Organisation

PRACE Council

The Council is the deliberative body of PRACE aisbl and decides on all matters of the Association. It is composed of one representative from each Member. Depending on the nature of the decisions to be taken, different voting rules apply. As a general rule, decisions of a purely scientific nature are subject to majority vote, while decisions related to provisioning and usage of funding and resources require a qualified majority based on partner contributions. All other decisions require a double majority of members and contributions, apart from a small number of issues that imply changes of the contract of the Association which require unanimity. The agendas of the PRACE Council Meetings can be found here.

The Statutes of PRACE aisbl are available in English and in French and the Working Rules of the PRACE Council can be found here.

Board of the Council is elected by the Council from among the delegates representing the Members. It consists of a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary. The current members of the Board of the Council are: Janne Ignatius (Chair), Philippe Lavocat (Vice-Chair) and Florian Berberich (Secretary).

PRACE Board of Directors

The Board of Directors (BoD) is the executive body of the Association and is generally responsible for managing and representing the Association. The BoD is composed of a minimum of two members elected by the Council. Each Director will serve for an initial term of three years, renewable for subsequent periods of two years. The current members of the BoD are: Serge Bogaerts (Managing Director, Chair of the BoD), Florian Berberich (FZ Jülich), Maria Grazia Giuffreda (ETH Zurich / CSCS), Matej Praprotnik (Chair of the PRACE SSC), Oriol Pineda (BSC), Philippe Segers (GENCI), and Debora Testi (CINECA). The Working Rules of the BoD can be found here. The PRACE Managing Director is responsible for the development of the strategy and vision for PRACE and the implementation of those as decided by the Council. The Managing Director is responsible for the delivery of PRACE services across Europe and management of the PRACE organisation.

PRACE Scientific Steering Committee

The Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) is composed of European leading researchers that are responsible for advice and guidance on all matters of a scientific and technical nature which may influence the scientific work carried out by the use of the Association’s resources. The SSC has an odd number of members up to a maximum of 21, of which one is appointed Chair. The members of the Scientific Steering Committee are appointed by the PRACE Council. SSC Members serve a two year term renewable twice consecutively. The working rules of the SSC can be found here.

SSC Membership (2 December 2020)

PRACE Access Committee

The Access Committee (AC) gives advice to the Board of Directors concerning the allocation of resources of the RI. The AC, proposed by the SSC, is composed of researchers experienced in areas of science, engineering and supercomputing. The AC is appointed by the Council and shall comprise an odd number of members with a minimum of five, from among which a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman is appointed. AC members serve a two year term renewable once. The working rules of the AC can be found here.

AC Membership (2 December 2020)

PRACE Industrial Advisory Committee

The Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC) is composed of European industry representatives (both from multi-nationals and SMEs) representing 11 industrial sectors: Aeronautics/Aerospace, Automotive/Transport, Energy, Engineering/Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Telecommunications/Electronics, ISV, HPC Vendors, Life Sciences, and Finances. They provide PRACE with advice on HPC usage for the benefit of European competitiveness and economic growth. The IAC reserves an observer seat for the Chair of ETP4HPC. A Chair and Vice-Chair are chosen by the committee, who, like all members, are appointed for 2 years renewable once. The Working Rules of the IAC can be found here.

IAC Membership (2 December 2020)

PRACE User Forum

The PRACE User Forum is not a body of the Association.

The PRACE User Forum was set up in December 2011 through an initiative of PRACE itself. It is an independent entity where PRACE users can discuss their experiences and express their future needs as well as feedback on the current services and resources of the PRACE HPC Research Infrastructure. The aim is to provide an effective mechanism through which the Tier-0 user community can give feedback to PRACE. The current Chair of the PRACE User Forum is Troels Haugbølle of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The current Vice-Chair is Derek Groen, Brunel University of London, United Kingdom.

The PRACE User Forum takes the outcomes of these discussions to PRACE on behalf of the User Community. The Forum has visibility in different social networks, such as LinkedIn and Twitter (@PRACEuserforum) on which all PRACE users are very welcome to start discussions and express their opinions. Besides this online activity, the PRACE User Forum also organises one open session per year where users can voice their concerns, suggestions and issues in the presence of PRACE representatives. The PRACE User Forum can also be contacted via userforum[at]prace-userforum.eu.