DiRAC2: 100 Tflop/s HPC cluster procurement
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
This award covers the capital cost of procuring a 100 Tflop/s HPC cluster to be hosted at University of Leicester as part of the DiRAC2 facility.
Planned Impact
The pathways to impact for the project are as agreed at the DiRAC PMB meeting on 21 November 2011.
Publications
Acreman D
(2015)
Modelling multiwavelength observational characteristics of bow shocks from runaway early-type stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Agertz O
(2020)
EDGE: the mass-metallicity relation as a critical test of galaxy formation physics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Alexander R
(2015)
Magnetospheres of hot Jupiters: hydrodynamic models and ultraviolet absorption
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ali A
(2018)
Modelling massive star feedback with Monte Carlo radiation hydrodynamics: photoionization and radiation pressure in a turbulent cloud
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ali A
(2021)
The growth of H ii regions around massive stars: the role of metallicity and dust
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ali A
(2022)
Stellar winds and photoionization in a spiral arm
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ali A
(2019)
Massive star feedback in clusters: variation of the FUV interstellar radiation field in time and space
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ali A
(2023)
Star cluster formation and feedback in different environments of a Milky Way-like galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Amundsen D
(2016)
The UK Met Office global circulation model with a sophisticated radiation scheme applied to the hot Jupiter HD 209458b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Amundsen D
(2017)
Treatment of overlapping gaseous absorption with the correlated- k method in hot Jupiter and brown dwarf atmosphere models
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
| Description | Many new results about black holes, galaxy formation and evolution, star formation and evolution have been made possible by the grant. |
| Exploitation Route | Many academic collaborations are supported by the HPC resources of DiRAC. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| URL | http://www.dirac.ac.uk |
| Description | The DiRAC facility is being widely used by researchers across the UK. We are working closely with industrial partners to design our future systems - this interaction is expected to lead to collaborative technical projects. A significant fractino of our graduating PhD students have gone into many branches of industry, including aerospace, defence and the games industry. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education |
| Impact Types | Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | DiRAC2: Recurrent Costs for 100 Tflop/s HPC cluster |
| Amount | £391,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/K003259/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2012 |
| End | 01/2016 |
| Description | Royal Astronomical Society's Undergraduate Research Bursary |
| Amount | £1,200 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Royal Astronomical Society |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2014 |
| End | 08/2014 |
| Description | DiRAC |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Department | Distributed Research Utilising Advanced Computing |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am the PI for two research grants for the procurement and running of the Complexity@DiRAC High Performance Computing cluster at the University of Leicester. This cluster is now in active operation as a national HPC facility. |
| Collaborator Contribution | DiRAC is the facility which provides HPC resources for the theoretical astrophysics and particle physics communities within STFC. |
| Impact | The establishment and running of a new HPC cluster at the University of Leicester as part of the DiRAC national facility. |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | Astronomy Ireland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I spoke to about 100 people at the Astronomy Ireland meeting in November 2013 in Trinity College Dublin. My talk was very well received and I have been invited to give another talk to this audience at a later date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.astronomy.ie/lecture201311.php |
| Description | BBC Stargazing Live |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentations as part of the BBC Stargazing Live at the National Space Centre and at the University of Leicester, attended by approximately 50 people (2011), 50 people (2012), 300 people (2013), 100 people (2014). The presentation generated lots of questions and discussion from the audience. Local schools had an opportunity to visit the University which is good for inclusivity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | Cafe Scientifique |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I spoke to the Nottingham Cafe Scientifique about various aspects of the research that myself and others are doing with DiRAC. About 40 people attended. I gave a 25 minute presentation which was followed by more than an hour of questions and discussion. One audience member wrote a blog piece about my talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://nottinghamscience.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/talk-building-galaxies-in-office.html |
| Description | Royal Society Summer Exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Over the course of the four day, more than 600 people attended my talks. The Friday evening presentation was followed by more than an hour of audience questions. Several audience members contacted me to ask additional questions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | School Visit (Dublin) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 90 primary school students (3 classes) aged 8-12 years old attended my talks in Rathfarnham Parish National School. Following my visit, a number of students expressed interest in pursuing a career in science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Secular Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Spoke to about 50 members of the Leicester Secular Society. My talk generated considerable discussion among the members of the LSS. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.leicestersecularsociety.org.uk/calendar/view_entry.php?id=1145&date=20121209 |