Early careers support at EPCC

^{Above: Thian Celine Iskandar (right) and Harry Rhodes on the roof of the Advanced Computing Facility. Photo: Andrew Perry.}

Each year, we have welcomed talented students from the School of Engineering to the Advanced Computing Facility (ACF), where they experience first-hand what is involved in powering and cooling supercomputers and apply their studies to provide useful insights that support our operations. Thian Celine Iskandar writes about her experience.

During my time as a Data Centre Engineering intern at EPCC, I supported high-performance computing infrastructure, focusing on both electrical and mechanical systems. This role aimed to deliver sustainable improvements and enhance my understanding of operations at the Advanced Computing Facility (ACF).

EPCC’s focus on sustainability through hybrid cooling systems, utilising Scotland’s cold climate, provided an interesting challenge during the 2026 heatwaves. I primarily focused on optimising the dry air cooling towers (DAC). Working alongside my fellow intern Harry, I gained experience isolating these towers, safely managing high-voltage systems to ensure safety for ourselves and the cleaning team.

My role also involved assessing the cooling system’s efficiency before and after changes, which included both the cleaning and adjustments to the computer cooling distribution units (CDU). I conducted detailed data analysis using Python and Excel, considering factors such as coolant temperatures and weather conditions. I also evaluated the Building Energy Management System (BEMS), identifying sensor and control issues to guide future site developments.

Additionally, I developed an energy attribution model for fair cost distribution across systems and calculated Power Usage Effectiveness (PUEs). This required updating electrical hierarchy documentation, tracking on-site cabling and metering, and identifying documentation gaps impacting billing accuracy.

Finally, I contributed to Dash4Action, a NetDRIVE funded project looking at creating sustainable computing and data facilities.

Overall, my time at EPCC exposed me to the evolving world of data centres and supercomputers.  I contributed to improving the cooling system, increasing the ACF’s efficiency and capacity, and the analyses I conducted will positively influence the construction of the UK’s Next National Supercomputer and its supporting plant room. This experience has greatly increased my interest in data centre systems, and I am excited to continue researching ways to improve electrical and mechanical efficiency in future projects.

Throughout my internship I was supported by the nurturing environment at EPCC. Special thanks to Zoë Payne (my manager), Paul Clark (Director of HPC Systems), Harry Rhodes (my fellow intern), and all the EPCC Systems team, whose guidance and collaboration were crucial. 

Author

Thian Celine Iskandar, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh
T.C.Iskandar@sms.ed.ac.uk

Links

Advanced Computing Facility

NetDRIVE at EPCC