User story

In aeronautics, every tiny boost in compressor design efficiency counts—for fuel use, emissions and performance. To explore the huge design space of Safran’s multi-stage compressor, Cenaero applied dimensionality reduction (UMAP + clustering) to cut parameter complexity. Using the Lucia supercomputer, they compressed an optimisation loop from weeks to ~36 hours, enabling rapid, AI-driven discovery of high-performance, manufacturable designs.

Climate models help scientists understand how Earth’s climate behaves and evolves—but many still lack the resolution to capture fine-scale ocean and sea ice processes. Dr. Antoine Barthélemy and his team at UCLouvain are closing that gap. With the power of LUMI, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, they’re running high-resolution simulations using 4,480 cores in parallel—reducing decades of computation to just 45 days.

Discover the inspiring journey of Umut Çilesiz and Yiğit Ertan, two Turkish chemistry students whose summer internship at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel sparked a passion for supercomputing. From adapting to life in Belgium to collaborating with international researchers, their story is one of growth, courage, and curiosity. Learn how stepping outside their comfort zone helped them gain lifelong skills—scientific communication, cross-cultural collaboration, and a fresh perspective on their future careers.

Offshore wind energy is key to a sustainable future, but as turbines grow in number and size, so do the challenges of managing their wake effects. At the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI), Wim Munters and his VKI Team Wind are tackling one of the hidden challenges of wind energy: how wakes from one wind farm can impact the performance of another—even many kilometers away. Using supercomputing, they are modeling these complex atmospheric interactions at scale. Learn how supercomputing is accelerating research, boosting efficiency, and helping Europe meet its offshore wind ambitions in this user story.

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.”