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VSC Connect Blog: "Unlocking the Potential of Quantum Computing"

VSC Connect screenshot Carl Mensch

In this VSC Connect Blog post, our colleague Carl Mensch, discusses the potential of quantum computing, adressing challenges and hurdles in the way of the quantum computing research. In this interview, he provides insights and recommend resources to researchers and companies who are getting involved in that research area.

Quantum computing won't replace classical computing it wil complement it, solving problems we couldn't tackle before.”

Register now for the EuroHPC Summit

Castle in Paphos

For all HPC enthusiasts, within and outside the EuroCC 2 and EuroCC4SEE network: Guests can now register to follow web-streamed plenary sessions ! 🖥️

📅10 - 12 March 2026

📍Paphos, Cyprus

Program

Day 1:

09H00-10H30 : On the Road to AI Gigafactories: Scaling Europe’s HPC and AI Ambition

11H00-12H30 : The Next Frontier of Compute for AI Factories and Gigafactories

14H00-15H30 : Parallel sessions

Simulating the Invisible: How Supercomputing Advances Black Hole Research

The simulated spatial distribution of plasma density around a black hole
How do you study something that cannot be seen, touched, or directly measured? Black holes emit no light; yet the plasma around them does. In this user story, Simulating the Invisible: How Supercomputing Advances Black Hole Research, we follow Prof. Fabio Bacchini (KU Leuven) as he tackles one of astrophysics’ biggest challenges: modelling the extreme plasma flows swirling around black holes. The work pushes simulations to their limits — combining particle-scale physics, strong gravity, turbulence and magnetic fields — and requires millions of CPU hours on Tier-1 and EuroHPC supercomputers. What happens when you scale these simulations further? What new physics emerges when plasma fragments into previously unseen structures? And why is the shift to GPU computing becoming essential for the future of astrophysics? Discover how high-performance computing is helping scientists simulate the invisible — and reshape our understanding of black holes: https://www.enccb.be/blackholeresearch"

User Story: Improving Qualitative Research Transcription with Whisper and HPC

whisper
In qualitative research, interviews are a fundamental source of insight — but turning hours of audio into accurate transcripts has long been a major bottleneck, often taking up to 10 hours per recorded hour. Thanks to the combination of OpenAI’s Whisper speech-recognition model and high-performance computing (HPC) resources from the CISM/CÉCI network, this is changing dramatically. By running Whisper on dedicated GPU clusters, researchers can now transcribe interviews in minutes instead of hours — all within a fully secure and GDPR-compliant environment. 📊This user story illustrates howow AI + supercomputing enable new possibilities in the humanities and social sciences.

User Story Achieving Optimal Compressor Design with AI Techniques Thanks to HPC

compressor
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.

From Coarse to Crisp: Increasing the Horizontal Resolution of Global Ocean and Sea Ice Simulations

Picture of an ice bear by pexels
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.

The Waffle Boys’ Journey: Friendship, Supercomputing, and Life Beyond Borders

Picture of Umut Cilesiz and Yiğit Ertan
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.

A Central Witness of the Development of Belgian HPC: Roberto Lazzaroni Bids Farewell

Pr. Lazzaroni

After more than three decades of high-level scientific engagement, Professor Roberto Lazzaroni is preparing to retire from his position at the University of Mons. A trained chemist, a researcher passionate about molecular modelling, and a key player in the interuniversity dynamics that led to the creation of the CÉCI, he has contributed to shaping the landscape of high-performance computing in Belgium.

User Story Taming the Wind: Reducing Wake Uncertainty between Offshore Wind Farms with Supercomputing

Offshore Wind farm
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.
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