International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics

International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
Name	International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
Abbreviation	CHEP
Established	1985
Frequency	Biennial
Discipline	High Energy Physics; Nuclear Physics; Computing
Venue	Various international locations

International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics is a biennial scientific conference that addresses computing challenges for experimental CERN, Fermilab, DESY, KEK, and Brookhaven National Laboratory collaborations, attracting participants from projects such as ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, ALICE, LHCb, Belle II, DUNE, and J-PARC. The conference convenes software engineers, data scientists, and systems architects from institutions including Oxford University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Tokyo to present developments in data acquisition, distributed computing, and analysis frameworks for experiments funded by agencies like European Commission, DOE, National Science Foundation, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

History

The origins trace to workshops in the mid-1980s that brought together communities around projects such as LEP experiments, SLAC detectors, and computing centres linked to CERN Computer Centre, inspired by earlier meetings like ACM SIGPLAN and USENIX. Early meetings featured pioneers from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermilab, European Southern Observatory, and universities including Imperial College London and University of Oxford, discussing topics common to ATLAS experiment computing and CMS experiment analysis workflows. Through the 1990s and 2000s CHEP embraced developments from projects such as LHC Computing Grid, Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, and software efforts led by teams at SLAC, RAL, TRIUMF, and CERN OpenLab.

Scope and Topics

Presentations cover software frameworks used by collaborations like ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, and ALICE; middleware from Globus Toolkit, HTCondor, ARC middleware; data management systems inspired by Rucio and CERN EOS; and storage technologies from vendors such as IBM and NetApp. Talks address computing infrastructures including Cloud computing, High-performance computing centers like Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, networking advances involving Internet2 and GEANT, and security practices from Red Hat and Microsoft Research. The conference also examines algorithms and tools used in experiments such as ROOT, Geant4, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and contributions from groups at Fermilab Scientific Computing Division, CERN IT, KEK Computing Research Centre, and DESY IT.

Conference Organization and Governance

CHEP is organized by local host committees drawn from national laboratories and universities such as CERN, Fermilab, DESY, KEK, and Brookhaven National Laboratory, with oversight from steering groups that include representatives from IHEP (China), INFN, CNRS, STFC, and DOE Office of Science. The program committee typically comprises representatives from experiments like ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, LHCb, ALICE, and facilities such as GridPP, Open Science Grid, and EGI. Sponsorship and support often come from organizations including European Commission, National Science Foundation, DOE Office of Science, Microsoft Research, Google Research, and industry partners such as Intel and NVIDIA.

Notable Conferences and Proceedings

Notable editions occurred when major milestones were announced: discussions of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid architecture, milestones in GRID computing deployments, and the reporting of software frameworks such as Gaudi (software framework), Athena (software), and developments in ROOT and Geant4 provenance. Proceedings published following meetings have been influential for collaborations including ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, Belle II, and DUNE, and have been presented at venues associated with organizations like IEEE, ACM, and CERN Document Server. Special sessions have featured keynote speakers from CERN leadership, DOE leadership, and chief technologists from IBM Research and Google DeepMind.

Impact on HEP and Nuclear Physics Computing

CHEP has catalyzed adoption of distributed computing models exemplified by Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, promoted open-source projects used by ATLAS experiment and CMS experiment, and influenced policy at agencies such as European Commission and DOE. Cross-pollination at CHEP accelerated integration of machine learning toolkits from TensorFlow and PyTorch into workflows used at LHCb and ALICE, and fostered collaborations between centers like CERN IT, INFN CNAF, GridPP, and Open Science Grid. The conference has shaped standards for data preservation championed by groups at CERN Open Data Portal and driven interoperability with systems used by experiments at KEK and TRIUMF.

Related Workshops and Collaborations

CHEP interacts with a network of workshops and collaborations including WLCG, GridPP, Open Science Grid, EGI, CERN OpenLab, HEP Software Foundation, Rucio project meetings, and topical workshops such as those organized by IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, PLDI, and NeurIPS when machine learning crossovers occur. It also aligns with regional forums like Asia-Pacific Advanced Network and Latin American Grid Infrastructure, and with projects funded by entities such as Horizon 2020 and Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Category:Physics conferences