HBP Launches European Research Infrastructure

The Human Brain Project (HBP) is developing a shared European research infrastructure to investigate the human brain using detailed analyses and simulations. For this purpose, the HBP is creating new information technologies such as neuromorphic processors, which are based on the principles governing how the brain works. On 30 March 2016, the HBP released an initial version of the infrastructure, which was built by researchers from 24 countries over the last two-and-a-half years, to users outside the project. With this step, the Human Brain Project is now entering its next phase.

The six platforms forming the infrastructure are intended to drive progress not only in neuroscience but also in the European development of HPC and robotics as well as to interconnect researchers through four large European supercomputing and data centres, including JSC.

JSC and CSCS in Lugano, Switzerland, are coordinating the creation and operation of the HBP’s High Performance Analytics and Computing Platform. Together with 14 collaboration partners, JSC provides the European neuroscience community with support in using the supercomputers, storage systems, and software. Petabytes of data on the human brain, generated for example by techniques such as polarized light imaging or by simulation, can be stored on the platform and can be analysed and visualized on supercomputers like JURECA using state-of-the-art methods such as deep learning.

The research infrastructure can be centrally accessed through the HBP Collaboratory, a web portal where users can also find guidelines, tutorials and information on training seminars, see https://collab.humanbrainproject.eu/.
(Contact: Dr. Boris Orth, hbp-hpc-platform@fz-juelich.de)

JSC News, 19 April 2016