The Irish Centre for High End Computing (ICHEC) has issued a challenge to primary and secondary schoolchildren in Ireland to name its new supercomputer.
The new system replaces the five-year-old Fionn and will provide Irish researchers with the computing power to address challenges in science and society such as tackling climate change, improving healthcare and innovating products through agriculture, engineering and manufacturing. It will also facilitate emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and earth observation.
The competition looks to shine a light on a shortlist of six pioneering Irish scientists and to educate young students about their lives and achievements. Students from a class are encouraged to vote for a candidate accompanied by a short essay, poster or video to support their choice.
The winning submissions (one from each level) will be awarded eight Rasberry Pi-Tops for their respective classroom and ICHEC will also provide coding tutorials.
The candidates are programmer Kay Antonelli; hydrographer Francis Beaufort; inventor Nicholas Callan; botanist Ellen Hutchins; geologist Richard Kirwan; and chemist Eva Philbin.
“It is important to honour the amazing Irish scientists who have blazed a trail for the current and future generations of scientists” said Prof JC Desplat, director, ICHEC. “We hope that the competition will inspire students to learn about the importance of computing for research and new discoveries, while recognising some of the Irish achievements in science and technology in the past.”
Entries can take the form of a short essay, poster or video. Students are encouraged to research all candidates and incorporate their research into their submission. The winning entries will be selected based on content, technical and artistic merit.
Closing date for entries is 20 April and can be submitted at nameourcomputer.ichec.ie.
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