Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The National System of High Performance Computing in Argentina

Policies at the national level are a pivotal element to foster the development of high performance computing in a country. For instance, it was the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNet), a nation-wide effort in the United States of America, what set the bases during the 80's for a solid HPC development. The NSFNet project helped in the creation of now highly reputable HPC centers such as Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC).
Argentina has developed a national strategy to increase its HPC arsenal, increase the HPC literacy among scientists, and established fruitful international connections. The program is called the National System of High Performance Computing, or SNCAD by its acronym in Spanish. The program is attached to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation under a major initiative on big instrumentation and databases.
The SNCAD aims at satisfying the growing requests of scientific and academic institutions regarding storage, cloud computing, HPC, visualization, and emerging technologies. Its main goals are:

  • Create policies that maximize the use of equipment funded by public grants.
  • Contribute to the development of funding strategies to improve HPC services.
  • Offer at least a funding program for institutions to acquire new hardware or renovate equipment.
  • Promote training on HPC through nation-wide programs.
  • Foster the integration of national centers wit the international community.
  • Create a system to emit certificates on HPC.

So far, the SNCAD has invested more than $2,124,695 in 17 different centers in Argentina. Those centers represent 36 computational systems that are already into production. Those centers are already supporting research in many scientific disciplines: atmospheric science, theoretical chemistry,  biological systems, mathematics, astronomy, and more. For more information, please follow this link http://www.supercalculo.mincyt.gob.ar

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