Transcript RCUK Overview presentation

UK Themes for Joint
Programming in Europe
Dr Sophie Laurie
RCUK
What does the UK want from Joint
Programming?
• Excellent research
• Coherence – building the ERA
• Collaboration – in design and
execution
• Alignment with current and
anticipated national priorities
Choice of themes
• High level consultation with UK
stakeholders
• With ministerial approval
• Level of detail to be developed
with interested parties
Concept
• Joint Programming = sharing the burden
in research to cope effectively and
efficiently with the challenges
• Integrated and co-ordinated but not
homogeneous
• International interdisciplinary
research
• Enables a great leap forward - benefits
to all involved
Suggested themes
• Development of scientific software
for petascale computing and beyond.
– proposing members: UK
– Other interest: PRACE members
• Food Security: Sustainable crop and
livestock production
– proposing members: UK
– Other interest: France, Spain, Germany, Ireland,
Sweden (EURAGRI discussion Sept 09, SCAR)
Software for Petascale Computing
• Scale and rate of development of
hardware is not matched by
development of software to allow
realisation of potential
• Software programmes long-lived - effort
to generate new software immense e.g.
estimate 200 person years of effort to
develop a new unified model for climate
change research.
• Some codes used in other research
areas have developed over 20 years
Proposing GPC members
• UK (RCUK)
• Interested parties: other
PRACE members (16 partners
signed MoU)
Objectives and Research Challenges
Develop new scientific applications
software for simulation and modelling
studies in key disciplines.
• Challenges are wide ranging and could
include;
– modelling climate change
– modelling the structural integrity and design
of materials and components for energy
efficiency e.g. in aerospace, in fuel cells
– understanding fundamental atomic and
molecular structures which influence material
properties and drug design
– modelling the human physiome
Research Approaches
• Developing new algorithms and novel
software
• Bringing together expertise in
mathematics and computer science with
researchers in other disciplines addressing challenging problems open to
modelling and simulation
Added value, benefits and impact
• Increase knowledge base
• Reduce cost to industry of e.g.
developing new components - increases
competitiveness
• Provide EU critical mass for global effort
– Discussions with USA and Japan already
underway for an international project focused
on software for petascale and exascale .
• Enable greater European lead on the
global level and potentially provide
greater opportunities for
commercialisation of software within
Europe.
Governance
• Building on existing partnership
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
to develop European computing was
agreed in April 2007 and to date 16
countries from the EU have signed the
memorandum
• ESFRI preparatory phase project (50%
funded by the EC) looking at developing a
Partnership for Advanced computing in
Europe (PRACE). Infrastructure of
advanced computing hardware
Food Security - sustainable crop and
livestock production
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Thanks to others for introducing this issue today
Global demand for food is expected to increase
by 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050
Increase in food supply to meet this demand
must be sustainable
No quick solutions – e.g.10 years to get plant
science from lab bench to crop in field
Issue made more complicated by climate change
Proposing GPC members
• UK (BBSRC)
• France (INRA/CIRAD)
• Interest from Spain,
Germany, Ireland and Sweden
• Discussion in other fora e.g.
EURAGRI, SCAR – further
opportunities for development
Objectives and research questions
Determine what research is
needed to address the problem
– Development and promotion of highly
innovative breakthrough technologies
– Tailoring production technologies and
developing and implementing specific
solutions at the systems and policy
levels
Breakthrough technologies
• Focus on crop and livestock
production
– Using understanding of model and
native species
– Genomic and genetic technologies
– Maths and computational approaches
- predictive
– Integrated research and management
– Welfare issues
Tailoring technologies – developing
solutions….
Research challenges
• Environmental impact of intensive
farming practices – increased chemical
inputs
• Pests and diseases - new and emerging
and spread of existing (climate change)
• Abiotic stress (drought, salinity,
temperature)
• Efficiency of resource use at all stages
of supply chain
• Reducing waste including post-harvest
losses
Added value, benefits, impacts
• Addresses different agro-ecological
zones and regions within Europe and
within other regions that are key to
European interests, notably in Africa.
• Broader aspects
– social and economic - impact on fragile states
(reference in French production)
– human health – diseases crossing species
boundaries
• Sets Europe in a better context to global
initiatives e.g. Climate Change
Agriculture and Food Security Challenge
Programme and Earth Systems Science
Programme
Governance
• Governing Board (GB) – comprising one senior
representative of each Member State contractor, the GB will
be responsible for the political and strategic orientation of
the initiative. Meets at least once per year, chaired by the
coordinator.
• Executive Committee (ExC) – in charge of operational
and day-to-day management of the initiative, made up of
leaders of each work package activity, chaired by the
coordinator. Meets at least twice per year.
• Coodinator will be responsible for delivering tasks defined
by the EU Contract and the Consortium Agreement, and will
serve as the intermediary between the European
Commission and the consortium. The Coordinator will lead a
JPI Management Office where a project manager and
administration will be based.
• Advisory Boards can be set up for example on issues
such as Intellectual Property, a Scientific Group, a
Stakeholder Group and a Communications Group.
Other topics
• Interested to hear proposals of
other countries
• Opportunities to join relevant
partnerships will be scoped with
stakeholders in UK after this
meeting
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