Discovery supercomputer: HZDR team among selected projects
Nine projects from around the world will soon be able to conduct research on the future U.S. supercomputer Discovery. Among them is a team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Together with the University of Delaware (USA), the researchers secured early access to the new system. Their project is the only selected collaboration involving partners from more than one country.
Behind this success is a program called PIConGPU. It uses computer simulations to model how laser beams interact with plasma. Plasma is an extremely hot, electrically charged gas. Such simulations help develop new technologies. These include compact particle accelerators for cancer treatment and systems for laser-driven nuclear fusion, which could one day provide climate-friendly energy.
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What makes PIConGPU special is its AI-supported approach. High-performance computers are expensive and have limited capacity. That’s why artificial intelligence is used to identify in advance which simulations are actually worthwhile. Only the most promising ones are then actually run. This saves computing time and makes research more efficient.
“We are incredibly proud that we’ve also made it into the CAAR program for ‘Discovery,’” says Dr. Michael Bussmann, research team leader at the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at HZDR in Görlitz. He hopes that the team will succeed for the first time in combining large AI models with high-resolution simulations to determine the correct operating parameters for new technologies.
“Since we’ve expanded PIConGPU to include several AI-based optimizations over the past two years, we had secretly hoped to be selected for the Discovery CAAR program. Nevertheless, we were overjoyed when the news of the award arrived,” adds Prof. Sunita Chandrasekaran of the University of Delaware.
From Görlitz and Dresden to the World’s Top
The Discovery supercomputer is scheduled to be delivered by 2028 at the latest and to go into operation in 2029. It will be significantly more powerful than its predecessor, “Frontier,” which is currently one of the fastest supercomputers in the world. PIConGPU was already running on “Frontier.” With “Discovery,” even larger and more precise simulations will be possible in the future. At the HZDR, the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) in Görlitz and the Institute of Radiation Physics in Dresden are jointly leading the project.
Bussmann also emphasizes the European perspective. The HZDR is part of a European research network that provides access to Europe’s most powerful supercomputers. JUPITER, located at the Jülich Research Center, is one of Europe’s most powerful computers. "It is important that the HZDR is part of the EuroHPC Center of Excellence PlasmaPEPSC. Access to European exascale computers like JUPITER ensures that we remain at the forefront of research."
PIConGPU has been under continuous development for more than ten years. The simulation software is available free of charge to researchers worldwide.
