Creation of the Minho Advanced Computing Center

FCT, UMinho and UTAustin have formalized the memorandum of understanding that will trigger the process of installing the first supercomputer in Portugal, in the 1st quarter of 2018, together with the creation of the Minho Advanced Computing Center (MAAC).

The protocol session of this act took place at UMinho's Gualtar Campus, in Braga, on November 25, and was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, the President of FCT, Paulo Ferrão, the President of the Northern Regional Coordination Commission, Fernando Freire de Sousa, and the outgoing Rector and the rector-elect of the University of Minho, António Cunha and Rui Vieira de Castro, respectively, researchers, businesspeople and several representatives of scientific institutions and companies.

STAMPEDE 1 is the name of this advanced computing platform, to be installed at the University of Minho, and which was provided to FCT by the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at UTAustin, as part of the international partnership between the University of Texas at Austin and Portugal. This new infrastructure will allow the development of new areas of computing in Portugal, complementing the resources already existing in the regions of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and the Center in this area of research. It will also have diverse applications in the scientific and business fields, namely in areas covering climate, maritime safety, support for fisheries, monitoring mobility patterns in cities, stimulating biodiversity, risk management in forests and health applications, including bioinformatics. 

The infrastructure will be owned by FCT and its operation will be fully integrated with national, European and international networks in fully open access modes, facilitating the adoption of the National Open Science Strategy . The management of this new infrastructure is the responsibility of a Committee of experts, including users, with coordination by the FCT's advanced computing services.

Among other potential applications, the infrastructure will serve the AIR Centre , recently created by the “Florianópolis Declaration” of June 20, on the initiative of Portugal in close international cooperation. The MACC will serve as the basis for the establishment of the “AIR CENTRE DATA INTELLIGENCE NETWORK (AIR_DataNet)” , to be developed during 2018 together with the Texas Advanced Computing Centre (TACC) at UTAustin and the Barcelona Supercomputer Centre (BSC), among other international partners involved in the AIR Centre, in order to facilitate the development of data sciences and applications to climate-ocean interaction. 

This new infrastructure also fits into the ongoing national effort within the scope of the National Digital Skills Initiative e.2030 (INCoDe.2030) which, under the coordination of the FCT, includes the stimulation of new R&D activities in the areas of scientific computing, quantum sciences and technologies, artificial intelligence and digital media.

Also in this context, Portugal was one of the signatory countries of the European Declaration for the advancement of advanced computing, EuroHPC, on March 23, 2017 in Rome, through which the aim is to establish the intergovernmental framework that will allow the development and operation of the next generation of the European advanced computing infrastructure.

Read the speech by the President of the FCT , Paulo Ferrão, at the session.