CERN Accelerating science

2021 was an important year for CERN openlab: it marked the beginning of the collaboration’s seventh three-year phase. Following the finalisation of the technical work from the sixth phase, the CERN openlab team worked to define new R&D priorities.

Today, CERN openlab is working with over 20 organisations, including leading technology companies such as Intel, Oracle, Siemens, Micron and Google. This unique public-private partnership supports over 30 R&D projects spread across CERN.

In its new phase, CERN openlab’s technical work is split into three main areas: (1) exascale technologies, (2) AI technologies and (3) quantum technologies. A brief summary of the work conducted in each of these areas in 2021 is included below.

Exascale technologies

Exascale technologies fall at the intersection of several important R&D activities: developing applications for heterogeneous architectures, accelerating AI and machine-learning techniques on high-performance computing, and expanding resources for data-intensive science. 

Industry has invested heavily in accelerated processing systems and the largest HPC systems achieve the bulk of their processing capabilities with heterogeneous architectures. CERN openlab collaborates with industry leaders to foster exploration of heterogeneous accelerated hardware.

HPC and AI are undergoing a convergence driven by the large processing needs of AI applications and the capabilities of HPC sites. RAISE Center of Excellence is a project funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 framework.  CERN is leading this project’s work package on data-driven use-cases towards exascale. This combines the challenges of AI, HPC and data to demonstrate the benefit of using HPC for processing-intensive workflows. 

Access to European HPC systems has also been facilitated by the collaboration between CERN, SKAO, GÉANT, and PRACE. This collaboration has been established to bring together high-energy physics and radio astronomy with HPC and networking communities to solve the challenges of exascale processing.

AI technologies

Deep learning is among the most promising strategies for data analysis at the LHC. Numerous prototypes are being developed to address different steps within the experiments’ data-processing chains. Nevertheless, further research is required into the robustness of models and their interpretability, result-validation policies, efficient use of computational resources, and user-friendly deployment strategies. Such research will play an important role in making it possible to fully integrate prototypes into the experiments’ workflows. 

CERN openlab has a strong research plan, which explores the issues outlined above by focusing on use cases from LHC and non-LHC experiments, IT infrastructure and accelerator controls. For instance, in 2021 a project team studied optimal strategies for accelerating the training and inference process for deep neural networks (data-parallel training and low-precision data representation, for example) and assessed their effect on physics results. The team also benchmarked performance on dedicated accelerators (GPUs, TPUs and IPUs) used across HPC and cloud environments.

Investigations targeted at improving the accuracy of deep-learning models have introduced state-of-the-art techniques, such as mode ensembling and hybrid architectures. These are being used to address use cases such as generative models for fast simulation and data de-noising for large experiments.

Quantum technologies

Quantum computing and other related technologies have been among the most important areas of research within CERN openlab in 2021. The first half of the year was devoted to the definition of a roadmap, covering the medium- and long-term objectives. This document defines the research programme of the CERN Quantum Technology Initiative in four main areas: quantum computing and algorithms; quantum theory and simulation; quantum sensing, metrology and materials; and quantum communication and networks.

CERN openlab has played a major role in this work, both in terms of coordination and at the technical level. Today, there are several CERN openlab R&D projects investigating the potential of quantum applications in high-energy physics.

CERN openlab’s quantum research activities in 2021 focused on both computing and communication. For the former, through the development of a series of algorithms targeted at different steps in the experiments’ data-processing workflows, from simulation to reconstruction and analysis. For the latter, a project called Quantumacy is dedicated to establishing an end-to-end data-analysis infrastructure that uses communication based on the distribution of quantum keys.

Activities related to the CERN-ESA agreement on a joint research programme for quantum computing also started in 2021. An initial investigation was conducted into the use of quantum machine-learning applications for image classification.

Beyond high-energy physics

In addition to the investigations into these three technology areas, 2021 saw work continue in CERN openlab’s investigations beyond high-energy physics. Several of these projects focus on medical applications and are carried out with support from CERN’s Knowledge Transfer group. A particular highlight was April’s launch of BioDynaMo v1.0, a software platform designed to easily create, run and visualise 3D agent-based simulations.

Away from medical applications, another important project was CERN openlab’s collaboration with UNOSAT, using machine-learning techniques to improve the satellite imagery that is employed to support humanitarian interventions by UN agencies.

Education and training

In addition to its technical work, 2021 was also an important year for CERN openlab’s education and training programmes. Given the ongoing pandemic, the 2021 CERN openlab Summer Student Programme was held in full online for the first time ever. 27 students from 15 countries participated in this year’s programme. Virtual visits were organised for the students and the students’ lectures were made available online to a broader public — these proved popular, given the large interest in the summer student programme.

CERN openlab also built upon experience gained in 2020 and ran the CERN Webfest as an online, global event. 300 people — from 63 countries — signed up for the hackathon, which focused on addressing several key UN Sustainable Development Goals. Apps were developed at the event to provide alerts for wildfires, to tackle domestic violence, to reduce educational inequality, and much more.

Using the lessons learned from this period, the CERN openlab team will seek to capitalise on other online opportunities for education and training in future, thus catering to the large, global demand that has been demonstrated for such programmes.

-- Andrew Purcell

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 2022? 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 2022), 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 high-energy 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 it may even inspire you to become an entrepreneur in cutting-edge computing technologies.

Full details are available on the CERN careers website. Apply by noon CET on 31 January and open up a world of possibilities!

-- Andrew Purcell

On Friday 19 November, the BioDynaMo project will host a full-day workshop on agent-based modelling. Earlier this year, the project released the first version of its software platform for designing, running and visualising 3D agent-based simulations. Agent-based simulation is central to a wide range of research fields, from biology to business and epidemiology to economics.

Built on top of the latest computing technologies, the BioDynaMo platform enables users to perform simulations of previously unachievable scale and complexity, making it possible to tackle challenging scientific research questions. BioDynaMo’s agent-based modelling engine has been optimised for simulations involving billions of agents. In addition to biological simulations, BioDynaMo is already being used today for COVID-19 epidemiological simulations and large socio-economic simulations are under development.

The workshop on Friday 19 November is free and will take place online. The event, which is open to all, will feature talks related to a wide range of scientific fields. There will be opportunities to discuss how agent-based modelling approaches can play a vital role in driving innovative research in each of these fields.

The BioDynaMo platform has been developed through an ambitious international project, involving seven institutions: CERN, University of Surrey, Newcastle University, GSI Helmholtz Center, University of Cyprus, University of Geneva, ImmunoBrain Checkpoint and SCImPULSE Foundation. Representatives of several of these research centres — as well as others — will participate in the workshop. Sign up for the event by noon CET on Thursday 18th November.

Full workshop details and sign-up form: https://indico.cern.ch/e/BDM-ABM.

More information on the BioDynaMo project: https://biodynamo.org/.

-- Andrew Purcell

Members of the BioDynaMo project team have recently built upon the pioneering BioDynaMo platform to enable it to be used to model the spread of viruses in closed environments. This work could provide important insights in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and was carried out in collaboration with the epidemiological department of the University of Geneva. You can read about the work in full in a blog post on the BioDynaMo website: https://biodynamo.org/blog/epidemiology-final/.

-- Andrew Purcell

On Monday, 18 October, CERN openlab and Chelonia Applied Science will host a first-of-its-kind workshop called ExaHealth 2021. The half-day virtual event will begin at 1.00 p.m. CEST and will examine the potential for exascale computing and machine learning to support efforts to improve public health. The workshop is free and open to all.

With recent advancements in high-performance computing (HPC) towards exascale (the capability to perform a billion billion (1018), or a quintillion, computing operations per second) and the continued development and proliferation of both machine- and deep-learning techniques in all sectors, it is imperative that we ensure these resources are capitalised upon fully in a realm that affects us all: public health.

Projects supported by the European Union (such as Exscalate4COV and LIGATE, with the participation of dozens of institutions, including Chelonia Applied Science, hosted at the Innovation Office of the University of Basel) demonstrate the potential that exascale HPC and machine learning offer for the health sciences. This is also seen through initiatives pioneered by CERN openlab, such as the CERN Science 4 Open Data project. But what are we missing? How can we ensure that we will respond quickly and efficiently to future health situations, including (but not limited to) pandemics?

Join us at ExaHealth 2021 to explore how exascale computing and machine learning are used in the health and life sciences and to begin charting a course for the future.

Full information – including a list of speakers – is available on the event page: https://indico.cern.ch/e/ExaHealth_2021. Register by Friday, 15 October.

-- James Beacham and Andrew Purcell

The 2021 CERN openlab summer students presented their creative and inspiring work in a series of five-minute “lightning talks” held on 6 and 7 September.

Each year, CERN openlab runs its summer-student programme over nine weeks from July to September. Students from across the globe work on innovative IT projects, guided by experts at CERN. Thanks to the companies participating in the CERN openlab public-private partnership, the students work hands-on with cutting-edge computing technologies. Today, the participating companies are as follows: Intel, Oracle, Siemens, Micron, Google, be-ys Research, IBM, E4 Computer Engineering, Cambridge Quantum Computing, Comtrade and Open Systems (in addition to CERN openlab’s research members).

This year, the students’ projects addressed challenges related to quantum computing, cloud, machine learning, high-performance computing, and much more. All the work for this year’s programme was carried out remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, CERN openlab was still able to offer the usual programme of exciting lectures from IT experts at CERN. Recordings of all lectures are now available online and are free to view.

Some 27 students from 15 countries participated in this year’s programme. “Working with CERN openlab has been an invaluable experience,” says Mehant Kammakomati, a student at NIT Andhra Pradesh in India. “Collaborating remotely across continents has been very enriching.”

The students also took part in virtual visits of different parts of the Laboratory. In addition, many of the students participated in the CERN Webfest, an online hackathon held in August. Mehdi Golbaz, a CERN openlab summer student from India, was a member of the winning team at the Webfest. He and his colleagues combined crowdsourced design and 3D printing to create tools to help people with disabilities.

While a wide range of activities and lectures are on offer, the students’ projects remain the core of the programme. The lightning talks always provide an excellent overview of the hard work carried out by the students. This year was no different: across the two days, participants at the event learned about the challenges faced by the students and the innovative solutions they dreamed up to overcome them.

The members of the CERN openlab management team were impressed by the high quality of the presentations. Together, they highlighted the following five projects as particularly meritorious:

• Quantum-computing simulation benchmarks by Samuel Gonzalez Castillo. 
• A data lake as a service for open science by Muhammad Aditya Hilmy.
• Deep Learning techniques for signal processing and event reconstruction at DUNE by Laura Accorto.
• Accelerating high-energy physics workloads using Kubernetes by Jason Praful Francis Xavier.
• Unveiling new capabilities of the Oracle RESTFUL Data Services: GraalVM, third-party authentication systems and integration with modern development frameworks by Marcel Ochsendorf.

These students will each receive a small package of CERN-themed prizes in recognition of their excellent presentations.

“Working for a world-class research organisation like CERN enabled me to hone both my analytical and creative skills,” says Rodrigo Bermúdez Schettino, a student at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which I’ll remember forever.”

“Training the IT specialists of the future is a key component of CERN openlab’s mission,” says Enrica Porcari, CERN IT Department Head. "Despite the challenges of working remotely, the students have forged important relationships – including friendships – that they will surely treasure for years to come. These connections will also serve them well in their fledgling careers, on their journeys to becoming the leading IT experts of the future."

Video recordings of the students’ lightning talks are available on the event pages: session 1; session 2 (videos from the second session will become available very soon).

If you are interested in applying for next year’s CERN openlab summer-student programme, please visit this webpage for further information. Applications will open later this year.

- Andrew Purcell