About the JHPCN
Outline
The JHPCN (Director: Kenjiro Taura, the University of Tokyo) is a "Network-Type" Joint Usage/Research Center, certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and comprises eight super-computer-equipped centers affiliated with Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, University of Tokyo, Institute of Science Tokyo, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, and Kyushu University, among which the Information Technology Center at the University of Tokyo is functioning as the core institution of JHPCN. Each JHPCN member institution will provide its research resources for joint research projects.Objective
The Network-Type Research Center aims to contribute to the advancement and permanent development of the academic and research infrastructure of Japan by implementing academic joint-usage/joint-research centers for the following fields: Earth environment, energy, materials, genomic information, web data, academic information, time-series data from the sensor networks, video data, program analysis, and other fields in information technology. Using information infrastructures such as very large-scale computers as well as very large capacity storage and networks, the Center also aims to address challenging problems that are thus far considered extremely difficult to resolve or clarify. This Network-Type Research Center has enrolled leading researchers in the above-mentioned fields and anticipates the development of an innovative research theme through the collaboration among these researchers.
Joint Research Fields and Groups
Joint Research Fields
This call for joint research projects will adopt interdisciplinary research projects that use very large-scale numerical computation, very large-scale data processing, very large capacity network technology, and very large-scale information systems. Approximately 60* research projects will be adopted.
(*) Total number of research centers used for a research project.
- Very large-scale numerical computation
This includes scientific and technological simulations in scientific/engineering fields such as Earth environment, energy, and materials, as well as modeling, numerical analysis algorithms, visualization techniques, information infrastructure, etc., to support these simulations. - Very large-scale data processing
This includes processing genomic information, web data (including from Wikipedia, as well as news sites and blogs), academic information contents, time-series data from the sensor networks, high-level multimedia information processing needed for streaming data for video footage, etc., program analysis, access and search, information extraction, statistical and semantic analysis, data-mining, etc. - Very large capacity network technology
This includes providing control and security of network quality for very large-scale data sharing. Monitoring and management are required for constructing and operating the very large-capacity network, providing assessment and maintenance of the safety of such networks as well as the development of various technologies for the support of research. - Very large-scale information systems
This combines each of the above-mentioned fields, entailing architecture of the exa-scale computer the creation of high-performance computing infrastructure software, managing grids, virtualization technology, cloud computing, etc.
Please pay special attention to the following points when applying.
1. We will only be accepting interdisciplinary joint research proposals that will involve cooperation among researchers from a wide range of disciplines. For example, we presume that "very large-scale numerical computation" will be a cooperative complimentary research format between computer science and computational science. Therefore, we invite joint research projects among researchers solving problems in fields that use computers and those conducting research related to information science, such as on algorithms, modeling, and parallel processing.
2. As long as the conditions in 1 are met, we accept joint research projects that do not use our research resources such as the HPCI-JHPCN System and the other equipment/resources of our centers.
3. Research projects that use computer resources at multiple locations by taking advantage of the features of the Network-Type Center, or projects that will be worked on in conjunction with several researchers belonging to different research centers will be viewed favorably.
Joint Research Groups
Applications must be made by a Project Representative. Furthermore, the Project Representative and the Deputy Representative, as well as any other joint researchers, must fulfill the following conditions.
1. The Project Representative must be affiliated with an institution in Japan (University/Public Authority, Private Enterprise, etc), and must be in a position to be able to obtain the approval of his/her institution (or representative head).
2. At least one Deputy Representative must be a researcher in a different field from that of the Project Representative. There may be more than one Deputy Representative. For example, HPCI face-to-face identity vetting can be provided by another Deputy Representative.
3. If a student is going to participate in the project as a joint researcher, he/she must have graduated. If a non-resident member, defined by the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, is going to use computers, a researcher affiliated with your desired joint research center must participate as a joint researcher.
International joint research projects must, in addition to the above-mentioned ①-③, fulfill the following conditions (④ and ⑤):
4. More than one researcher affiliated with a research institution outside Japan must be named as a Deputy Representative. Furthermore, an application must be made using the English Application Form.
5. A researcher affiliated with your desired joint research center must participate as a joint researcher.
Industry joint research projects must, in addition to the above-mentioned ①-③, fulfill the following conditions (⑥ and ⑦):
6. The Project Representative must be affiliated with a private company, excluding universities and public authorities.
7. More than one researcher affiliated with your desired joint research center must be named as a Deputy Project Representative.
If you require the assistance and cooperation of researchers and research groups that are affiliated with each of the research centers in the computer science field, please complete the corresponding sections of the application form describing the specific research target and items required for sharing. We will, whenever possible, arrange for assistance and cooperation through the Network-Type Research Center.
Research Project Reviews
Reviews will be conducted by the Joint Research Project Screening Committee, which comprises faculty members affiliated with each research center as well as external members, and the HPCI Screening Committee, which comprises industry, academic, and government experts. Research project proposals will be reviewed in both a general and technical sense for their scientific and technological validity, their facility/equipment requirements and the feasibility of these requirements, and their potential for development.
In addition, the validity of resources at the desired center of joint research, along with the cooperation/collaboration proposed, will be subject to review. In addition, for each type of joint research project, there will be considerations as to how suited the form of the proposed project is to the objective of each category.
Furthermore, for projects continuing from the previous fiscal year and projects determined to have substantial continuity, an assessment of the previous year's interim report and previous usage of computer resources may be considered during the screening process.