New users attracted by NGS roadshow

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The first in a series of NGS(National Grid Service) roadshows took place this April at the University of Southampton. It was hailed as a major success after attracting over thirty attendees and many potential new users to the NGS and OMII-UK. The event introduced researchers to the benefits of the Grid and gave potential users an opportunity to meet face-to-face with NGS and OMII-UK staff. Future events have already been planned at Keele and Hull Universities.

The NGS roadshow was developed to bring the NGS and Grid computing to an audience of new users. This concept was certainly achieved at the first roadshow, after publicity throughout the university succeeded in attracting an audience made up of researchers from disciplines ranging from optoelectronics to nursing! The day started with a series of talks. The NGS’s Katie Weeks kicked off with an introduction to the NGS. Andrew Price from the GENIE project described how he had used the NGS to develop an integrated Earth System Model, and Dan Adams from the Microsoft Institute of High Performance Computing described how to use the NGS to access the Windows HPC cluster at Southampton. Tim Parkinson concluded with an introduction to the OMII-UK’s software and services.

A drop-in session followed the talks, in which staff from the NGS and OMII-UK mingled with the attendees and answered their questions. The drop-in session also provided an opportunity to obtain a grid certificate and account.

The NGS roadshows provide the perfect opportunity to find out more about Grid computing. If you would like your institution to host a roadshow, please contact the NGS Support Centre.

Katie Weeks, NGS

support@grid-support.ac.uk

www.ngs.ac.uk/events/roadshows