Welcome… Angie Chan and Edmund Gair, High Performance Computing Cluster engineers

Angie and Edmund have recently joined as engineers in the City of London Centre High Performance Computing Cluster at UCL.

Angie Chan

Tell us a bit about your career so far.

I graduated from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with a degree in electronic engineering. During my undergraduate studies, I joined Nvidia’s internship programme, where I developed a strong interest in high-performance computing using GPUs. After graduation, I moved to the UK to pursue further studies at the University of Sheffield in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. During this time, I explored more opportunities to apply high-performance computing in deep learning.

In addition to my studies, I worked with the IT Services’ Research and Innovation team in the University of Sheffield, supporting HPC users. This experience exposed me to a wide range of research fields and broadened my understanding of HPC architecture. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with researchers and engaging in communication, which led me to pursue my current role as a Research IT Engineer, where I continue to work closely with researchers on the latest researches.

What do you see as the most exciting new developments in high performance computing for research?

Given my background in AI and HPC, I find the development of AI-enhanced HPC to be one of the most exciting advancements today. This approach, if fully developed and successfully implemented, has the potential to revolutionise resource optimisation across various research fields. By integrating AI, HPC systems could optimise resource allocation, energy consumption, and data management, significantly improving overall system performance. AI-driven performance tuning can also accelerate scientific simulations and research through more efficient parallel processing.

I look forward to seeing this technology fully mature and become a standard in HPC environments, transforming how research is conducted on a global scale.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my free time, I love travelling to different villages and exploring nature. While living in Sheffield, I spent many weekends hiking in the Peak District with family and friends. One of my most memorable experiences was driving to Ladybower Reservoir to see the aurora. It was my first time witnessing the northern lights, and it still remains one of the most unforgettable moments I have had.

Since moving to London, I have started exploring the city and nearby towns. I find discovering new places fascinating, and I look forward to travelling more with my family and friends in the future.

Edmund Gair

I studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at UCL way back in the 1980’s and initially worked in semiconductor research organisations before moving to an IT support role based at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School, Hampstead. Before taking on my current role, which is focussed on supporting Cancer Research UK biomedical researchers using the UCL computer science HPC, I was a software engineer for over 25 years developing and supporting flight information systems at British Airways.

I’m very excited to be part of the  UCL computer science Technical Support Group, primarily supporting City of London Centre researchers and in the background, helping my colleagues to build an upgraded version of the cluster.

I’m married with one son, aged 24, and I live with my wife in London.