News from PRACE Implementation Projects

On 18 February 2014, PRACE-1IP - the first of three EU-funded projects to support the implementation of the PRACE Research Infrastructure - successfully completed its final review. The reviewers' assessment concluded that the project made the 'very impressive achievement' of establishing the European HPC Infrastructure with 'six Tier-0 centres funded in four countries, a scientific steering committee and a peer review process for resource allocation to scientific projects, starting from an almost blank slate'. Consequently the project was rated 'excellent'.

Almost at the same time, preparations started for a proposal for the next PRACE project, to be funded under the new EU framework programme Horizon 2020. At its meeting in London in January, the PRACE Council asked JSC to act as coordinator for the project proposal, as a continuation of the two past (PRACE Preparatory Phase and PRACE-1IP) and the two ongoing implementation projects (PRACE-2IP and -3IP). A major task of the new project will be to support the transition of the PRACE Research Infrastructure to its second 5-year period due to start in mid-2015. PRACE is currently in the process of defining its strategy for this period, called PRACE 2.0. The challenges include the transition towards a more inclusive funding model and addressing HPC needs for longer-term research programmes.
(Contact: Dr. Florian Berberich, f.berberich@fz-juelich.de)