Press Releases

SHARCNET is issuing a call for proposals for Dedicated Programming Support Round IX. For this round, applications are encouraged that satisfy the programme objectives and priority will be given to proposals that:

• Propose a programme of work that deals with the efficient processing of large, heterogeneous datasets (“big data”) using a variety of data mining, machine learning or other analytics software.
• Propose a programme of work that will enable innovative projects from disciplines that are traditionally not major users of HPC.
• Propose to make novel, effective and large-scale use of non-standard architectures including GPUs, Phi, ARM and FPGAs.

Applications are submitted via SHARCNET’s webportal and are due by November 30, 2016. Consultation with a SHARCNET HPTC prior to submission is required. Note that users must have a SHARCNET webportal account in order to access the online form.

Due to the current workload of SHARCNET programming staff, only a limited number of proposals are expected to be awarded in this round. For additional information, please refer to the application guidelines. Questions should be addressed to research-support@sharcnet.ca.

Compute Canada has launched its annual Resource Allocation Competitions (RAC), a peer-reviewed process to grant priority access to Compute Canada’s advanced research computing resources. The two competitions -- the Resources for Research Groups (RRG) Competition and the Research Platforms and Portals (RPP) Competition -- are open to Canadian research projects from all disciplines (Note: RPP applications are by invitation from its Notice of Intent (NOI) stage). The allocations of compute and storage resources are awarded based on scientific merit, quality of the research team, and development of highly-qualified personnel (HQP).

“While many research groups can meet their needs through our Rapid Access Service (RAS), our Resource Allocation Competitions (RAC) are aimed at individuals and research groups who require compute and storage resources beyond what RAS provides,” says Dugan O’Neil, Compute Canada Chief Science Officer. “Compute Canada’s resources are behind many of today’s scientific milestones -- from measuring gravitational waves in space to breaking new ground in artificial intelligence -- and our RAC process helps ensure Canada’s top researchers have access to the resources they need to continue producing excellent science and world-class results.”

Further details on the 2017 Resource Allocation Competitions will be shared in two Q&A Sessions:

For more information on the 2017 RAC, visit the Resource Allocation Competitions page on the Compute Canada website or contact rac@computecanada.ca. More info

Compute Canada is launching an exciting new data visualization challenge this fall called Visualize This. Participants will visualize an Earth Sciences dataset covering the world’s oceans. The dataset will be available for download from the Compute Canada website from October 1-31, with submissions due by midnight Eastern time on October 31.

Participants from all science fields are encouraged to enter. Submissions will be reviewed by the Compute Canada visualization team. Points will be awarded for:

• interactive visualizations
• animations
• visualizing the 3D nature of the data
• online presentation, and
• clear innovative display of multiple variables

Prizes include high-capacity SSD drives or up to $1,000 towards registration and travel to HPCS 2017, Canada’s premier Advanced Research Computing (ARC) conference, hosted by Queen’s University in Kingston, ON (June 5-9, 2017). The top visualizations will also be showcased on the Compute Canada website and in Compute Canada’s booth at Supercomputing 2016 in Salt Lake City in November.

Want to participate in the “Visualize This” challenge? The first step is to indicate your interest here. Shortly before October 1, all registrants will be emailed a link to the competition dataset and the connection details for a Q&A Session on September 27. If you have any questions, please contact viz-challenge@computecanada.ca.

SHARCNET is pleased to announce the results of its Round VIII Dedicated Programming Support competition. The primary objectives of this program are to enable key research projects with the potential for exceptional and lasting impact that require significant programming support to proceed, and facilitate optimal exploitation of SHARCNET’s or Compute Canada’s computing infrastructure for internationally leading research.

In this Round, programmer allocations have been made to the following researchers:

• Susan Brown, English and Theatre Studies, University of Guelph
• Ranil Sonnadara, Department of Surgery, McMaster University
• Sidney Segalowitz, Department of Psychology, Brock University
• Graham Taylor, School of Engineering, University of Guelph
• Peter Rogan, Biochemistry and Computer Science, Western University

SHARCNET plans to run another competition in late 2016. Please visit our DP website for more information. Congratulations to our Round VIII awardees!

Read the conversation with Mark Daley, Compute Ontario’s Chair of the Board of Directors and upcoming diTHINK speaker, where he discusses the May 26th joint conference between Compute Ontario and ORION. More