RIKEN Center for Computational Science

RIKEN Center for Computational Science
Name	RIKEN Center for Computational Science
Established	2010
Type	Research Institute
City	Kobe
Prefecture	Hyōgo
Country	Japan
Affiliation	RIKEN

RIKEN Center for Computational Science The RIKEN Center for Computational Science is a Japanese research institute focused on high-performance computing, simulation, and computational science. It operates flagship supercomputers and supports research in fields ranging from climate modeling to materials design, fostering links with national laboratories, universities, and industry. The center serves as a hub connecting projects in computational physics, computational chemistry, bioinformatics, and data-driven engineering.

Overview

The center hosts flagship computing infrastructure that supports projects in HPC, supercomputer-scale simulation, and large-scale data analysis for collaborators such as University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Osaka University, National Institute for Materials Science, and industrial partners including Fujitsu, NEC Corporation, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It provides services to initiatives linked to World Premier International Research Center Initiative, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan), and international efforts like PRACE and HPC Japan. The center's mission aligns with national strategies exemplified by programs from Japan Science and Technology Agency and frameworks connected to AIST and JST.

History

The center originated within the RIKEN network as part of efforts to consolidate computational resources after projects associated with K-computer and later generational systems. Its timeline includes procurement and deployment phases involving collaborations with Fujitsu and procurement overseen by agencies such as MIC and advisory input from academics affiliated with Tohoku University, Nagoya University, and Ritsumeikan University. The center has been cited in national roadmaps alongside initiatives like Green IT and international comparisons with supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Facilities and Systems

The center operates data centers and machine rooms housing petascale and exascale-capable systems developed with vendors including Fujitsu and Intel Corporation. Cooling and power systems reference technologies used at Kashiwa and facilities comparable to those at Barcelona Supercomputing Center and EPCC. Storage solutions integrate architectures similar to deployments at National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center and Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum. Networking incorporates high-speed interconnects related to standards promoted by InfiniBand Trade Association and collaborations with RENKEI and SINET.

Research and Applications

Research spans computational domains linked to projects in climate modeling used by groups at Meteorological Research Institute, materials simulations connected to Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, quantum chemistry efforts coordinated with The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, and bioinformatics collaborations with Osaka University Hospital and RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences. Application areas include simulations relevant to Earthquake Research Institute scenarios, aerodynamic design in partnership with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and drug discovery initiatives paralleling work at Pfizer and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. The center supports software stacks informed by communities around LAMMPS, GROMACS, SIESTA, and frameworks from NumPy and TensorFlow used in machine learning research tied to DeepMind-adjacent literature.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The center maintains partnerships with national institutions such as National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and academic consortia including The University of Tokyo and Kyushu University. International collaborations connect to European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and projects under Horizon 2020 frameworks and bilateral agreements with French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and Max Planck Society. Industry collaborations feature consortia with Fujitsu, Microsoft Research, and semiconductor partners like NVIDIA and Intel.

Organization and Funding

Organizationally, the center is an institute within RIKEN with governance influenced by advisory boards including members from Japan Science Council and committees linked to MEXT. Funding sources comprise core allocations from RIKEN budgets, competitive grants from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, joint research contracts with industry partners such as Canon Inc. and Hitachi, and project funds associated with national initiatives like Moonshot Research and Development Program. The center also receives support through international project funding mechanisms connected to Global Research Council activities.

Impact and Recognition

The center has been recognized for enabling research cited in publications appearing in journals associated with Nature, Science, and domain journals tied to Physical Review Letters and Journal of Chemical Physics. Its computing resources have supported award-winning projects that received prizes from bodies analogous to the Japan Prize and recognitions from the IEEE and ACM for achievements in computational science. The center's role in advancing national capabilities is reflected in citations within policy white papers from METI and reports comparing performance among institutions including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Category:Research institutes in Japan Category:Supercomputer sites