Voices on RAMSES

Until now, the analysis of clinical genome data hads not been a traditional field of application for HPC systems. RAMSES is changing this –- with end-to-end encryption throughout the entire calculation process and a system architecture tailored to this that is currently unique in Germany. The system architecture and the operating model were developed in research collaborations specifically for this area of application, and we are continuously adapting both in close cooperation with our partners from research and industry.

Simulations are the experiments used by astrophysicists to study lengthy processes such as the formation of new stars or the evolution of galaxies in close cooperation with astronomical observations. Our simulations are very computationally intensive, as many physical processes and a wide variety of size and time scales have tomust be linked together. This requires the development of novel numerical methods on parallel HPC systems. The simulations can only be carried out with supercomputers. RAMSES is therefore indispensable for our research and is awaited with excitement and anticipation.

Our research is based on high-throughput analysis of genomic data to better understand the genetic basis of hereditary tumor diseases. With its sophisticated concepts for data security and its enormous CPU- and GPU-based computing capacity, but also as part of the national infrastructure of the German Human Genome Phenome Archive GHGA and the model genome sequencing project, the high-performance computer RAMSES will provide us with excellent conditions for our future work.

Because cancer genome research is very computationally intensive and sensitive data is processed, RAMSES will both speed up our research considerably and make it more secure. In addition, our long-standing collaboration with the HPC department of the ITCC will enable us to adapt and optimize our algorithms precisely to the respective computing infrastructure.

The numerical simulation of quantum processors on RAMSES is an integral part of our ML4Q Cluster of Excellence, and thus also of the development of computing and network performance that far exceeds the capabilities of classical computers.

Due to its size and specific architecture, RAMSES will be a catalyst at the University of Cologne, particularly in the field of simulation and data sciences, and will significantly strengthen local expertise in this important area of IT infrastructure