Antonio Nappi

Since 2015, Antonio has worked as a computer engineer at CERN. He was in charge of the Java Hosting Platform's migration to Kubernetes. He enjoys innovation and he was the primary supporter for GitOps adoption in his team. Prior to joining CERN, he worked as an OpenStack and Python consultant in Dublin and he was key contributor to Ansaldo Breda's Passenger Information System for trains built for the Milan Expo 2015.

Luca Atzori

Luca is part of the CTO office of openlab. Luca has a master's degree in computer science, and he joined CERN in 2015.


He is leading the system administration team responsible for the management of the computing resources in openlab and in charge of providing access and support to end-users, in particular concerning performance tuning and profiling of scientific applications.

Thomas Owen James

Thomas is an applied physicist in the CMS group of CERN, where he is applying machine learning (ML) solutions to ultra low-latency (microsecond) data-processing using FPGAs. Thomas has worked on the CMS experiment since 2013, specialising in data acquisition, fast particle selection, and event reconstruction in FPGAs. He joins the CTO team of CERN openlab to advise on ML/AI and real-time data processing.

CERN openlab summer student programme helping jumpstart future careers

sum stud 2023

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

Lightning talks are ready to strike: discover the CERN openlab summer student projects

summer students 2023

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:

Bright Minds Unite: 2023 CERN Webfest Celebrates Two Winning Projects and Amazing Collaborations

webfest

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.

Preparing for a quantum leap: researchers chart future for use of quantum computing in particle physics

On 1–4 November 2022, the first International Conference on Quantum Technologies for High-Energy Physics (QT4HEP) was held at CERN. 224 people attended in person, with more following online.

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

The 2023 CERN openlab summer student programme is underway – don't miss our lectures on exciting computing topics!

summer students 2022

Almost all summer students have arrived for the 2023 CERN openlab Summer Student Programme. A set of special lectures begins on Monday 4 July. Given by CERN experts, these lectures will cover a diverse range of topics, including exascale supercomputing, technologies related to artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. Tune in for the live stream via the CERN Webcast website and the CERN Lectures YouTube channel.

Education and dissemination are at the heart of CERN openlab’s mission. To help train the computing experts of tomorrow, CERN openlab opens its doors for bright new minds. Out of 1880 applicants, 30 students from 21 countries have been chosen to work on different computing projects. Nine weeks of hands-on experience with cutting-edge computing technologies creates auspicious conditions for the students’ future careers. 

Anyone interested in learning about different aspects of computing at CERN is welcome to attend the free and open programme of online lectures. The complete list of topics can be found here.

Lecture attendees can find out how CERN sifts through extremely large data volumes that come from particle collisions in the LHC, which techniques are being employed to optimise data flows, what innovative solutions are being explored to address the enormous computing challenges posed by the upcoming High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, and much, much more!

The 2023 Django Girls Geneva event was a resounding success!

A team of six “Django Girls” and their two mentors during the workshop on Saturday, 22 April 2023.

On 21 and 22 April 2023, after two consecutive fully online events, CERN once again hosted an in-person Django Girls Geneva workshop at IdeaSquare. The event was organised jointly by CERN’s Women in Technology (WIT) community, its Visitors and Events Operations section and MicroClub in celebration of the International Girls in ICT Day (ICT = information and communication technologies).

At the evening launch event on Friday, 21 April and during the workshop on Saturday, 22 April, 34 highly motivated participants got to grips with computer programming for the first time. Guided in small groups by 17 CERN mentors, they learned how to create a blog and launch it online, all while having fun.

A positive and welcoming environment and inspiring interactions with digital technology specialists who were delighted to share their passion provided the ideal conditions to motivate some of the young women present in their choice of future career. In her welcome speech, Maria Girone, head of CERN openlab, encouraged the participants to confidently pursue studies and careers in the field of information technologies, where women are still under-represented.

Django Girls is an initiative originating from a collaboration between Django – a free, open access website development platform, written in the Python programming language – and a female user community committed to promoting information technologies and making them available to women and girls. This non-profit organisation provides free tools and resources to help volunteers organise programming workshops all over the world. Since 2014, more than 1000 events have been organised by some 2300 volunteers in 108 countries, which adds up to around 22 900 “Django Girls” who have received training. This year’s edition was the sixth to be hosted at CERN.

All the photos from the event can be found here.

 

-- Mélissa Samson

Article republished, with permission, from the "CERN and its neighbours" website