Visit by University of Illinois Delegation Explores Opportunities for Expanding Existing Collaboration with CyI
A delegation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) visited The Cyprus Institute’s (CyI) premises in order to explore additional opportunities and domains of collaboration for the coming years, and to reinvigorate ones already in place.
The collaboration between CyI, UIUC and NCSA started 2009 and is one of the oldest and strongest that the Institute has established over the years. NCSA was instrumental in the establishment of the Computation-based Science and Technology Research Center (CaSToRC) of The Cyprus Institute. Additionally, UIUC and NCSA, played a key role in the establishment of CyI’s High Performance Computing Facilities, and has been a strategic partner ever since, not only through collaborations on computational projects and infrastructures, but also through a dual degree PhD programme, and a joint postdoctoral programme in the fields of Scientific Computing / Data Intensive Applications, Digital Cultural Heritage and Materials / Manufacturing.
The visit by the UIUC/NCSA took place between Monday 20th and Wednesday 22nd of February 2023, andwas hosted by CyI President Prof. Stavros Malas. The delegation participated in meetings with CyI’s high level management, as well as CyI researchers, faculty and staff. The visit was also an opportunity to bring a broad perspective to our UIUC/NCSA partners of the most important developments in CyI’s research agenda, explore opportunities to expand existing collaborations into new domains, and discuss a broad range of topics concerning both Institutions.
On the 2nd day of the visit, the delegation visited some of CyI’s external facilities, including the PROTEAS Solar Facility in Pentakomo and The Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory at Agia Marina, in order to get a broader idea of CyI recent activities and ongoing projects.
The delegation of UIUC/NCSA included Prof. Bill Gropp, Director NCSA, Mr. John Towns, Deputy CIO for Research IT at the University of Illinois and Executive Associate Director for Engagement of NCSA, Dr. Brett Bode, Assistant Director, Advanced Digital Services Directorate of NCSA, Ms. Kalina Borkiewicz, Director, Advanced Visualization Lab of NCSA, Dr. Kenton McHenry, Associate Director, Software of NCSA, Mr. Jay Roloff, Chief of Staff and CyI and Illinois Program Manager, Le’ Passion Derby, Student at Illinois University, and via online participation, Prof. Susan Martinis, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation of UIUC.
We would like to thank the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and its National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) for their visit at The Cyprus Institute, and we look forward to the new chapters in our collaboration!
