National Education and Research Network (RNP) infrastructure allows provides institutions with rapid transfer of large volumes of data
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is now officially part of e-Ciência, a network linking “big science” institutions which require advanced resources to process, analyze, transmit, and store large volumes of data. The ceremony will be held this Friday (2) at 10:30 at CNPEM’s headquarters in Campinas, São Paulo. RNP Director General Nelson Simões and CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva will both be present at the event.
With the signing of this agreement, all CNPEM labs will have access to e-Ciência, maximizing production capacity at the Center, which produces a large quantity of data from the research it conducts, in turn reducing working time. As part of the network, CNPEM will become part of the research infrastructure that includes other institutions such as the Brazilian Scientific Computing National Laboratory (LNCC), Senai Cimatec, and the Brazilian Weather Forecast and Climate Study Center (CPTEC-INPE).
CNPEM and RNP leadership during ceremony formalizing the Center’s entry into the e-Ciência network (Outreach: CNPEM)
“The e-Ciência network is central to the advance of CTI [the National Science, Technology and Information System]. Especially in the case of CNPEM, we work together with RNP to discuss specific demands in the areas of synchrotron [light] and microscopy, which require advanced capacity for processing, analyzing, transmitting, and storing large volumes of data,” explains José Roque. “The e-Ciência network at CNPEM will boost data transmission speed by more than 60 times, and will benefit researchers at universities and research centers across the country which produce robust data in our open facilities like the Electron Microscopy Center and the beamlines at Sirius,” he adds.
The initiative of the National Education and Research Network (RNP) is intended to expand the potential Brazil’s scientific community by offering infrastructure that can meet the demands of complex research. e-Ciência transmits large volumes of information at high speeds in an optimized manner, ensuring the safety of the data since it runs without access to the internet. Expansion of the network will take place with an investment of R$ 45.5 million from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT).
“CNPEM was the first institution to require connectivity of 100Gbps, since the time Sirius was built. From this, we learned many lessons that have served as the foundation for planning the e-Ciência network,” explains Leandro Ciuffo, RNP’s Assistant Director for e-Ciência.
For CNPEM, one advantage is the ability to interact with other research institutions and access services that will ensure more agility and speed in the quest for results. One example is access to supercomputers for calculations and to process the data collected from the Sirius particle accelerator.
The institutions that participate in the network can also share equipment and services, which saves resources. This new development benefits CNPEM researchers as well as those who conduct research at the open facilities in the Center’s laboratories.
This initiative will have a direct impact on the work routine of 900 researchers: 100 internal and 800 external; another 700 are estimated to benefit indirectly. Plans for new research facilities at CNPEM itself may also get a boost from this leap in computation capacity.
After the agreement is signed, the process of assessing CNPEM’s computing resources will begin in order to integrate them into the e-Ciência system and guide acquisition of the equipment required so that data can be transmitted without the internet.
About CNPEM
CNPEM is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment, with activities within different fronts of the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research.
Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM operates the Brazilian Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), and Biorenewables (LNBR) National Laboratories, as well as the Ilum School of Science, which offers a bachelor’s degree program in science and technology with support from the Ministry of Education (MEC).
About RNP
RNP is the Brazilian National Education and Research Network, connecting universities and institutions for teaching, research, and innovation with secure and high-quality services. The RNP system promotes the development of new technologies and domestic and international scientific collaboration. A social organization linked to the federal government, RNP supports public policies for education and research in Brazil.
