A new programme of GPU software development eCSE calls

Here at EPCC we have run an embedded Computational Science & Engineering (eCSE) software development programme for over ten years now, so far awarding almost 1800 person months' effort across 181 different projects. Most of these calls have focussed on software to be run on ARCHER2 (and previously ARCHER) hardware. For the most recent call, as well as the development of ARCHER2 software, proposals preparing for Exascale were invited – notably allowing the development of codes to be run on GPU hardware.

Software for GPU-based architectures

Following on from this, we are delighted to announce a completely new programme of eCSE calls focusing on the development of software for GPU-based architectures. Proposals are invited to develop software that facilitates research targeted at UKRI’s digital research infrastructure eg future Exascale supercomputing services, UK national AI services, and national Tier-2 HPC services. The call is open to research across all of UKRI’s remit.

For this call, proposals can request up to 36 person months' of RSE effort with projects of up to two years in duration. Funding can be requested for staff located at the institution of the project's Principal Investigator, from the ARCHER2 centralised CSE support team, or from third-party institution(s), or any combination of these. There is flexibility in how the effort is spent, for example, two people could work simultaneously on a project or an RSE may work part-time on a project.

First call now open

The first call opened on Jan 17, 2024 and the final deadline for proposal submission is 16:00 on March 19, 2024 via the ARCHER2 SAFE. More information can be found here: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/ecse/calls/

Previously completed projects from the ARCHER2 eCSE calls can be found here: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/ecse/reports/

Opportunity to observe a panel meeting

Alongside the eCSE software development calls, we are also providing an opportunity for early-career researchers to attend and observe the panel meetings where eCSE proposals are discussed. This allows researchers to see what it is that panels look for in a proposal, which can be very useful for future submissions to eCSE calls, and also to other similar funding programmes. The deadline for applying to this is three weeks earlier than the main GPU eCSE call (16:00 on February 27, 2024). Further information can be found here: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/ecse/observers/

For enquiries about any of the eCSE calls, please get in touch with the ARCHER2 service desk: support@archer2.ac.uk