For the second year running (see previous awards), we are pleased to announce that a research group who use our advanced computing facilities has been recognised as award-winning in the HPCwire 2024 awards! Advanced Research Computing is very proud to provide the BEAR computing facilities to support life changing research at the University, which has been internationally recognised in these highly competitive, global awards. You can find out more details about the award and the research involved in the press release below:
Atlanta, GA — November 18, 2024 — The University of Birmingham has been recognized in the 21st edition of the HPCwire Readers’ Choice Awards, presented at the 2024 International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC24), in Atlanta, Georgia. The list of winners was revealed at the SC24 HPCwire booth, as well as on the HPCwire website: https://www.hpcwire.com/2024-hpcwire-awards-readers-editors-choice
The University of Birmingham was recognized with the following honor:
The University of Birmingham’s BlueBEAR cluster (Lenovo, with Intel® Xeon® processors and IBM Storage Scale software-defined file and object storage) used Nanopore sequencing on plasma samples from pediatric cancer patients to accurately determine cancer type and recurrence without invasive biopsies. High-performance computing resources enabled efficient processing of multi-petabyte datasets, potentially revolutionizing cancer detection and monitoring in both children and adults.
Professor Andrew Beggs from the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences led the high-impact research at the University of Birmingham, based in the College of Medicine and Health. In addition to being Professor of Cancer Genetics & Surgery, Andrew is also Deputy Director of the Birmingham Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre. The research is part of the UK Stratified Medicine Paediatrics 2 Project (SMPaeds2).
“We’re really delighted to have won the HPC Wire Award. SMPaeds2 is a Cancer Research UK funded programme to improve the care of children with cancer, and we use the state of the art HPC technology provided by BEAR to process, store and analyse the data. We couldn’t do it without the support given by the Advanced Research Computing team on this amazing facility” – Andrew Beggs
The coveted annual HPCwire Readers’ Choice Awards are determined through a nomination and voting process with the global HPCwire community, as well as selections from the HPCwire editors. The awards are an annual feature of the publication and constitute prestigious recognition from the HPC community. They are revealed each year to kick off the annual supercomputing conference, which showcases high performance computing, networking, storage, and data analysis.
“This year, as we celebrate HPCwire’s 35th anniversary covering HPC and SC, and as we are at the advent of an HPC-led AI transformation, the 2024 Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Awards certainly reflect these exciting events,” said Tom Tabor, CEO of Tabor Communications, publishers of HPCwire. “Throughout the world, we see grand challenge problems that can only be explored and solved because of HPC, now aided by AI. Rarely do these accomplishments come to light, much less are they recognized for their contribution to society. Between our worldwide readership of HPC experts and the most renowned panel of editors in the industry, the Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Awards represent resounding recognition of the many deep and varied HPC accomplishments throughout the world. Our sincerest gratitude and hearty congratulations go out to all of the winners.”
More information on these awards can be found at the HPCwire website (www.HPCwire.com) or on X through the following hashtag: #HPCwireRCA24.
Three other research groups at the University were shortlisted for HPCwire Awards
Three other research groups at the University of Birmingham were shortlisted for HPCwire awards but unfortunately did not win in their categories:
- Best HPC Response to Societal Plight – Professor Bill Bloss’s research group used BlueBEAR to develop an advanced street-scale air quality model for the West Midlands Combined Authority, informing strategies to reduce ~2,300 annual premature deaths attributed to air pollution.
- Best Use of HPC in Industry – Dr Kit Windows-Yule’s research group used BlueBEAR to develop a machine learning tool to optimise industrial equipment design, potentially transforming the path of manufacturing to Net Zero.
- Best Use of High Performance Data Analytics & AI – Dr Xilin Xia’s research group developed a high-resolution, GPU-accelerated flood forecasting model using Baskerville to improve localised flood warnings.
About HPCwire
HPCwire is the #1 news and information resource covering the fastest computers in the world and the people who run them. With a legacy dating back to 1986, HPCwire has enjoyed a legacy of world-class editorial and journalism, making it the news source of choice selected by science, technology, and business professionals interested in high performance and data-intensive computing. Visit HPCwire at www.hpcwire.com.