CEPBA selected HPCN Technology Transfer Node

Barcelona, 19-12-1996 The European Centre for parallelism of Barcelona (CEPBA) is among the 20 European Technology Transfer Nodes (TTNs), which aim at promoting the use of parallelism in SMEs carrying out Preparatory, Support and Transfer Activities (PST) under the EC Specific Programme for Research and Technological Development (RTD) to increase the competitiveness of industry in Europe. This was revealed at the Post EIT Conference workshop in Brussels last month. The centre director, Jesús Labarta, has underlined that CEPBA "is proud of having been chosen to take part in the TTNs programme because it is a recognition of the work it has done with the PCI-PACOS and the PCI-II projects and because that means it is trustworthy enough to keep on working in the same direction".

Each TTN realises awareness activities to stimulate technology transfer in SMEs, provides services and expertise to the on-going projects and disseminates the results it gets within and across the PST actions undertaken. These actions try to go straight to the point, i.e. to be more flexible and reduce the bureaucracy to start up the projects and are user-driven, that is to say, focused on the specific needs of the users.

After the TTNs meeting, which took place in Brussels following the European Information Technology Conference (EITC `96) in November, CEPBA got the management of four local subprojects: FLEXPACK, FANPAR, SAC and SIMPYC.

FLEXPACK, deals with sprays and aluminium recipients and use HPCN to increase the performance of the production work. FANPAR studies ventilators design through modelling to reduce the noise they make.

SAC is an awareness campaign to broaden use of HPCN in new sectors which CEPBA leads in collaboration with people from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the University of Cantabria, the University of Malaga as well as the Supercomputing Centre of Catalonia (CESCA).

SIMPYK will improve maintenance management requirements of a petrol station company.

These projects will start up in March 1997 and will set new examples of HPC technology take off by industrial companies previously unaware of this technology.

Anna Solana