On 10 November, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President, Henna Virkkunen, visited the Deucalion supercomputer, highlighting Portugal’s contribution to the European Union’s digital and scientific strategy in high-performance computing (HPC).
The visit demonstrated how the capabilities of Deucalion, operated by the National Advanced Computing Centre (CNCA) in partnership with INESC TEC and UMinho, support projects with direct impact in science and innovation. “Deucalion holds a strategic importance in advanced computing, as it enables closer collaboration among European Union (EU) partners and drives national and European projects aimed at delivering direct solutions to real challenges in science, innovation and society,” noted António Luís Sousa, Deucalion’s Operations Director.
Furthermore, the European Commission’s delegation stressed that the visit “reinforced the commitment between the EU and Portugal to the development of advanced computing resources capable of addressing major scientific, environmental and economic challenges, contributing to the digital and green transitions, and accelerating discovery and practical applications.”
The visit also included the participation of the Head of the European Commission Representation in Portugal, Ambassador Sofia Moreira de Sousa; the Scientific Adviser to the Representation of the European Commission in Portugal, Carlos Morais Pires; the President of the North Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N), António Cunha; the Vice-President of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), João Nuno Ferreira; the Mayor of Guimarães, Ricardo Araújo; the President of the CNCA’s Board of Directors, Nuno Castro; the Chairman of INESC TEC, João Claro; and, representing UMinho, the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, Sandra Paiva; the President of the School of Engineering, António Vicente; the President of the School of Sciences, José González-Méijome; and the Director of the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), Patrícia Maciel.
