African VLBI Network Training Site

26 February to 02 March 2018

Title: CHPC Computer Training

Author: Dr Daniel Moeketsi
              Senior Research Scientist 
              Computational Space Physics
              Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC)
              CSIR, South Africa.

Abstract:
The Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) is part of the National Integrated cyber Infrastructure System of the government of South Africa. It was established in 2007 by Department of Science and Technology and is managed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Its mandate is to provide world class computational resources to research community across different fields of Science and Engineering in the country; and also to drive human capital development in field of high performance computing. Over the past 10 years, the centre managed to significantly grow itself from a flagship project to a more sustainable institution. In this presentation, I will share with you temporal evolution of the CHPC since it was established to date and how it can benefit the African VLBI Network (AVN) and SKA readiness community. In particular, the recent partnership between CHPC and Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) human capital development project. The CHPC has introduced Linux (UBUNTU) and Python scripting training to DARA project and about 44 postgraduates students from Maputo, Nairobi and Madagascar has been trained since November 2017.

More about the author:

Dr Daniel M. Moeketsi: Senior Research Scientist responsible for computational space physics at Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) of CSIR, South Africa. He is one of the pioneer staff of the Centre and in the past 10 years, Moeketsi contributed to the development of Centre for High Performance Computing in South Africa. Moeketsi received PhD in Space Physics from Rhodes University, SouthAfrica in 2008. His thesis was the first comprehensive study of impact of solar activity on the upper atmosphere ionisation over South Africa. He worked as research assistant at HartRAO’s Space Geodesy Programme during the period of his PhD studies. 

Moeketsi leads the Human Capacity Development (HCD) and Outreach projects at CHPC. One of his HCD initiatives is the annual CHPC Linux and Python School in 2011 for science and engineering students in South Africa as part of capacity building in High Performance Computing. This project has now being expanded into Africa.

He is currently serve as Panel Member for the NASA Postdoctoral Program. He was also invited to serve as panel member for several NRF funding instruments/programs. He has published in peer reviewed science journal, served as reviewer for local and international journals,  supervised postgraduate students in science, served as the external examiner for postgraduates theses including being moderator for examinations in physical sciences. His passion is to provide leadership to wards human capacity building in High Performance Computing in Africa.