IT Center Blog

Source: Own Illustration

October 23, 2024 marks a significant day for us: It was with great joy that we inaugurated our High Performance Computer CLAIX-2023! This modern system marks a significant advance for High Performance Computing and is available to researchers at RWTH and all German universities.

Sustainability Meets Innovation

The CLAIX-2023 is not only extremely powerful, but also sustainable. Equipped with an innovative water-cooling system, the system consumes significantly less energy than conventional cooling solutions with air conditioning systems. This environmentally friendly technology is a crucial factor in today’s research, which is increasingly emphasizing sustainability.

The supercomputer is supported by NHR4CES and WestAI, which particularly promote engineering and natural sciences as well as machine learning.

Enormous Computing Power for Science

With a computing capacity of 14 PFLOPS, the supercomputer offers exceptional performance designed specifically for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simulation applications. Whether natural or engineering sciences, machine learning or other data-intensive disciplines, the CLAIX-2023 will enable new insights in numerous research areas.

Prof. Müller, head of the IT Center, said in an interview with WDR:

“These issues are becoming increasingly complicated, which is why we constantly need new, more powerful High Performance Computers. A current example is the question of whether Artificial Intelligence can be used to further improve simulations. This coupling of Artificial Intelligence and classical simulation is a specialist field that we are advancing here in Aachen.”

The interview can be found in the ARD media library from minute 21:16.

Plans for the next step are already underway: CLAIX-2025 is to follow and further expand computing capacity to keep pace with future challenges.

A Celebration for Science

The official opening was not only a technical highlight, but also a social one, accompanied by numerous distinguished guests and an exciting program. The event brought together experts from science, politics and industry.

Source: Own Illustration

A special highlight of the event was the symbolic moment when CLAIX-2023 was officially put into operation. With a festive ceremony and a buzzer, the supercomputer was “switched on” by Minister Ina Brandes and Prof. Matthias Müller.

Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia said during her welcoming remarks:

“This is an important and proud day for the research landscape in Germany.”

The event reflected the shared vision of taking scientific collaboration to a new level.

The inauguration of CLAIX-2023 not only provided a platform for the presentation of the new High Performance Computer and its artwork, but also for exciting technical presentations highlighting the latest developments in the field of High Performance Computing and its application.

Prof. Dr. Matthias Müller from the IT Center of RWTH Aachen kicked off the event with his presentation on the innovative infrastructure of CLAIX-2023. Under the title “The HPC system: CLAIX: a unique infrastructure for simulation, AI, and data analytics”, he explained how this system plays a central role in the research and development of simulations and data analytics.

Prof. Dr. Felix Wolf from the Technical University of Darmstadt followed with his lecture “Scale me up, Scotty! HPC application scaling under scrutiny”, which addressed the challenges and possibilities of scaling HPC applications. He provided exciting insights into current trends and the future of High Performance Computing applications.

The first part of the presentations was rounded off by Masaki Kondo, Senior Director at NEC. In his presentation entitled “NEC’s contribution to future HPC market”, he presented NEC’s strategic approaches to shaping the future HPC market and emphasized the importance of innovation and collaboration.

Prof. Dr. Heinz Pitsch from RWTH Aachen University then took the stage to shed light on the central role of High Performance Computing in the field of sustainable combustion. His presentation, “The Role of High Performance Computing in Accelerating the Transition to Sustainable Combustion,” showed how HPC contributes to the development of more environmentally friendly technologies.

The final presentation was given by Prof. Dr. Stefan Sandfeld, also from RWTH Aachen University, with his presentation “From Specialist to Generalist Models in AI: The Role of Data, Physics and HPC”. He discussed how the integration of data, physical models and HPC is driving the development of more versatile AI models.

These expert talks provided valuable insights and stimulated discussions that encouraged the exchange of ideas and experiences among the participants.

We are proud of the inauguration of CLAIX-2023, which stands as a symbol of the strength and innovative power of Aachen as a center of science. We look forward to the exciting projects that will be realized thanks to this technology.

As with its predecessor, the “CLAIX-2018”, the drab computer boxes were artistically designed. The 3D artist Artur Krutov combines technology with art.

Source: Own Illustration

Further information about CLAIX-2023 and High Performance Computing at RWTH Aachen University can be found on our HPC landing page.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to Minister Ina Brandes, the speakers and presenters, the entire IT Center team, our partners from NHR4CES and WestAI, and all the helpers who contributed to the success of this event.

Responsible for the content of this article are Dunja Gath and Merrit Mielke.

Kategorie: Events, Anniversarys & Success, HPCnews
Schlagworte: CLAIX-2023, Einweihung, Event, Events, IT Center Veranstaltung, RWTH, RWTH Aachen, Veranstaltung, Veranstaltungen
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