Meet the Partner: STFC Scientific Computing – Building the Digital Framework for UrbanAIR

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Scientific Computing is an international centre of excellence f or advanced computing expertise and digital research infrastructure.

Its depth of expertise and knowledge across the full range of advanced computing technologies, combined with a global network of partners and internationally-renowned facilities, enables it to provide the vital skills and tools required for modern research and innovation. From high-performance computing infrastructure and data storage systems to computational science and data analytics, software development and AI for science, STFC Scientific Computing influences and advances research across all scientific disciplines.

As part of the UK’s National Laboratories, STFC Scientific Computing provides large-scale, cutting-edge research and infrastructure facilities. For more than 50 years, it has provided a foundation for research partnerships, building pioneering research communities and collaborating on a global scale with researchers and forward-thinking businesses.

🔗 Learn more: https://www.sc.stfc.ac.uk

Working with European cities

In response to the increasingly severe heatwaves and rising air pollution the European cities are experiencing, UrbanAIR project, brings together 18 leading partners from eleven European countries to develop an innovative decision-support tool for city planners. Two groups within Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Scientific Computing play a crucial role in this initiative:

• the Thermo-Fluids Group

• the Data Engineering Group

  
  

Let's find out more about their contribution in the development of this tool, which will integrate neighbourhood and street-level atmospheric models with real-time weather data from five European cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, Bristol, Paris and Rotterdam).

STFC Scientific Computing’s Role in UrbanAIR

STFC Scientific Computing supports the design of the prototype Digital Twin by:

• Defining input parameters;

• Identifying or generating the datasets needed for the initial version;

• Specifying interfaces and relevant standards to connect UrbanAIR with the Destination Earth platform.

Their work enables the development of a prototype architecture ready for integration with Destination Earth's infrastructure.

More specifically, the team will use STFC’s Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI) platform to plan the framework for ‘digital twins’ of the participating cities. This will enable the creation of both climate and human behaviour simulation models that will feed into the EU’s ambitious Destination Earth platform.

STFC Scientific Computing will provide the design parameters and data standards to enable partners to integrate their research into the digital twin.

Excellence in advanced computing supporting city planners

By incorporating climate data and human behaviour insights through computational modelling, UrbanAIR aims to transform urban planning and design processes for major cities across Europe.

UrbanAIR will enable city planners to test what would happen if they took measures to reduce heat and air pollution in specific areas. By gaining these insights, city planners and policymakers can make informed decisions about the investments they should make to minimise the impacts of climate change.

Tom Griffin, Director of STFC Scientific Computing, says:

At STFC Scientific Computing, we are contributing to several international projects, demonstrating our standing as a centre of excellence in advanced computing. By integrating our skills, computing expertise and digital infrastructure into cutting-edge projects like UrbanAIR, we can aim to make a real impact to urban environments by making our cities more resilient to severe weather.

The STFC Scientific Computing’s Team in UrbanAIR

• Dr Jens J. – Technical Project Lead and Scientist

• Dr Stefano Rolfo – Scientist, Physics Digital Twin

• Dr Charles Moulinec – Scientist

• Marion Samler – Stakeholder and User Engagement

• Lyndsey Harding – Project Manager

Follow the Series

Each week, we introduce another partner shaping the UrbanAIR project. Follow UrbanAIR project on LinkedIn and Bluesky, or visit urbanair-project.eu for updates.