WORKSHOP ‘Hardware and Algorithms: The necessary connection for building efficient dedicated computers’
On 12–13 June 2025, BIFI hosted a workshop as part of the research network ‘DEDOSS: Exploring Dedicated Computers for Open Science Scenarios’, funded by MICIU/AEI. Exploring Dedicated Computers for Open Science Scenarios”, which was funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. The workshop took place at the BIFI Institute of Biocomputing and Physics of Complex Systems at the University of Zaragoza, with researchers from the University of Extremadura, the Complutense University of Madrid, the Galician Supercomputing Centre (CESGA), the University of Seville/IMSE, and the University of Zaragoza in attendance.
Using computers that are specifically designed for a particular task can increase the calculation speed and energy efficiency of a computing system by several orders of magnitude. However, this requires significant work in designing the machine itself, as well as in programming and optimisation. This workshop has emphasised the importance of the relationship between hardware and algorithms for achieving truly efficient computers.
As a result of this research network project, in the call for proposals of the AEI for Scientific and Technical Equipment 2024, funding was requested for a dedicated computer, optimised for scientific computing, based on state-of-the-art FPGA cards that will allow both the development of new algorithms optimised at hardware level and their exploitation in a range of applications, attractive to a wide community of users. A sum of nearly €200,000 was obtained and in this workshop the technical characteristics of this dedicated computer have been fine-tuned, the tender specifications for which are about to be published.
The design of ASICs and their integration into the Europractice consortium was presented, emphasising their greater efficiency compared to FPGAs despite higher costs and reduced flexibility. Additionally, algorithms were presented to minimise the use of random numbers and optimise simulation performance. This scientifically relevant event strengthened collaborations within the DEDOSS network.
The BIFI researchers who organised and participated in the workshop were: David Iñiguez (project PI), Alfonso Tarancón, Sergio Pérez Gaviro, David Yllanes and Sergio Martínez-Losa.
