Brazil's experience in supercomputing and its role in advancing research and innovation inspired the second session of the Call for Ideas, organized by the SPIDER project and RedCLARA. This initiative aims to spark the development of proposals, projects, prototypes, and collaborations that leverage the BELLA project, fostering joint efforts between the European Union, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
This session featured Carla Osthoff, the National High-Performance Processing Center (CENAPAD) coordinator at Brazil’s National Laboratory for Scientific Computing (LNCC). Her presentation, "The Brazilian Supercomputing System in the HPC and AI Landscape in Latin America and Europe," highlights Brazil’s work in high-performance computing, its crucial support for the scientific community, and the initiative's impact on developing advanced technological solutions. She emphasized how supercomputing is accelerating research and innovation, positioning Brazil as a key player in the digital transformation of both Latin America and Europe.
Tania Altamirano, academic relations coordinator at RedCLARA, reinforced the call to participate in the Call for Ideas. "We are sharing experiences to inspire and help visualize the current landscape, identify what’s possible, and explore how to make it happen. Large-scale infrastructure drives significant research. In a previous session, mathematician Francisco Foster introduced the ALeRCE astronomical broker and discussed the opportunities for innovation and scientific collaboration through Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and shared digital resources,” she noted.
Osthoff explained that the LNCC, under Brazil’s Ministry of Science and Technology, operates with two primary missions: to provide scientific computing capabilities for the Brazilian community and to deliver high-performance computing services to academic and research institutions nationwide. She also noted that the LNCC offers a graduate program recognized by leading national funding and evaluation agencies.
The LNCC currently has nine centers distributed across universities in Brazil, with its headquarters in Petrópolis. Osthoff spotlighted the Santos Dumont supercomputer, Latin America’s most potent academic research machine, with a current capacity of 5.1 petaflops. "With the new configuration, we expect to reach 20 petaflops, making it a five times more powerful machine than last year. Additionally, it will feature a more modern computing architecture, enabling cutting-edge research in various application areas," Osthoff explained.
The LNCC supports the scientific community and manages around 300 research projects with approximately 2,000 users. Osthoff also mentioned the Ambassador Project, an initiative that allows federal and state universities to develop up to five research projects on Santos Dumont. An ongoing evaluation is underway to extend this initiative internationally to strengthen global collaboration in supercomputing.
Finally, the expert highlighted that the LNCC has maintained international collaborations for over 20 years, including partnerships with institutions in France, reinforcing its commitment to global research and technological development.
At the conclusion of Osthoff's talk, Altamirano emphasized that the concepts of academic collaboration, advanced research, technological education, and innovative solutions are fundamental to the LNCC’s work and can inspire proposals within the SPIDER and RedCLARA Call for Ideas, aimed at enhancing the use of BELLA and strengthening the digital transformation of both regions.
The BELLA II project, launched in 2023, aims to consolidate the digital ecosystem of Latin America and the Caribbean, expanding connectivity to as many countries as possible and prioritizing Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Additionally, it seeks to increase the adoption and use of digital transformation technologies to develop solutions that address the region's most pressing challenges.
SPIDER, specifically designed to maximize BELLA’s impact on digital transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean, promotes international collaboration and the development of emerging technologies in strategic sectors. Through this Call for Ideas, SPIDER seeks to encourage the creation of innovative solutions that enhance connectivity and knowledge exchange in the region.
For more details about the Call for Ideas, interested parties can contact
Visit the website: Call for Ideas] SPIDER launches a call for ideas to expand the use of BELLA - SPIDER
