Results of the 3rd edition of Call Advanced Computing Projects

The 3rd edition of Advanced Computing Projects Call achieved an approval rate of 86%, with 140 applications selected out of 163 received. These figures indicate a record number of approved projects compared to previous editions.

Engineering, Physics and Chemistry are the three scientific areas with the most access to these resources, although there is a growing trend in the areas of the Environment, Bioinformatics and Sociology. The 140 approved projects represent access to 50 national institutions, 40 million CPU core.hours and 46 thousand GPU.hours allocated, with an estimated project value of more than 500 thousand euros.

Through the National Advanced Computing Network (RNCA), the approved projects will be carried out on platforms that offer High Performance Computing (HPC), Scientific Cloud Computing (SCC) or Virtual Research Environments (VRE) resources:

• Navigator from LCA-UC (Advanced Computing Laboratory of the University of Coimbra)
• Oblivion and Vision from HPC-UÉ (HPC Center of the University of Évora)
• Cirrus and Stratus from INCD (National Infrastructure for Distributed Computing)

Beneficiaries have 6 or 12 months to implement HPC and SCC projects or 24 months for VRE projects. The projects are divided into 3 types of access:

• A0 - Experimental Access, with 62 projects (100% approval)
• A1 - Preparatory Access/Development, with 47 projects (96% approval)
• A2 - Project/Regular Access, with 31 projects (60% approved)

In addition to the support provided by RNCA, there is also a European partnership, EuroHPC, which has a open Call to access European supercomputers, such as LUMI, Vega or Meluxina.

The FCT organises annual Calls for Advanced Computing Projects, seeking to increase the national and international competitiveness of science and technology, as well as contributing to innovation and knowledge transfer. The FCCN, a unit of the FCT, is responsible for promoting the development of the RNCA by coordinating national advanced computing resources, encouraging cooperation between the various centres involved and developing national and international partnerships with other entities.

For more information on Advanced Computing, see the RNCA website or contact rnca@fccn.pt.