A Week in Ghent: Hungarian Researcher’s Journey at imec
Balázs Gáspár from Óbuda University, Hungary ended the spring academic season with a site visit to the GPULab in Ghent. Let’s have a closer look at how he spent his time there!
My visit to the imec laboratory in Ghent marked a pivotal moment in my academic journey. Thanks to SLICES-SC Open Call, I got the opportunity to spend a week at the Ardoyen campus, working on my master’s thesis. The testbed at imec provides a range of environments and features for carrying out different experiments, such as the Virtual Wall for networking, cloud resources, and virtualization research. In addition, the testbed offers abundant computing resources, such as GPU accelerators for distributed deep learning initiatives, and I was given access to the latter. The high-performance GPUs notably accelerated my calculations, and their significant memory capacity allowed me to train large-scale machine-learning models.
My project focused on evaluating the environmental footprint of digital infrastructures, aiming to develop strategies for minimizing energy consumption. By leveraging imec’s advanced technology, I could conduct a deep analysis of a vast amount of time series data – coming from research infrastructures – to uncover patterns in energy usage. The results and the experience can help researchers develop strategies to minimize energy consumption and overall environmental impact.
Upon arrival at the lab, I was greeted by Brecht Vermeulen, who gave me a tour of the server room and the IoT lab. I also met with Thijs Walcarius and Wim Van de Meerssche, where I introduced them to the subject area I deal with, and then we discussed the technical details of the experiment. The first day was dedicated to setting up my work environment, followed by successful tests with different machine-learning parameters on one GPU. As the week progressed, I focused on running experiments on multiple GPUs, gradually scaling up from single to four GPU tests. The colleagues from imec showed me how I can access the GPULab and execute jobs in the containerized environment. I am thankful for the guidance they have provided throughout the week. Adding to this the GPULab’s user-friendly interface, I was able to overcome obstacles with ease.
The week in Ghent left me with a profound appreciation for the city’s culture and its people.
It is a very peaceful city that perfectly balances its rich medieval history with modern innovation. Wandering through its cobbled streets, I was captivated by the stunning architecture, from the spires of cathedrals to the charming rows of guild houses. Each corner seemed to hold a story, with historic sites like Gravensteen Castle offering a glimpse into the city’s storied past.
Reflecting on the week, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to work at imec. The experience has been transformative and equipped me with practical knowledge.