Compute Québec

Compute Québec. It is a regional organization within the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, dedicated to providing advanced research computing and data management resources to the academic and research community in Quebec. The consortium facilitates access to high-performance computing systems, cloud computing platforms, and specialized research software to accelerate discovery across fields like genomics, astrophysics, and artificial intelligence. As a key node in the national Digital Research Infrastructure ecosystem, it partners with institutions including McGill University, Université de Montréal, and Université Laval to support innovation and training.

Overview

Compute Québec operates as a vital hub within the broader Digital Research Alliance of Canada, coordinating digital research infrastructure services across the province. Its mandate encompasses the provisioning of high-performance computing clusters, large-scale data storage solutions, and expert support in research data management. The organization serves researchers from all major Quebec universities and colleges, enabling projects in domains such as climate modeling, quantum chemistry, and public health informatics. By centralizing resources and expertise, it aims to enhance the competitiveness of Quebec's research sector on national and international stages, collaborating closely with entities like the Fonds de recherche du Québec and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

History

The consortium was established in 2011 following a national strategy to consolidate research computing resources across Canada, initially forming part of the Compute Canada network. Key early developments included the integration of existing high-performance computing facilities at institutions like Université de Sherbrooke and the École de technologie supérieure. A significant evolution occurred in 2021 with the formation of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, which reorganized the national ecosystem and solidified the role of regional organizations. Throughout its history, Compute Québec has overseen the deployment of major systems, such as the Narval and Beluga supercomputers, positioned at McGill University and the École de technologie supérieure, respectively, to meet growing computational demands.

Infrastructure and resources

The organization manages a distributed portfolio of advanced computational assets, primarily hosted at Quebec universities. Core systems include the Narval supercomputer at McGill University, the Beluga system at the École de technologie supérieure, and the Helios cluster at Université Laval. These facilities provide combined capacity exceeding several petaflops for processing power, coupled with petabyte-scale data storage infrastructure utilizing technologies like Lustre (file system). Specialized resources also encompass cloud computing platforms for flexible workloads and secure environments for handling sensitive data, compliant with standards like the Tri-Council Policy Statement. Support services include access to research software such as MATLAB, Python (programming language), and containers via Docker (software).

Research and collaboration

Compute Québec enables a wide spectrum of research endeavors, notably in fields where Quebec has established strength. This includes supporting large-scale genomics projects through partnerships with Genome Quebec, artificial intelligence research aligned with Mila (research institute) and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and simulations for astrophysics conducted by the Institute for Research on Exoplanets. The consortium fosters interdisciplinary collaboration through annual resource allocation competitions and training workshops on tools like CCDB. It also participates in international initiatives, such as collaborations with the European Open Science Cloud and projects funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, to advance open science and data stewardship practices.

Governance and funding

Governance is structured through a board of directors comprising representatives from member institutions, including Université du Québec à Montréal, Concordia University, and Institut national de la recherche scientifique. Strategic direction is aligned with the national policies set by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. Primary funding is derived from the Government of Canada through federal agencies, the Government of Quebec via the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation, and contributions from its member universities. Additional financial support is secured through competitive grants from organizations like the Canada Foundation for Innovation and partnership agreements with industrial sectors, ensuring the ongoing modernization of its cyberinfrastructure.

Category:High-performance computing Category:Research organizations in Canada Category:Organizations based in Montreal Category:Digital Research Alliance of Canada