Jesús Molina Rodríguez de Vera

My name is Jesús Molina Rodríguez de Vera. I am from Murcia, which is located in the southeast of Spain.

I have just finished my double degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Murcia.

When the time came to choose what degree to study, I was pretty clear about it. On the one hand, I have always been attracted to problem solving using the latest technologies. On the other hand, I believe that a deep knowledge of mathematics is fundamental for acquiring not only a range of powerful tools for problem solving, but also for facing these problems from new perspectives.

Although I have studied the specialization that is most related to Artificial Intelligence, I have always been interested in HPC and computer architecture too. Actually, I’ve been an intern in my faculty’s computer architecture department for some time.

I applied for the “Summer of HPC” to learn first-hand what it’s like to work in an HPC centre, and to be in touch with sector specialists from whom I can learn. In particular, I decided to participate in the project “2017 – Benchmarking and performance analysis of HPC applications on modern architectures using automating frameworks” because, from my point of view, it is needed to know how a system behaves in order to use it efficiently and responsively. In this project, I will learn how to perform benchmarking and regression tests that will give a picture of how the system works.

While it is a shame that we cannot go to the HPC centres this year because of the pandemic, I am very grateful for the opportunity of working at a leading supercomputing centre in Europe during this summer, even if it is remote. I think it will be an unforgettable experience in which we will learn not only the technical basics of working with supercomputers, but also be better prepared to work in a global world where remote cooperation is becoming more and more necessary.

Indeed, the HPC experience started last week with the “Summer of HPC” training week. Despite the fact that it was held remotely, the organizers have done an exceptional job in making everything work smoothly. It has been a great opportunity to learn some basic concepts of MPI, OpenMP and CUDA; and we even had a virtual tour to the VSC supercomputer infrastructure.

I’ll be updating the status of the project on this blog, so keep an eye on it if you’re interested in learning more about this exciting world.