Scientists from IT4Innovations and CATRIN join forces

Presenting research activities alongside discussing the possibilities for cooperation was the main goal of the joint workshop of IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Centre at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava and the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN) of Palacký University, which took place in Ostrava on Thursday, November 4. About thirty scientists focused on, in particular, seeking synergies in the areas of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence.

“Digital technologies are penetrating not only to all areas of science and technology, but also to everyday life. We have years of experience with their applications and therefore can tackle the most diverse tasks, which we are also able to offer to colleagues at CATRIN. Joint workshops are a very effective way to describe our research activities in more detail and find out which topics may overlap,” said IT4Innovations Scientific Director, Tomáš Kozubek, at the start of the workshop.

The representatives of the two research centres presented a total of 12 research topics—especially those which can make use of supercomputers’ capabilities or the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence. These are areas in which the two scientific institutes can benefit each other.

“If we manage to combine our expertise and know-how in the fields of the development of new nanomaterials, methods for their rational design, or computer simulations of biomolecules with the experience of colleagues at IT4I in the fields of artificial intelligence and HPC, we can push the boundaries of knowledge even faster and more efficiently in the future. Our mutual interest is doing cutting-edge science while exploiting the potential of multidisciplinary collaboration to the maximum. Together, we want to target important topics such as new functional nanomaterials, efficient electricity storage, or the design of systems for targeted drug delivery inside cells,” said CATRIN Director Pavel Banáš, who gave a presentation, alongside Piotr Blonski, Miroslav Medveď, Michal Langer, Markéta Paloncýová or Petr Lazar.

“Significant advances in science cannot be made in isolation from the rest of the world. Current scientific projects are bringing together dozens and sometimes hundreds of scientists, often from different parts of the world, but mostly from different scientific disciplines. Today’s science is all about teamwork—collaborations among scientific workplaces always bear fruit. Finding key topics and connecting the research teams more closely is what I expect from today’s meeting with colleagues from CATRIN,” said Kozubek, commenting on the need to develop cooperation.

The Ostrava workshop will be followed by another joint meeting at the beginning of next year, this time round at CATRIN.