The 10th CHPC Introductory Programming School

and

The 2nd Summer School on the Foundations of Theoretical and Computational Science

01 - 09 February 2020

Protea Hotel, Saldanha Bay, Western Cape

The Summer School is jointly organised by the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the National Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITheP). This specific Summer School is motivated by a concept paper of the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) that explores the possibility to broaden the scope of NITheP into a national institute/centre for theoretical and computational science.

Aim of the School:

The School is aimed at postgraduate students in the fields of physics, chemistry, mathematics, applied mathematics, biology, bioinformatics, computer science, engineering with an interest in both theoretical and computational science. In particular the School aims at bridging the gap between theoretical studies and high performance computing.

The School will start with a Basic Scientific Programming Course to introduce students to Linux (Ubuntu) Command line and bash scripting and the Python programming Language. This will be followed by introductions to topics as

• Foundations of Theoretical and Computational EconoPhysics,

• Foundations of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry,

• Foundations of Quantum Information Processing and Computation,

• Machine Learning as a Tool for Theoretical and Computational Science,

and advanced tutorials and workshops to put the theoretical material into practice. The School is structured in such a way to encourage students to actively solve challenging problems that the lectures will pose. Students will learn by doing!

School Syllabus:

The School syllabus will cover:

Introduction to Linux. It will cover basic introduction to Linux command line, bash scripting and Introduction to PBS Pro and job submission at CHPC (Dr Krishna Govender, Centre for High Performance Computing, CSIR).

Introduction to Python Programming: It will cover basic of python and syntax, advanced function and using Matplotlib with python and the use of advanced mathematical packages such as Numpy and Scipy (Dr Andrew Gill, Centre for High Performance Computing, CSIR).

• Foundations of Theoretical and Computational EconoPhysics (Speaker to be confirmed).

• Foundations of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (Speaker to be confirmed). 

• Foundations of Quantum Information Processing and Computation (Speaker to be confirmed).

• Machine Learning as a Tool for Theoretical and Computational Science (Speaker to be confirmed).

Application and Registration:

The CHPC and NITheP call for all talented students to submit their applications. As public funded institutions, the CHPC and NITheP support the transformation of South Africa and thus the School organizers highly encourage students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to submit their applications. Applicants that require a sponsorship must be registered for postgraduate (MSc and PhD) degrees in Science and Engineering with South African Universities. If you have attended this training in the past you should NOT apply for scholarship. A background of scientific programming skills and basic Linux will be an advantage. It is a requirement that ALL SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS MUST BRING THEIR OWN LAPTOPS.

The CHPC and NIThep will cover costs for travel and accommodation of students selected to attend the school. We would like to encourage Institutions and supervisors to financially support their students (e.g. travel cost). Due to budgetary reasons, only a limited number of scholarships are available for suitably qualified students. Should you wish to attend the School, kindly complete the application form and register online before the closing date.

Important dates:

Arrival at Venue: 1 February 2020

School start: 02 February 2020

Closing date for scholarship applications: 23h59 Sunday 24 November 2019

Notification of Successful Candidates: will be notified by 07 December 2019

Closing dates for registration (Self sponsored applicants): 07 December 2019

School end: 8 February 2020

Departure day: 9 February 2020

School Organizing Committee:

Dr. Daniel Moeketsi (CSIR, NICIS-CHPC))

Prof Francesco Petruccione (UKZN & NITheP)

General Inquiries:

For general inquiries please contact: Dr. Daniel Moeketsi at dmoeketsi@csir.co.za and Prof. Francesco Petruccione at petruccione@ukzn.ac.za