Mahindra Ecole Centrale launches its Supercomputer Lab

Team Udayavani, Sep 20, 2019, 12:24 PM IST

Mahindra Ecole Centrale (MEC), an international engineering college based at Hyderabad, launches its Supercomputer Lab. MEC has a strong research focus and several projects on Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning are already underway at the campus. To address the requirements for faster computing performance and providing a robust platform for deep learning & analytics and multi-disciplinary engineering simulations, the MEC Supercomputer lab was created at the campus.

The Supercomputer Lab supports high-intensity computations both for Artificial Intelligence applications and for complex simulations in physical sciences and engineering covering different aspects of fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, electromagnetics, integrated and optimized engineering design, molecular physics and related fields.

“To be a success in today’s rapidly evolving technological scenario, it is imperative that we expose our students with the latest technological advancements and get them to work on the best of products available globally. The MEC Supercomputer Lab comprises of the DGX-1 supercomputer platform that includes a complex stack of components and software including AI Deep Learning frameworks, libraries and drivers. Our students will be trained on this platform that forms the base for most globally recognized initiatives”, says Dr. Yajulu Medury, Director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale.

The DGX-1 heart of the MEC Supercomputer Lab is reinforced with a number of CPU Servers that can be seamlessly scaled up in numbers. A fast Infiniband-based network connectivity is in the process of installation to connect these servers so that CPU-based parallelism can also be attained for simulations not attuned to GPU processing.

A Dassault-Systemes based 3D-Experience package is also being installed in this lab. This package is an overlay on a suite of software that includes CATIA, DELPHI and other related modules, and facilitates Augmented Reality – Virtual Reality based immersive experience. A set of 30 Workstations coupled with a Server are being installed and linked to the other platforms of this laboratory for facilitation of the complete 3D-Experience package. This will enable the attainment of a 3D-Experience Centre of Excellence at this lab.

The Supercomputer Laboratory is home to two of MEC’s Centers of Excellence: Artificial Intelligence and 3D-Experience. At the core of this is, of course, massive computing power, enabled by the DGX-1 Supercomputer, multiple powerful Servers, and a set of 30Workstations, all interconnected through an extremely fast data communication network. These co-located CoEs can themselves be the trigger for a new and unique experience in an Indian Research Institution, namely, the coupling of AI with the world of engineering in multiple new and creative ways of which visionaries can see possibilities that have yet to be manifested in the mundane world.