Exchange in Scientific Computing (ESC)

Abstract

Modern high-performance computers enable simulations at scales that were unthinkable only a few decades ago. At the same time, the mathematical methods and algorithms that underpin these computations have become an even more critical factor to achieve efficiency and accuracy. This talk will discuss recent developments in fast numerical methods and iterative solvers for large-scale scientific computing. Emphasis will be placed on the design and analysis of parallel algorithms, their implementation on current and emerging computing architectures, and their role in advancing simulation-based research in science and engineering. 

Ulrich Rüde studied mathematics and computer science, earning a Master’s degree from the Florida State University and a Ph.D. from Technische Universität München. From 1998 to 2025 he held the Chair of System Simulation at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, where he built an internationally visible research program in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE). He also led the Algo-COOP team at CERFACS in Toulouse and was a visiting professor at the University of Colorado, the National University of Singapore, and Université de Rouen Normandie. Since 2024 he has been a Senior Researcher at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. His research focuses on high-performance computing, algorithms, and scalable numerical methods for large-scale simulations across scientific and engineering domains.

Abstract

Scientific Computing is meanwhile widely acknowledged as the third pillar of scientific discovery and also an essential every day tool in many industries. However, besides impressive growth rates, both on the academic and the commercial side, the full potential of it is not nearly revealed yet. A key to unchain the full potential is to combine all the relevant building blocks at the best possible level - the art of modeling, the development of computational methods as well as the appropriate implementation ready for the best HPC platforms. This talk will try to showcase that such a combination can create game changers in different fields in Science and Engineering and can even lead to a paradigm-shift in health care.

Wolfgang A. Wall is full Professor and founding Director of the Institute for Computational Mechanics at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. Born near Salzburg (Austria), he studied at the University of Innsbruck and received his PhD from the University of Stuttgart. Among others, he acted as founding director of the Munich School of Engineering and is co-founder of the companies AdCo EngineeringGW and Ebenbuild GmbH. Wolfgang A. Wall has received several esteemed awards, is a recent recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant and serves on a large number of prestigious boards. He currently also serves as Rector of the International Centre for Mechanical Sciences (CISM) in Udine (Italy) and is member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences as well as of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Abstract

Recent performance gains in supercomputing are being outpaced by soaring power consumption, especially in leadership-class supercomputers. AI infrastructures face similar challenges, with large language models driving energy demands to critical levels. In response, data centers are expanding their power and cooling capacities, adding further to their global environmental footprint. The need for improved energy efficiency in computing has never been more urgent. Have we already reached a critical tipping point, or can innovation drive a more sustainable future? This talk explores the latest advances and examines strategies for balancing the growing energy demands of advanced computing with environmental responsibility.

Slides

The speaker generously provides the slides for download.

Dieter Kranzlmüller is full professor for Computer Science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich, and chairman of the board of directors of the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), an institute of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He is a board member of the national Gauss Center for Supercomputing (GCS), on the senate of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI), and the founding convent of the Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria (IT:U). His research interests concern data center management and operation, high-performance computing and AI, quantum computing, and future computing technologies.