CASA Forum 2025: Advancing Data Science through Foundation Models
The Centre for Advanced Simulation and Analytics (CASA) consolidates Forschungszentrum Jülich’s (FZJ) expertise in data science and simulation under one roof.
The CASA Forum is an annual full-day event that brings together scientists from all departments of FZJ, as well as members of the FZJ Board of Directors. During scientific talks and a poster session, CASA members and interested guests can learn about current developments at CASA and in the field of data science.
This year‘s CASA Forum on 11 November 2025 focused on foundation models, beginning with a brief introduction to the concept, followed by two keynote presentations from the Helmholtz Foundation Model Initiative:
- "HClimRep : A Helmholtz Foundation Model for Climate Science”, presented by Savvas Melidonis, team lead of the ClimateAI team of Earth System Data Exploration (ESDE) research group at JSC and
- “MatBind in SOL-AI: From Multimodality to Materials Insight”, presented by Le Yang from the Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS) at FZJ.
The operating units of CASA are its Simulation and Data Labs (SDL), where cross-disciplinary teams tackle research questions spanning diverse application areas. The CASA Forum provided an excellent opportunity to connect with colleagues working in related domains, share ongoing research, and learn from others’ approaches.
For the ESDE team, this interaction was particularly valuable, as it allowed for exchanges with other researchers dedicated to climate science and modelling, fostering collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas.
