScience
• Physics and Engineering
• Biology and Bioinformatics
• Infrastructures, Algorithm and Emerging Technologies
• Exploring the World

HPCS 2015 is currently soliciting original papers on any HPC-related topic, on either science outcomes of using HPC or the development of new methods. Abstracts are due by March 17, 2015. Please visit the Paper submission page to submit an abstract.

Compute Canada announces its Resource Allocation Opportunities for 2015. Compute Canada’s Advanced Research Computing (ARC) resources are accessible to researchers at Canadian academic institutions and may be accessed using the opportunities below. There are four components to this year’s Resource Allocation Competition:

• Default Allocations
• Fast Track (by invitation only)
• Resource Allocation Competition 2015
• Research Platforms and Portals Competition (RPP) new for 2015

The new Research Platforms and Portals (RPP) competition focuses on providing ARC resources to a larger community of researchers driven towards creating a platform for collaboration or a portal for broader use of Compute Canada resources. Allocations may be granted for multiple years and are evaluated using specialized review criteria. The competition will use a two stage review process that involves a Letter of Intent and a Full Application. The LOI is open to all applicants interested in applying. The Full Application stage is open only to groups selected at the LOI stage.

Please submit any questions regarding Compute Canada resource opportunities to rac@computecanada.ca.

A national engagement of Canada’s research community to create a national forecast of advanced research computing, data storage and archiving requirements.

Compute Canada applauds and supports the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) announcement of consultations in preparation for the $50 million cyberinfrastructure initiative. It signals an important step in renewing Canada’s commitment to this essential enabler of scientific and industrial leadership.

This initiative builds on CFI’s previous investments in 2006 and their ongoing support through the CFI-MSI program for Compute Canada, and it will benefit a significant proportion of Canada’s research community.

CFI is contemplating a renewal of the existing Compute Canada national platform as well as funding for domain-specific data projects. The bulk of such infrastructure would be operated and maintained by Compute Canada. To prepare for this initiative, Compute Canada will consult and engage with Canada’s researchers and research-intensive institutions to develop Sustainable Planning for Advanced Research Computing (SPARC).

This will be a shared forum for discussion among key stakeholders on the kinds of investment required to enable Canada’s excellence and leadership in science and innovation, with a particular focus on sectors that are highly dependent on digital infrastructure. As the national voice for advanced research computing in Canada, Compute Canada will ensure SPARC includes both specific and common requirements for its communities.

Compute Canada will gather input for SPARC through the summer of 2014. More info

HPCS 2014 in Halifax, Nova Scotia is fast approaching. New events have recently been posted to the conference program, including a Compute Canada Town Hall on June 26th at 3:15 p.m. and a Digital Infrastructure Leadership Council session on June 27th at 8:15 a.m. For more information about these events, check out the entire conference program.

There is still time to register for Canada’s premier supercomputing event. Don’t miss this opportunity to join Canadian researchers, analysts, and IT professionals from academia and industry to exchange the ideas, tools, and new discoveries that are driving today’s innovations in computational research.