After two days of exciting talks on various major ICT topics, the annual CERN openlab Technical Workshop has ended. With participants from CERN, industry, and research institutions, CERN openlab launched its new phase VIII, and discussions were held about the updates from CERN openlab projects on cutting-edge ICT.
The 2024 CERN openlab Technical Workshop, held on March 26th and 27th, marked the beginning of an exciting new era with the launch of Phase VIII. This latest phase, "Accelerating Computing for Science," represents a strategic enhancement of the fruitful public-private partnership between CERN and some of the world's leading technology companies fostered by CERN openlab.
Maria Girone, the head of CERN openlab, unveiled the ambitious goals of Phase VIII in her presentation. She underlined CERN openlab's unique position as a bridge between industry and scientific research: "Our initiative serves as a unique model for collaboration between science and industry. With Phase VIII, we are committed to pioneering research in emerging technologies and sustainable infrastructures, setting a fast pace for advancements in scientific computing."
The workshop was attended by more than 130 in-person participants, drawing in experts from companies such as Intel, Oracle, Siemens, Micron, NVIDIA, Google and several research institutes, demonstrating the critical role of public-private partnerships in propelling scientific research.
Participants engaged in rich discussions on the ongoing projects at CERN openlab, delving into the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of technology and science. Ian Fisk from Flatiron, a Simons Foundation Institute, believes in CERN openlab uniqueness and that "It is a unique resource of the whole field of high-energy physics and science in general. There is no place like it where, over the last 20 years, companies have figured out how to work together. The fact that there is a science use-case and a community relying on its solutions makes it a strong motivator to make these solutions happen quicker than any other collaboration".
As well as discussing ongoing projects, the workshop provided an excellent opportunity for considering emerging challenges and identifying opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration. From Micron Technologies, Jason Adlard states that CERN's openlab demanding environment offers "a unique situation to test out the robustness of our technology and provides immediate feedback from the researchers and engineers working at CERN and using our technologies. My takeaway from the launch of this new phase VIII is that there is more clarity about the organisation within CERN openlab, its goals and objectives; we can only encourage the continuity of this collaboration".
The workshop was a venue for presentations and an event to foster future collaborations, showcasing the importance of co-development between industry and the research environment.
Video recordings will be available online. You can also follow the social media coverage on CERN openlab, Twitter & Facebook, and the CERN Computing LinkedIn. More information on openlab.cern.