CS Area Hosts Collaborative Summit with the Molecular Foundry

On June 7, the Computing Sciences Area and the Molecular Foundry joined forces to hold a first-ever summit to build connections, share current collaborations, talk about joint opportunities between the Foundry and CS Area researchers and facilities, and address the Foundry’s particular computing needs.

Over 70 people came together to discuss the Foundry’s growing computing requirements, address challenges, and sort out how CS Area researchers and facilities might accelerate workflows and partner to address future requirements.

“The need for computing resources and expertise is growing throughout all fields of science, and that certainly is true in nanoscience. The Molecular Foundry is developing a number of new capabilities — from faster high-resolution cameras to automated synthesis robots to novel computational models — all of which require deep collaboration with our computing colleagues if they are to be fully realized,” says Branden Brough, deputy director of the Molecular Foundry. “This summit provided the opportunity for us to not only identify solutions to our current scientific challenges, it also built relationships for us to proactively address scientific opportunities that are on the horizon. We hope that this is the first of many meetings that bring our communities together and leverage the unique and diverse expertise found at Berkeley Lab.”

The agenda included a host of lightning talks, presentations of current research and computing solutions, several panel discussion, as well as opportunities for networking. Participants also toured facilities and heard from Kathy Yelick, ALD for the Computing Sciences Area, and Jeff Neaton, director of the Molecular Foundry.