The DiRAC Project Board invites the UK theory and modelling communities in Astrophysics, Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics to apply for computational resources on the STFC DiRAC HPC Facility.

The deadline for proposal submissions will be 5pm on Monday 1st October 2018

All proposal types will be accepted for this call.

DiRAC will schedule successful peer reviewed proposals from 1 April 2019. We are also able to offer software engineering support to individual projects.

The application form and guidance notes, plus descriptions of the DiRAC services, are available at www.dirac.ac.uk.

Key changes for the 11th Call:

Please note that the guidance notes have changed since the previous call. There are also number of key changes implemented for the 11th Call which include the following:

• Applicants must have submitted and discussed a technical assessment (per proposal) with the DiRAC TWG;
o Applicants will only be considered if this has been initiated a month before the closing date of 1st October 2018 (i.e. the technical assessment must be submitted by 1st September 2018).

• No single application can request more than 80% of the availability of a DiRAC machine within a given year;

• Currently existing Thematic proposals can submit proposals with the following options:
o Applications with scientific themes distinct from the existing award can be submitted as a separate proposal.
o Applications building on the same scientific theme as an existing award should apply as a new project, this new award would then replace any existing compute award. Applications in this category are expected to be observed if significant new resources become available which would greatly effect a project, or if significant scientific developments warrant a project update.

PI’s requesting for a revised or updated long project must justify this request fully; the RAC will take into account all currently active projects which hold a comparable science case. This method cannot be used to top-up an existing project award if there is no change in the science case.

• The application and scoring matrix has been updated to include a strong emphasis on Project Management and Data Management Plans;
• The above changes and a number of smaller changes have been implemented and can be seen in the revised RAC Guidance Documentation for the 11th Call.

Further enquiries should be directed as follows:
• RAC process and remit: STFC Swindon Office (DiRACRAC@stfc.ac.uk)
• Technical questions: Technical Working Group (Lydia.Heck@durham.ac.uk)
• Direct allocations or discretionary requests: DiRAC Director, Dr Mark Wilkinson (miw6@leicester.ac.uk)

Enquiries received within 7 days of a closing date are not guaranteed to be responded to prior to the closing date.

https://dirac.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/11th-Call-Guidance-Notes-Final.pdf