South Africa’s supercomputing excellence
August 2016
News
The Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) has taken the top prize in the international Student Cluster Competition held at the International Supercomputing Conference in Germany. The CHPC is no newcomer in this competition. It won the top prize in 2013 and 2014 and took second prize in 2015. This year the centre entered another team of undergraduate students and took the overall prize, beating 11 other contenders from across the globe.
The international competition features small teams that compete to demonstrate the incredible capabilities of state-of-the-art high performance cluster hardware and software. In a real-time challenge, 12 teams of six undergraduate students build a small cluster of their own design and race to demonstrate the greatest performance across a series of benchmarks and applications.
South Africa is the only country that enters a brand new team each year. This is done to give as many students as possible exposure to the international HPC community.
Participants build small HPC clusters out of hardware provided by the CHPC and its industrial partners. They are given a selection of applications to optimise and run on their cluster to demonstrate their design’s performance. Each team is assigned a budget of R200 000 and a parts list from one of the CHPC’s industry partners and must design a cluster taking into consideration the set of applications which will be used to benchmark the cluster. Once the cluster’s design is finalised the hardware specification is submitted to the CHPC’s partners for manufacturing. The hardware, as specified in the cluster design, is delivered to the exhibition floor of the CHPC national meeting. Here the teams unpack their equipment, construct their cluster, install the software stack and perform benchmarks. The teams are judged on a combination of the performance of the applications and the design of the cluster.
For more information http://www.chpc.ac.za
Further reading:
Hitachi Energy ramps up global and African investments
News
Hitachi Energy ramps up global and African investments to support grid readiness for the AI era.
Read more...
Experience ICRA 2026 right here in Gqeberha, South Africa
News
The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) is the largest robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing conference in the world. You can experience the premier keynote and plenary presentations in Gqeberha.
Read more...
What to expect at Africa Automation Indaba 2026: From AI readiness to bankable automation projects
RX Africa
News
Africa Automation Indaba 2026 will give delegates a practical view of what it takes to move automation from ambition to implementation with a two-day programme focused on industrial readiness, skills development, policy alignment, investment realities and the future of intelligent operations.
Read more...
SKF achieves SaiMechE CPD accreditation
SKF South Africa
News
SKF South Africa has achieved SaiMechE CPD accreditation, a decisive step that empowers the next generation of engineers.
Read more...
Elevating artisanal skills is key to revitalising South Africa’s economy
ACTOM Electrical Machines
News
We need to challenge the stigma attached to artisanal and technical careers, and we also need a mindset shift supported by the schooling system so that young people understand future career pathways, choose subjects accordingly, and recognise that artisanal and technical skills carry equal value in a modern economy.
Read more...
One visit, five shows: practical solutions for safer, smarter operations
News
Five co-located shows will bring together the full picture of how organisations manage risk, compliance, infrastructure and energy.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: A little bit of magic
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
Whatever your view is of America today, the Artemis II mission showed the world that it can still deliver moments of wonder. For a few days, the chaotic headlines gave way to something more. Who could
...
Read more...
Electra Mining Africa 2026
News
Electra Mining Africa will take place at Nasrec, Johannesburg from 7 to 11 September 2026.
Read more...
Woman of Stature Awards South Africa
News
In a powerful recognition of excellence in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Thabisile Phumo won the Woman in Mining and Engineering award at the 2026 Woman of Stature Awards South Africa.
Read more...
AVEVA to spotlight industrial intelligence at AVEVA Day
News
AVEVA will host AVEVA Day South Africa 2026 on 22 April with the theme ‘Accelerating Africa’s Industrial Future: Harnessing AI, Digital Twins and Data-Driven Operations for Sustainable Growth’.
Read more...
printer friendly version