Introduction to ACENET and High Performance Computing (HPC)

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  • Instructor:  Joey Bernard
  • Level: Beginner
  • Duration: 1.5 hours
  • Helpers: Tannia Chevez
  • Date:  January 28, 2025 | 10:00 - 11:30 am (Atlantic)
  • Prerequisite: None
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COURSE DESCRIPTION

What is High Performance Computing (HPC) and what can it do for me? How can ACENET help? Used by researchers across many disciplines to tackle analyses too large or complex for a desktop, or to achieve improved efficiency over a desktop, this session takes participants through the preliminary stages of learning about high performance computing (HPC) and computing clusters, and how to get started with this type of computing. It then reviews software packages available for applications, data analysis, software development and compiling code. Finally, participants will be introduced to the concept of parallel computing to achieve much faster results in analysis. This session is designed for those with no prior experience in HPC, and are looking for an introduction and overview.

This session will be delivered online.

To get the most from ACENET basics, please register for a Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) account. To register contact your supervising professor, ask for their CCRI, then visit https://ccdb.alliancecan.ca/account_application. If your professor is not registered with the Alliance, please have them register, then follow up with you. In addition to an Alliance account, you will want a computer with Windows, MacOS X, or a Unix-based operating system (not a ChromeBook), and a stable internet connection. A registered account is not mandatory, just recommended to get the most out of our lessons. You can attend the first session to see how ACENET can assist in accelerating your computational research before you decide to obtain an account, if you wish.

SETUP REQUIREMENTS
  • None

Meet your teaching team

Joey Bernard

Instructor

Digital Research Consultant (Health Data)

BSc Physics, BCSci, Diploma in University Teaching, University of New Brunswick

ITIL Foundation Certificate

Joey has been with ACENET since 2008 as a digital research consultant, with the exception of a six-year hiatus with the University of New Brunswick (UNB). His background includes UNB's physics department where he helped develop new instrumentation to study the ionosphere, and UNB's Center for Enhanced Teaching and Learning. He is located at UNB, where he is currently developing a remote cloud data storage and access solution for the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data & Training (NB-IRDT). Joey is a certified Software Carpentry instructor, and has written columns on scientific computing and Python programming for various computer magazines, a recipe book for the Python programming language, and has reviewed articles for the Journal of Open Source Software. He is currently working on his PhD in Physics. 

Sarah Clarke

Host

Digital Training Specialist
MSc Computational Chemistry, Dalhousie University

Sarah, based in Nova Scotia, joined ACENET in 2023. She has a range of teaching experience and held regular teaching assistant positions. Passionate about scientific literacy, Sarah has developed teaching materials and taught programming and robotics to youth in St. John's. She has also led professional development workshops for teachers, focusing on digital skills. For her MSc in Computational Chemistry research, she focused on interfacing crystal structure prediction methods.

Tannia Chevez

Helper

Digital Training Specialist
BSc Computational Chemistry, Memorial University

Tannia joined ACENET in 2023 and is based in St. John’s. She has held positions as a research assistant in various departments, with responsibilities ranging from developing algorithms for an online animal sound repository, to crafting chemical composite films. Proficient in Python, Java, and JavaScript, she has focused on spectral data analysis, SEM image-based nanoparticle detection, and software development for data analysis. Tannia contributed significantly to the publication of a research paper by analyzing potential environmental toxicants, generating millions of chemical structure IDs, and conducting data extraction and analysis using Python, R, and JavaScript, as well as enhancing algorithms for simulating potential environmental toxicants’ behavior in water, soil, and air environments. Tannia’s teaching experience includes a Leader Instructor at Brilliant Labs where she taught a range of digital topics, and a Digital Literacy Instructor for the Association for New Canadians.