CERN Accelerating science

Denver Convention Centre where SC23 took place (Image: Jo Ramsey, SC Photography)

The Supercomputing Conference (SC) 2023 in Denver provided a glimpse into the future of high-performance computing (HPC), networking, and storage solutions, with a focus on emerging technologies. The integration of novel approaches in computing took centre stage, particularly in the realms of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and quantum computing.

The conference addressed key challenges faced by CERN, notably the impending massive data production from high-energy experiments. Discussions revolved around methods and technologies to efficiently handle this data surge. Sustainability and efficiency were emphasised, with a need for performance portability across various accelerator devices. The move to 400 and 800Gb/s networking emerged as a crucial aspect of managing the expanded capacity of CERN data centres.

Collaborative opportunities for research institutions were discussed, with a focus on engaging with industry partners. “SC was an excellent opportunity to discuss face to face with our existing partners as well as meet with potential new ones, in order to put the basis for future CERN openlab projects and co-development with industry on a broad range of areas such as next generation memory and storage, built-in accelerators, AI exploitation, digital twins, distributed analysis frameworks/facilities, and novel accelerator devices,” says Maria Girone, head of CERN openlab along with her team. Green computing and energy awareness were also important points in the discussions, aligning with important goals in high-energy physics computing.

Reflecting on the conference, the CERN openlab team highlighted the rapid transformation of the HPC landscape. Trends included the continuous increase in data centre hardware power consumption, the rise of integrated and dedicated appliances, and the growing popularity of purely cloud-based services. Quantum computing, with its potential for a major impact, remained a significant consideration.

Are you a Bachelor's or Master's student in computer science, mathematics, engineering or physics? Do you have a strong computing profile, and would you be interested in working on advanced computing projects at CERN during the summer of 2024? If so, we have just the solution for you...the CERN openlab summer student programme.

CERN openlab is a unique public-private partnership that accelerates the development of cutting-edge computing technologies for the worldwide LHC community and the wider scientific research field. Through CERN openlab, CERN collaborates with leading technology companies and research institutes.

Over nine weeks (June-August 2024), the CERN openlab summer students will work with some of the latest hardware and software technologies, and see how advanced IT solutions are used in particle physics. The students will also participate in a series of lectures prepared for them by computing experts at CERN, in addition to the main lecture series for CERN summer students. Visits to the accelerators and experimental areas are also included in the programme.

CERN is a place where dizzying IT challenges abound. The CERN openlab summer student programme may lead to follow-on projects in your home institute, or may even inspire you to become an entrepreneur in cutting-edge computing technologies.

The applications for the CERN openlab summer student programme 2024 are currently closed. 

You can find out all about the work carried out by our 2023 students here.

Over 20 joint R&D projects are being carried out at CERN through CERN openlab’s collaboration with leading technology companies – including IBM, Intel, Oracle, Siemens, Micron, and Google. They sponsor a nine-week summer-student programme to motivate young and bright minds to join the research community and get hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies.

The summer-student programme gives students the opportunity to work with leading experts, establish ties to industry and gain new skills.”Through CERN openlab, young students have the opportunity to work with both researchers and the private sector and prepare for auspicious future careers,” says Maria Girone, head of the CERN openlab.

Out of 1880 candidates, 30 students were chosen to work on quantum computing, machine learning, and other ICT projects. Last week, students presented brief overviews of their projects in a series of five-minute “lightning talks” explaining the challenges, problems and solutions they found along the way.

Education and training are fundamental to the CERN openlab mission, which promotes open science and encourages innovation and creative thinking. “I hope this opportunity was as rewarding for all of our students as it was for us, and that some of the projects they have been working on will lead to innovative, and even disruptive, outcomes,” says Alberto Di Meglio, head of IT Innovation.

Applications for the 2024 CERN openlab Summer Student programme will open in November. 

Find out more details here: https://openlab.web.cern.ch/education/cern-openlab-summer-student-programme

On Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 August, the 2023 CERN openlab summer students will present their work at the public “lightning talk” sessions (session 1, session 2).

Students will each give a five-minute presentation, introducing the audience to their project, explaining the technical challenges they have faced and describing the results they have found during their projects. Each student will have the opportunity to showcase their progress while also informing the audience about different cutting-edge IT projects they have been working on.

Over nine weeks (June-August), the CERN openlab summer students have been working with some of the latest hardware and software technologies. 30 students representing 21 nationalities were part of this year’s openlab Summer Student Programme. During their time at CERN, the summer students, alongside working on their projects, attended a series of lectures given by IT experts on advanced CERN-related computing topics.

Join us on 15 and 16 August to discover more about the exciting projects the students have been working on.   

You can follow the live webcasts by following the links below:

• Session 1
• Session 2

Last week’s hackathon gave rise to five amazing projects, within which 19 bright young people worked together to develop useful apps that support science, research, and education. Ideas covered in the 2023 CERN Webfest included web applications that facilitate the research process, quiz-like educational games, and useful upgrades to already-existing apps.

Projects were carefully assessed by a distinguished panel of four judges, and two teams were named the winners. “All projects were fascinating and creative, so it was a hard call–especially the two winning projects, SciFeed and CERNbot, that were both exceptionally impressive and well-executed,” says Alberto Di Meglio, the head of IT Innovation and a jury member. 

In only two days, participants had to come up with an idea for the project, assemble a team, describe the project’s purpose, identify its technical requirements, and work towards developing a fully-functioning app. “Having only 48 hours to finish a project forces you to come up with practical solutions quickly, which puts your problem-solving skills to the test,” says Angelo Petrellese, a member of the CERNbot team.

The hackathon not only offers participants the chance to develop their project ideas but also fosters networking and collaboration. More than 10 nationalities took part in this year's Webfest, with people from various cultural backgrounds coming together to create something unique, exchange knowledge, and learn from each other. 

The projects were judged based on their originality, level of technical sophistication, and potential for positive social impact. The highest score for the technical solution went to one of the winning teams–CERNbot, which is an interactive mobile application game that allows you to handle CERN robots in Augmented Reality. 

On the other hand, the SciFeed project, in addition to being very strong technically, was also rated highly for the educational value it provides for the wider community. “I am genuinely grateful for the recognition our idea received from the judges. Winning will always be a cherished memory that we will share as a team, but more importantly, it will serve as a driving force, motivating us to delve deeper into our concept and explore its potential for further development,” says Viona Cafo, a SciFeed member.

If you are interested in finding out more about other 2023 CERN Webfest projects, visit the Webfest website.

Today, researchers have published an important white paper identifying activities in particle physics where burgeoning quantum-computing technologies could be applied. The paper, authored by experts from CERN, DESY, IBM Quantum and over 30 other organisations, is now available on ArXiv.

With quantum-computing technologies rapidly improving, the paper sets out where these could be applied within particle physics, in order to help tackle computing challenges related not only to the Large Hadron Collider’s ambitious upgrade programme, but also to other colliders and low energy experiments world-wide.

The paper was produced by a working group set up at the first-of-its-kind “QT4HEP” conference, held at CERN last November. Over the last eight months, the 46 people in this working group have worked hard to identify areas where quantum-computing technologies could provide a significant boon.

The areas identified relate to both theoretical and experimental particle physics. The paper then maps these areas to “problem formulations” in quantum computing. This is an important step in ensuring that the particle physics community is well positioned to benefit from the massive potential of breakthrough new quantum computers when they come online.

“Quantum computing is very promising, but not every problem in particle physics is suited to this mode of computing,” says Alberto Di Meglio, head of the CERN Quantum Technology Initiative (CERN QTI). “It’s important to ensure that we are ready and that we can accurately identify the areas where these technologies have the potential to be most useful for our community.”

In terms of theoretical particle physics, the authors identify promising areas related to evolution of the quantum states, lattice-gauge theory, neutrino oscillations, and quantum field theories in general as well. The considered applications include quantum dynamics, hybrid quantum/classical algorithms for static problems in lattice gauge theory, optimisation, and classification. The lead authors of the paper CERN QTI’s Alberto Di Meglio, DESY’s Karl Jansen, and IBM Quantum’s Ivano Tavernelli, state that “with quantum computing we address problems in those areas that are very hard – or even impossible to tackle with classical methods. “In this way,” Jansen says, “we can explore the physical systems to which we still do not have access.”

On the experimental side, the authors identify areas related to jet and track reconstruction, extraction of rare signals, for-and-beyond Standard Model problems, parton showers, and experiment simulation. These are then mapped to classification, regression, optimisation, and generation problems.

Members of the working group behind this paper will now begin a process of selecting specific use cases from the activities listed in the paper to be taken forward through the CERN’s and DESY’s participation in the IBM Quantum Network, and collaboration with IBM Quantum, under its “100x100 Challenge”. IBM Quantum is long-standing collaborator to CERN QTI and the Center for Quantum Technologies and Applications (CQTA) at DESY.

IBM’s 100x100 Challenge will see the company provide a tool capable of calculating unbiased observables of circuits with 100 qubits and depth-100 gate operations in 2024. This will provide an important testbed for taking forward promising selected use cases, both from particle physics and other research fields.

The working group behind the paper will meet again at CERN for a special workshop on 16 and 17 November, immediately before the Quantum Techniques in Machine Learning Conference is held at the laboratory on 19-24 November.

“This white paper — and the many discussions we had as part of its creation — will be important in shaping the work to be carried out in CERN QTI’s second phase, which was recently given support by the CERN Council,” says Di Meglio, who also leads CERN’s new IT Innovation section. “I’d like to thank all of the world-leading experts who contributed to this paper, which provides a thorough assessment of the potential of this game-changing new technology for our field.”

Read the full paper on ArXiv here: https://cern.ch/quantumcomputingforhep