SCD News and Features

News and Features

New investment boosts UK infrastructure research
The UK's ability to respond to the impacts of climate change, increased energy demands, new roads, housing and other infrastructure growth in its towns and cities is boosted today with a £1.2 million investment.
Key role for Scientific Machine Learning in transforming nuclear power generation in the digital age
The Science and Technology and Facilities Council (STFC) will help develop the new digital technology required for nuclear power plant components in the future.
AI: the next big thing for accelerating material science experiments
Cross-departmental collaboration at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) leads to the development of a machine learning-based solution for super-fast analysis of results.
Green Finance: DAFNI part of a new £10M UK centre for climate and environmental risk for the financial industry
The Government has, today, announced a new UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI). It is being established to drive research and innovation in climate and environmental risk assessment within the financial services sector.
JASMIN tracks the impact of climate change on UK birds
For the Big Garden Birdwatch this January we’re showcasing some exciting research on bird populations and habitats conducted by our very own super data computer, JASMIN.
STFC very visible in the virtual world of Supercomputing (SC20)
All supercomputing conferences bring the community together, none more so than SC20, but things were a little bit different this year...
Computing Insight UK 2020: A Virtual Success
For the first time in its 30 year history, the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Computing Insight UK (CIUK) conference has been held as a fully virtual conference.
Developing algorithms to solve real-world problems
Mathematical models are used to solve a whole host of problems, from being able to better predict changes in the economy to the design of new drugs to fight diseases. In each case, complex numerical models are designed to fit real-world observations.
CoSeC News Roundup December 2020
Engineering a successful proposal; publishing an important history, and a change of Chair
STFC welcomes exciting breakthrough in the fight against disease
At this week's CASP14 conference Google DeepMind announced a major breakthrough from its Artificial Intelligence programme, Alphafold2.
Focus on the role of computers in neutron science
A special issue of the Journal of Physics Communications which focuses on the impact of computers in neutron science is now published online.
Using tape robots to solve the data storage conundrum.
Science is advancing at an incredible rate. The amount of data being generated has followed suit. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is at the forefront of this advancement and growth. Ever wondered how all this data is stored?
Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) News Round-Up
Scientists in the CSE Division of the Scientific Computing Department work on a diverse range of projects:
EOSC - the glue holding projects together
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is an exciting multi-partner project that aims to make it easier for scientists around the EU to collaborate.
Head in the clouds: predicting the weather with AI
Scientists from across STFC are collaborating on a project that uses artificial intelligence to improve weather forecasting.
SCD staff trial new methods for international collaboration
Collaborating across borders and minimising environmental impact.
RDA publishes COVID-19 Recommendations and Guidelines
Guidelines published by the Research Data Alliance (RDA) aim to drive rapid responses and informed decision-making during public health emergencies.
Quantum Computing takes a big step forward with the launch of a new Collaborative Computational Project.
CCP-QC aims to bring about close co-operation between other CCPs and the quantum computing community, rather than build a separate computational community for quantum computing.
Electron cryo-Microscopy Spring Symposium – the conference Covid-19 couldn’t cancel!
Today sees the start of the 2020 CCP-EM Spring Symposium for the Electron cryo-Microscopy (EM) community, and for the first time it is being held entirely online in a virtual format due to travel and social restrictions surrounding Covid-19.
Strange times, but science-and-engineering-as-usual continues……
For the last few months and for many to come the scientific spotlight is stuck on SARS-CoV-2 and while it's true many STFC staff are involved in tackling the virus, for others it's business as usual.
Cross-disciplinary research results in new analytical technique to accelerate improvements of battery technologies
Development of a new research methodology that combines high-resolution electrochemical measurements with atomistic simulations to derive unprecedented insights of ion-intercalation in materials with battery applications.
Researchers help efforts to fight Covid-19
The international research community has responded quickly to the outbreak of Covid-19, caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. STFC’s National Facilities are an active part of this community.
Introducing the small, yet powerful, PEARL system for AI and Machine Learning
Interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ‘deep learning’ has grown massively in recent years and with it has come new GPU technology development, increased compute power and data storage.
BBSRC funds development by CCP-EM of machine learning techniques for cryoEM map interpretation
Researchers from the Collaborative Computational Project for Electron cryo-Microscopy (CCP-EM) propose to build a tool combining deep learning with protein structure feature libraries to enrich the information extracted from cryo-electron microscopy maps.
New STORIES section added to CoSeC website
Scientifc Tales of Reason, Intellect and Entertaining Stuff!
Supercomputing conferences in the UK and USA
November and December are the 'Supercomputing Conference' months and, true to form, the most recent conferences at the end of 2019 were very well attended and exceptionally busy.
Ada Lovelace Day 2019
This week the Scientific Computing Department (SCD) celebrated Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths.
For the second year running, visiting student wins MRes prize at the Molecular Science and Engineering Symposium, Imperial College London.
This year Daniele Visco (supervised by STFC staff Dr. Vlad Sokhan, Dr. Tom Keal and Prof. Ilian Todorov) won 'Best Poster' for his multiscale study of ionic solvents.
Raising the profile of Research Software Engineers
A delegation of Scientific Computing Department (SCD) staff is once again taking an active role in the annual Research Software Engineers’ Conference, which starts today in Birmingham.
CECAM celebrates 50 years of computational science activities
This week marks the 50th anniversary of CECAM (Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire), which was formed to promote advanced computational research and its applications for important areas of science and technology.
Summer Coding School 2019
Each year STFC holds a 'Summer Coding School' during the summer holidays to encourage and enthuse youngsters to consider computational science, and computing generally, as a career.
Celebrating the Moon Landings of 1969 with (perhaps) the computer scientists of tomorrow
This month marks the 50th anniversary of when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz" Aldrin stepped onto the surface of the moon.
News in Brief - Summer 2019
Workshops, conferences and celebrations...
CEDA data used to create climate change graphics
TV weather presenters are using the freely available striped climate graphics, which have been developed from data made available by the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA), to highlight rising temperatures in countries across the globe.
EOSC pilot delivers the foundation for the European Open Science Cloud
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) pilot project has now delivered its final contributions and recommendations, setting strong foundations for the implementation of EOSC in the coming months and years.
Greener energy, safer roads and improved flood protection
Protecting and improving the nation’s vital infrastructure – such as energy, transport and digital communications – is about to become easier, as the first successful results of a world-leading computing project are being showcased.
Could computers be the next tool to help tackle hospital superbugs?
Hospital superbugs such as MRSA or E.coli could soon be under attack from a new generation of drugs designed with the help of advanced computing technologies from STFC and IBM Research.
CCP-EM Spring Symposium more popular than ever in 2019.
Delegates and speakers from Europe, the UK, USA and Canada gathered earlier this month for the Collaborative Computational Project for Electron cryo-Microscopy (CCP-EM) Spring Symposium, held at Nottingham University.
Tape Robot provides data storage solutions for the next decade
What do you do when you need to increase the space available for storing vast amounts of data? One solution is to install a high-capacity automated tape library, or 'Tape Robot'.
National Apprenticeship Week 2019
This week (4-8 March) is National Apprenticeship Week, which we are pleased and proud to be supporting.
News in Brief - Spring 2019
SC18 in Dallas, CIUK 2018 in Manchester, UK Climate Prediction, Artificial Intelligence, Carbon Dioxide reduction, a new national research facility, and both team and individual achievements all feature in this bumper edition.
STFC Scientific Computing Department welcomes news of a new Centre for Doctoral Training in AI and Machine Learning.
We are pleased to hear the announcement today that UK Research and Innovation is funding a new Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Advanced Computing.
Latest SCD Highlights report published
The latest Science Highlights report from the STFC Scientific Computing Department has been published. It includes a variety of research news.
STFC to speed up analysis of experimental data using AI technologies
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to sort data.
H2020 project PaNOSC officially started to contribute making FAIR data a reality
Large-scale research infrastructures produce a huge amount of scientific data on a daily basis. For their storage and future (re)use, data need to managed according to the FAIR principles, i.e., be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable.
Laser technique opens door to effective global carbon dioxide reduction and clean fuel production
UK scientists have developed a new approach using lasers that opens the door to finding an efficient way to convert waste carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, into a clean fuel.
SCD's Head of Data helps lead European open data project
Our Head of Data Division, Dr Juan Bicarregui, has been elected to the executive board of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), a project aiming to make all data produced by publically-funded research available to everyone.
Most detailed picture yet of UK's future climate
The UK's most comprehensive picture yet of how the climate could change over the next century has been launched today.
Scientific Computing Department team to manage new national research facility
Researchers in the UK will soon be able to make better use of data through a new national research facility
Computational science being used to improve Oxfordshire's infrastructure management
A team of STFC scientists will soon be using cutting-edge computer simulations to see if Oxfordshire’s transport and healthcare infrastructures could run more efficiently.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018
Congratulations to this year's winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Ada Lovelace Day 2018
Today is Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, maths – and computing!
News in Brief - July & August 2018
This summer has been very busy for the Scientific Computing Department (SCD) with international conferences, summer schools and student training high on the agenda for many of us. Here is a snapshot of what we’ve been up to.
UK scientists celebrate the first observation of the long-sought decay of the Higgs boson
UK particle physicists are celebrating that the ATLAS Collaboration experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has – at long last – observed the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of bottom (b) quarks.
News in brief - May & June 2018
Computational science has featured strongly in conferences at home and internationally during this period. Here are just a few that we have been involved in:
'Good, bad and beautiful' challenges feature at technology conference
Chris Oliver and James Hannah from the Scientific Computing Department recently attended the Continuous Lifecycle conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London. Here Chris gives a brief account of the proceedings:
Large data challenges and latest developments - ISC 2018
ISC High Performance 2018, Europe’s largest supercomputing conference and exhibition, returned to Frankfurt this year and was buzzing with the energy and enthusiasm of people excited about the science, the products and the ideas being presented.
Third Annual JASMIN User Conference
Scientists using the UK’s largest environmental super computer and data store gathered this week (27-28 June) to share their experiences of big data environmental science.
Asian influences: exchanging knowledge in computational science
Tom Byrne, Rob Appleyard and Catalin Condurache, all from the Systems Division, have been extending SCD's international reach by giving talks, exchanging knowledge and making new contacts in Taipei and Beijing.
News in brief - March & April 2018
The European Open Science Cloud, e-Infrastucture, workshops and awards feature in this latest news round-up.
Meet our Apprentices
Each year the Scientific Computing Department employs a number of apprentices who will receive 'on-the-job' training to develop their careers.
Upgrade to UK environmental science super computer will make it twice as capable
A major upgrade is being made to double the storage available in the UK's leading environmental science supercomputer.
News in brief - February 2018
Professor Todorov; Machine Learning; Workshops, Debates and Events
First International Research Software Engineers Workshop inspires US research leaders to visit Oxfordshire research facilities.
Following the first international conference and workshop for leaders of Research Software Engineering groups, held in London at the end of January, representatives from the USA decided to extend their visit to view some of the UK's national facilities.
STFC e-infrastructure strategy - enabling the UK knowledge economy
Over 100,000 UK scientists, from both academia and industry, rely upon digital or ‘e’ infrastructure to extract value and knowledge from experimental data. This knowledge underpins the UK economy, facilitating growth, job creation and innovation.
News in brief - January 2018
Funding for UK Tier Zero, Computing Insight UK, milestones and achievements
DAFNI Development Roadmap and Engagement Event
The DAFNI (Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure) programme moved on a stage this week with a stakeholder engagement event at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire.
Introducing the Freya Project
The world contains vast amounts of digital information which is growing faster and being accessed more frequently than ever before.
R&D 100 Award for pioneering work with environmental science data
Congratulations to the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA), based within RAL Space at STFC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, for their role in winning a prestigious R&D 100 award.
STFC at the first European Open Science Cloud Forum
Over 300 people gathered in Brussels this week for the first European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Stakeholder Forum.
Follow the Blue Bear to SC17...
STFC at the world's largest Supercomputing Conference
Eight new PhD training centres to boost UK's data science expertise
Data intensive science in the UK has received a major boost thanks to an investment of almost £10million to train the next generation of experts in this important research area.
Government officials visit Scientific Computing's data centre
A group of science and policy advisers from The Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have spent some time in our data centre.
British scientist scoops Nobel Prize for revolutionary microscope
4 October 2017 - British biochemist Professor Richard Henderson has today been awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, alongside Professors Jacques Dubochet and Joachim Frank, for their pioneering work with cool microscope technology.
New UK centre of excellence is formed to strengthen and develop partnerships in software for scientific research
7 September 2017 - A long‐standing partnership between UK research councils took a significant leap forward today with the formation of a new centre of excellence for computational science.
Visitors flock to Open Day
STFC's Scientific Computing Department opened its doors at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) today, to give members of the public a chance to see some of our remarkable computing power and a peek at the visualisation work we do.
Groundbreaking computer software to improve UK resilience to extreme events
A powerful computer system capable of revolutionising the UK’s ability to plan for extreme events, such as flooding and power outages, is being designed as part of a government scheme to make the nation’s infrastructure more resilient.
ISC Conference 2017
STFC's Scientific Computing Department (SCD) and the Hartree Centre were at the ISC High Performance Computing Conference in Frankfurt this month.
Managing Data from the Astra Gemini and Vulcan Lasers
Each time the Central Laser Facility (CLF) fires one of its lasers it generates data which needs to be stored ready for analysis of laser shot trends and behaviour, energy delivered, any variations in the laser beam and a variety of other information.
STFC Hartree Centre receives Royal seal of approval
HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, has officially opened the new Hartree Centre building at Sci-Tech Daresbury.
Hundreds of thousands of images turned into 3D reconstructions in ULTRA fast time
UK researchers have developed a new way of processing hundreds of thousands of images of a rotating object such that they can then turn them into a complete 3D visual reconstruction of the subject with unprecedented detail.
Daresbury Campus the most innovative in the UK
Sci-Tech Daresbury has been named as the science campus making the most significant contribution to innovation in the UK.
Scientific Computing Department Strategy 2017-2021
Our mission is fully aligned to support and enable the STFC Corporate Strategy and the STFC e-infrastructure Strategy.
Robert Courts MP visits STFC Scientific Computing Department
Oxfordshire MP Robert Courts visited our scientific computing facilities at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) this month, to find out about the educational activities, training opportunities and skilled jobs that we provide.
JET graduates tour SCD Data-Centre
STFC scientific computing graduates hosted a visit earlier this month from graduates based at the Joint European Torus (JET) in the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
Happy 5th Birthday JASMIN!
Five years ago today, an initial 4.5 petabytes of high-performance storage was brought online, signalling the 'birth' of JASMIN and revolutionising access to environmental science data for NERC.
JASMIN
JASMIN is half super-computer and half data-centre and provides a globally unique platform at STFC, hosted for computing and storing UK and European environmental science data.
EOSC Pilot Launch
UK leads on new £8.5m European scheme to improve access to research data.
Supercomputing Conference 2016
Scientific Computing Department at the world’s largest super-computing conference