In this case study, we hear from Sarah Berger, a researcher working in Bioinformatics, who has been using BlueBEAR to develop proteins that can bind to metals. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an essential diagnostic tool, particularly powerful when combined with contrast agents. Most state-of-the-art MRI contrast agents are based on the metal gadolinium, which has intrinsic physical … Continue reading “De Novo Protein Engineering: Future-Proofing MRI Contrast Agents with BlueBEAR”
Tag: BlueBEAR
BEAR Research Software Group Hackathon 2026
Author: Chris Greasley, Research Applications Specialist The Research Software Group (RSG) Hackathon returned for its third edition this April with a growing team and a new one-week format. Like previous editions, RSG members had time dedicated to taking part in a wide range of sessions. These covered everything from developing reusable container images for Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines to group discussions on career pathways. The broad range of sessions gave everyone the chance to work with others they don’t normally work with, which allowed the … Continue reading “BEAR Research Software Group Hackathon 2026”
Learning from Nature: Using HPC to Design Efficient Jet Propulsion
In this case study, we hear from Yukesh Karki, a doctoral student from Aerospace Engineering in the School of Metallurgy and Materials, who used BlueBEAR to identify the optimal three-dimensional nozzle geometry for hydrodynamic jet propulsion. He is also the winner of ‘best talk’ at the BEAR Conference 2026. Nature has already evolved highly efficient methods … Continue reading “Learning from Nature: Using HPC to Design Efficient Jet Propulsion “
GPU and BEAR Portal changes
Dear BlueBEAR users, We have taken feedback from our user base regarding the time it takes for GPU jobs to start and have made changes with the aim of getting your jobs to start quicker. The changes we have made are as below: Our reasoning in making these changes are: BEAR Portal is intended for … Continue reading “GPU and BEAR Portal changes”
April 2026 BEAR Newsletter
Birmingham Environment for Academic Research (BEAR) Newsletter April brings an exciting new chapter for the Advanced Research Computing team as we are delighted to welcome a new Head, Dr Andrew Edmondson (Ed), to lead the team into its next phase. Alongside this, we’re also delighted to have two new Research Software Engineers joining us, further strengthening our capability … Continue reading “April 2026 BEAR Newsletter”
Research project: Exploring Julia for High-Performance Computing
This project was initiated and led by Dr Vincenzo Brachetta and carried out by PhD researcher Ritesh Moon at the University of Birmingham. Conducted between January and February 2026, it evaluated the performance and practical usability of Julia on BlueBEAR, the University’s institutional high-performance computing (HPC) platform. BlueBEAR supports multi-core CPU workloads, distributed execution across nodes, and GPU-accelerated computation, with … Continue reading “Research project: Exploring Julia for High-Performance Computing”
Understanding multi-agent learning through large-scale simulations
In this case study we hear from Tuo Zhang, a researcher working in Machine Learning, who has been using BlueBEAR to run large-scale simulations of multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) algorithms. His research focuses on understanding how learning agents behave when interacting with each other in complex and changing environments. In many real-world systems, decision-making is not performed … Continue reading “Understanding multi-agent learning through large-scale simulations”
Modelling Birmingham’s Cultural Ecology and Urban Oral History Using BlueBEAR
In this case study, we hear from Jack (Wei-Chieh Tsai), a doctoral student from History of Art and Geography who used BlueBEAR to examine how cultural intermediaries, including artists, curators, and cultural organisations, have contributed to urban development. My PhD research examines the role of artistic interventions in transforming post-industrial Birmingham between 1986 and 2016. The project … Continue reading “Modelling Birmingham’s Cultural Ecology and Urban Oral History Using BlueBEAR”
Binary classification of lung tissue immunofluorescence images by deep learning
In this case study we hear from Ellen Jenkins, a postdoctoral student from the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing. Ellen is looking into developing a deep learning model to automatically differentiate the tissue from the air space. There is an ongoing project in the respiratory research group (CMH, IIA) which utilises samples of human lung … Continue reading “Binary classification of lung tissue immunofluorescence images by deep learning”
Modelling accelerator-based neutron sources using the BlueBEAR cluster
In this case study we hear from Louis Butt, a doctoral researcher from Metallurgy and Materials, who has been using BlueBEAR to research accelerator-based neutron sources. I am a PhD student researching accelerator-based neutron sources in the School of Metallurgy and Materials. My work involves taking measurements with our source at the University’s MC40 Cyclotron … Continue reading “Modelling accelerator-based neutron sources using the BlueBEAR cluster”