Stories

In this interview, Anthony Bievelez from Skywin highlights the strategic importance of HPC for innovation and competitiveness in the Walloon aerospace sector. HPC enables advanced simulations, optimizes R&D workflows, and accelerates the development of new materials and technologies. Through initiatives like WINGS and collaborations with Cenaero, companies leverage HPC to address challenges in aerodynamics, manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. However, barriers such as data security and regulatory constraints still hinder broader adoption. Better awareness and simplified access to local HPC resources could boost uptake across the industry.

The Great Barrier Reef, a natural wonder teeming with biodiversity, faces unprecedented challenges. Innovative solutions are crucial for its preservation. Researchers at UCLouvain have harnessed the power of GPU computing on the LUMI supercomputer to transform ocean modelling and conservation strategies. Prof. Emmanuel Hanert: “For the Great Barrier Reef, we use SLIM to simulate ocean currents and study reef connectivity —the exchange of living material between reefs. By modelling larval transport, we can determine how reefs are interconnected—identifying which reefs provide larvae to others. This insight is vital for conservation efforts, allowing us to prioritise protecting reefs essential for the resilience and regeneration of the entire ecosystem.”

Margaux Boxho (Cenaero) uses AI & HPC to model turbulent flows & optimize jet engines. With Zenobe & Lucia supercomputers, her team combines large eddy simulations and machine learning to predict flow separation with high accuracy—driving aerospace innovation!

Meet the Innoptus Solar Team, a group of twenty engineering students from KU Leuven in Belgium. They are a shining example of what passion, collaboration, and innovation can achieve. For the past twenty years, they have participated in the prestigious World Solar Challenge, a challenging 3,021-kilometer race across the Australian outback. In September, they will once again compete for the world title in Australia with a newly designed car. In our latest user story, discover how the Innoptus Solar Team utilizes supercomputing to develop the best aerodynamic concept for their car.

Turbulent flows are notoriously challenging in terms of modelling. Turbulence doesn't readily lend itself to simple, straightforward models. While the Navier-Stokes equations comprehensively describe the underlying physics, they come with a significant computational cost. In fact, attempting to simulate the full Navier-Stokes equations with all the complex physical details is (nearly) impossible. However, by introducing certain simplifications (Large Eddy simulations), we can leverage the power of supercomputing to create reasonably accurate models of turbulent flows.

In this user story prof. Pim Pullens of Ghent University explains how supercomputing infrastructure and other tools are being used to teach students how to analyse imaging data. Prof. Pullens: “As said, my students have no experience working with a supercomputer. However, thanks to using the VSC infrastructure, Open OnDemand and Neurodesk, I can get them to analyse their data within an hour, which shows how user-friendly and efficient this set-up is.” 

Learn how powerful computing supports the use of more advanced genetic testing to improve the diagnosis of rare eye diseases. Mattias Van Heetvelde: “The Tier-2 infrastructure from the VSC allows us the use of significant (temporary) storage and compute resources at no extra cost and ensures our data is handled securely and efficiently. As a safeguard, all patient-derived sequencing data on the VSC infrastructure are pseudonymised, meaning the key to retracing the sequencing data to patient information is not kept on VSC infrastructure.” 

Discover how scientists from UHasselt, UNamur, and Sciensano are using advanced mathematical modeling to prepare for future pandemics. By analyzing data from the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have developed a powerful tool to predict the spread of infectious diseases and assess the impact of interventions like vaccination campaigns. This groundbreaking work will equip us with the knowledge to tackle future outbreaks more effectively. Dive into this fascinating article to learn how these efforts are shaping the future of public health preparedness.