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ADVANCED R E S E A R C H COMPUTINGACHIEVING MORE TOGETHER

computecanada2017-2018 ANNUAL REPORT

MESSAGE FROM OUR BOARD CHAIR 4

INTRODUCTION 6

BY THE NUMBERS 8

Who uses Canada’s national ARC platform? 8

Measuring research impact 10

Supporting research excellence 11

IMPACT STORIES 14

EVENTS 24

PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS 26

WestGrid 26

Compute Ontario 28

Calcul Québec 30

ACENET 32

AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 34

WH

AT

’S IN

SID

E

By any measure, this has been a year of

significant change for Compute Canada. We

secured new leadership for the organization

and enhanced the overall skills of the Board

with seven new members. The MSI 2 Budget

was finalized and submitted to Western

University and the Canada Foundation for

Innovation thanks to the shared efforts of

representatives from across the Compute

Canada Federation. The Federal Budget 2018

also heralded significant new commitments

for digital research infrastructure, including

advanced research computing (ARC). On

behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank

everyone for their contributions in making this

success possible.

We have adopted the theme — “achieving more

together” — for this year’s report. It recognizes

the fact that Compute Canada is indeed a

federation, and that partnerships are essential

in the delivery of ARC resources and services

to a large, diverse and highly distributed user

community.

ME

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AG

E F

RO

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OA

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CH

AIR

Compute Canada | 2017-2018 Annual Report | 5

“

It also speaks to the reality that Canada’s ARC

platform is not the responsibility of a single

organization or institution. On the contrary, it

is the talents, investments and commitment of

many that built the strong national platform

which supports globally competitive, data-

driven discovery and innovation in Canada. It is

this approach that will enable us to successfully

tackle shared challenges such as strengthening

the resource allocation competition, deploying

the newest national system, and piloting new

approaches to much-needed nearline storage.

It is also the only way to ensure that Canada’s

national ARC platform is appropriately and

effectively positioned in the new National

Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) Strategy.

This report, highlighting our shared

achievements in 2017-18, demonstrates the

power of collaboration and coordination

across the Compute Canada Federation.

The coming year promises to be even more

exciting for ARC in Canada and we, the staff

and Board of Compute Canada, look forward

to the opportunities ahead. Together, we can

achieve more.

Dr. Christopher Loomis

Chair, Board of Directors

It is the talents,

investments and

commitment of many

that built the strong

national platform

which supports globally

competitive, data-driven

discovery and innovation

in Canada.

6 | 2017-2018 Annual Report | Compute Canada

INT

RO

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CT

ION


Advanced research computing (ARC) is

transforming research practice around the world,

reshaping the speed at which researchers work,

the teams with whom they collaborate, and the

questions that they pursue.

In Canada, the delivery of the national ARC

platform is a highly distributed activity. It requires

individual institutions, regional/provincial ARC-

serving organizations, and a national office all

working in partnership to deploy state-of-the-art

infrastructure that is supported by world-class

expertise. This diverse federation, has worked

successfully together for over a decade to

collaboratively advance a national ARC platform

that provides Canadian researchers with the

resources that they need to help drive Canada’s

ongoing economic and social prosperity.

Compute Canada is the not-for-profit corporation

that works with its federation partners to facilitate

and coordinate the delivery of this national ARC

platform. On behalf of all of our partners within

this federation, we are excited to share with

you this report that highlights the results of our

collective efforts this past year. We are proud of

all that we have achieved together.


BY

TH

E N

UM

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RS Who uses Canada’s

national ARC platform?

1,250

2012 2018

3,913

Faculty usersTotal users

13,540Increase in users by discipline (2017-2018)

20%Environmental& Earth Sciences

It is important to note that users of Research Platforms and Portals (RPPs) are not included in these totals. The RPP program supports long-running software projects that typically provide large research communities with discipline specific computation and data services through easy-to-use web portals. Because these projects often manage their own user communities, they are not represented within the total user count above. For example, a small RPP team might operate a research web-portal used by a community of hundreds or thousands of researchers across Canada and the world.

Our current RPPs (62 plus five funded by CFI Challenge 1) reported a total of 29,206 Canadian users and 225,386 international users who accessed their services in the last year.

*

25%Engineering, Math& Computer Science

28%Medical, Biological& Life Sciences

30%Humanities& Social Sciences

A large portion of international

collaboration happens via our work in

supporting large research platforms like

ATLAS, GenAP, CBRAIN and CANFAR.

These partnerships enable a diverse range

of research that explores everything

from climate modelling to expanding our

knowledge of the universe.

For more information about the major

science initiatives we support, visit our

2015-2016 Annual Report website.

One homegrown solution, Voyant, is

proving extremely popular. The platform

allows shared web-based text analytics for

researchers within the digital humanities.

Created by Dr. Geoffrey Rockwell and Dr.

Stefan Sinclair, Voyant is getting more than

200,000 unique visitors a year and is the

most widely used tool running on Canada’s

national ARC platform.

To learn more about Voyant, visit our

website.

Big science in Canada and beyond

International collaboration

Users of Canada’s national ARC platform collaborated with

3,158 institutions in 111 countries(2013-2018)

https://www.computecanada.ca/ar/en/5-1-3.html

https://www.computecanada.ca/ar/en/5-1-3.html

https://www.computecanada.ca/research/high-powered-computing-its-not-just-for-astrophysics-anymore/

https://www.computecanada.ca/research/high-powered-computing-its-not-just-for-astrophysics-anymore/


Measuring research impact

ARC powers key technology transfers (2013-2018)

1,948R&D industrial collaborations

8,158Publications

479Spin offs

Canadian ARC-enabled research received

citations greater than the world average —

by a factor of 2

Multidisciplinaryresearch received

500% morecitations than the

world average when enabled

by Canada’s national ARC

platform

Users reported

251patents last year


High-quality user services

Canada’s national ARC platform is supported

by world-class expertise. These highly

qualified experts are located at universities

across Canada and support a spectrum of

users across all academic disciplines.

Support activities are aimed primarily at

helping Canadian researchers leverage the

benefits of ARC to advance and strengthen

the outcomes of their research projects. These

activities can be very diverse. Awareness and

training programs are core to our mission, but

other types of support are also critical to our

operations, such as assistance in developing

and using scientific tools that are deployed

on the national ARC platform, specialized

advisory services and a central help desk.

Our regional partners also deliver a variety

of training events year-round. These include

in-person workshops, summer schools, and

online webinars and self-paced online training

from getting started in high-performance

computing to more advanced training on

software packages or applications. This

training helps researchers to maximize their

use of the national ARC platform and results in

valuable knowledge transfer that impacts the

entire research community.

High-quality infrastructure

Recent investments of $125 million have

enabled a much-needed renewal of Canada’s

national ARC platform, bringing new systems

online that increase storage and computational

capacity. These more efficient systems have

replaced aging legacy systems and provided

Canadian researchers, across all disciplines

and across the country, with access to new,

high-quality infrastructure.

Highly qualified ARC

experts delivered more

than 130,000

hours of training to over

63,250 researchers at

1,334 training events

from 2012 to 2018

Supporting research excellence


Major infrastructure refresh

• In 2012, 58 systems hosted by 26 institutions nationwide

• In 2018, 5 new national systems and 6 legacy systems available to researchers across Canada

Compute and storage capacity will go from

200,000cores

2 Pflops

8 PB300,000 cores

18.8 Pflops

75 PB

by 2018

to

• A petabyte (PB) is a measurement of storage: 1015 bytes of data, 1,000 terabytes (TB) or 1,000,000 gigabytes (GB).

• PetaFLOP or pflop: a unit of computing speed equal to one thousand million million (1015) floating-point operations per second.

• Core refers to the CPU or processing unit — adding cores increases performance and speeds up the system because the supercomputers can do multiple things at once.*


The good news is that ARC is quickly becoming essential to scientific discovery. Across a

broad range of disciplines, more and more Canadian researchers are harnessing the power

of ARC to transform the speed at which they work and answer complex scientific questions.

And their computational needs are growing in both quantity and scope, as simulations and

analyses become more sophisticated and data sets increase in size and complexity.

While our new infrastructure deployments are helping to address this increasing user demand, our

ARC supply is not keeping pace. As the diagram below shows, it has become more challenging to

meet the ARC-related needs of researchers through our annual Resource Allocation Competitions

(RAC).

Compute Canada will continue to act as a strategic liaison with the federal government and carry

the critical message that sustained and increased investment in ARC is essential to the continued

vitality and competitiveness of Canada’s research community.

We are grateful for the federal government’s recent commitment in Budget 2018 to new

investments in Canada’s Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) ecosystem and welcome the

opportunity to contribute to a National DRI Strategy that will ensure the ongoing sustainability

of Canada’s national ARC platform.


* For RAC 2018, researchers were awarded 55.1% of the total CPU requested (158,554 core years). At a projected growth rate of 10% per year, researchers demand for CPU is expected to be close to 400,000 core years. Supply will remain at 200,000 core years.

IMP

AC

T S

TO

RIE

S

Today, ARC-powered research crosses

all academic disciplines and many

industrial sectors, resulting in significant

social, economic, environmental and

health benefits for Canadians. Scientists

use ARC to answer some of the most

important questions facing us today,

such as addressing climate change and

unravelling the mysteries of the universe.

One of the best ways to understand the

impact of this research on Canadians is to

meet some of the fascinating researchers

using ARC today.

Compute Canada 2017-2018 Annual Report | 15

Dr. Yvonne Coady, a computer scientist at

the University of Victoria developed a virtual

reality game based on data from a real

tsunami that hit Port Alberni, B.C., in 1964.

Coady and her research team were able to

develop the game using federation resources

and scientifically accurate models from Ocean

Networks Canada.

Using a mix of virtual reality headsets,

smartphones, tablets and laptops, the game

puts the user in a realistic emergency response

scenario. Players have to decide how to

react to the situation, which includes dealing

with damage caused by an earthquake and

inundation from a tsunami wave.

This virtual reality technology has future

applications for emergency response officials

and policy-makers, who could use the

methodologies and tools to prepare responses

to future earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, or

other natural disaster events.

Articles:

https://www.westgrid.ca/research-showcase/

tsunami_experience_brought_virtual_reality

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-

columbia/virtual-reality-game-1.4660078

Using a virtual reality game to prepare for natural disasters

https://www.westgrid.ca/research-showcase/tsunami_experience_brought_virtual_reality

https://www.westgrid.ca/research-showcase/tsunami_experience_brought_virtual_reality

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/virtual-reality-game-1.4660078

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/virtual-reality-game-1.4660078


A team of scientists, including Dr. Falk Herwig,

an astrophysicist at the University of Victoria,

recently used Niagara, the federation’s newest

60,000-core supercomputer that SciNet

operates at the University of Toronto, to

perform high-resolution simulations of stars

that are second to none internationally.

Exploring a transition region that is still poorly

understood, the research team simulated the

core convection during the hydrogen-core

burning phase in a star with a mass 25 times

that of the Sun.

“Niagara allows us to really accelerate science,”

says Herwig. “We are able to complete work in

a few weeks that would normally take a year

to do.”

Article:

https://www.rdmag.com/article/2018/06/

canadas-most-powerful-research-

supercomputer-simulates-life-star

Simulations:

http://astrowww.phys.uvic.ca/~fherwig/

StellarHydro/Niagara/movies/

Supercomputer “game changer” for understanding life of stars

https://www.rdmag.com/article/2018/06/canadas-most-powerful-research-supercomputer-simulates-life-star



http://astrowww.phys.uvic.ca/~fherwig/StellarHydro/Niagara/movies/

http://astrowww.phys.uvic.ca/~fherwig/StellarHydro/Niagara/movies/

Dr. Christian Landry is an evolutionary biologist

at Laval University with an impressive resume

that includes Québec Science magazine’s

“10 Discoveries of the Year” for 2017 and the

NSERC-E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship.

Landry researches the foundations of evolution

by examining the inner life of cells. He mimics

the circumstances of evolution and then

repeats the experiment to identify patterns

and learn whether the “evolution” follows a

predetermined path.

Landry’s work deals with massive amounts of

data that uses ARC facilities to process and

make sense of the results.

In his study published by the journal Science in

February 2017, Landry made a discovery that

upended one of the principles of evolutionary

biology: that multiple copies of a gene protect

organisms against the setbacks of evolution.

Landry and his team proved not only that

this was not the case but also that duplicated

genes could make the genome more fragile

over time.

”The duplication of a gene confers a momentary

advantage in evolutionary terms,” says Landry.

“But over a longer period, as mutations

accumulate, it can become a handicap.”

Landry’s experiments have also demonstrated

that controlled evolution can be used to

develop personalized pharmaceuticals that

tailor treatments and dosage to the individual.

Articles:

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/

Steacie-Steacie/Profiles-Profils/Landry-Landry_

eng.asp

http://www.quebecscience.qc.ca/10-

decouvertes-2017/7-Quand-deux-genes-ne-

valent-pas-mieux-quun (includes video interview)

Researching the foundation of evolution

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/Steacie-Steacie/Profiles-Profils/Landry-Landry_eng.asp



https://www.quebecscience.qc.ca/sciences/les-10-decouvertes-de-2017/7-quand-deux-genes-ne-valent-pas-mieux-quun/




Dr. Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montreal

was appointed an Officer of the Order of

Canada in recognition of his contributions to

the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI),

particularly in deep-learning algorithms.

Bengio’s groundbreaking work would not

have been possible without ARC. His work is

cited as part of the foundation for the current

AI market explosion and lauded as placing

Canada in a leadership position within the

field. Bengio is author of the publication with

the highest Field Weighted Citation Index

(FWCI) of all papers reported by Compute

Canada’s principal investigators, reflecting his

impact in the field. He’s also reported a total

of 119 papers.

In addition to his academic post, Bengio is the

head of the Montreal Institute for Learning

Algorithms, which funds AI research; an

adviser to Microsoft; and the brains behind a

startup called Element AI.

Article:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/

national/order-of-canada2017/article35500532/

Bengio honoured with Order of Canada for contributions to field of artificial intelligence

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/order-of-canada2017/article35500532/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/order-of-canada2017/article35500532/


Acadia University’s Dr. Richard Karsten is the

lead researcher on a multi-institutional tidal

energy project that received a CFI Innovation

Fund award for state-of-the-art field equipment

and high-end computing infrastructure.

Tidal currents are a promising renewable

source of energy, yet decisions regarding the

development and regulation of the tidal energy

industry have been hindered by insufficient

data on animal/turbine interactions and flow

variability.

Karsten’s team, which includes researchers

from Acadia University, Dalhousie University,

University of New Brunswick and Memorial

University, will use ARC to create the world’s

first observation and prediction system for

investigating the physical and biological

marine environment in high-flow conditions at

turbulence-resolving scales.

The result: The scientific evidence needed to

determine the scale of a tidal energy industry

in the Bay of Fundy that is both economically

feasible and environmentally acceptable.

Article:

https://research.acadiau.ca/research-news-

reader/acadia-led-tidal-energy-research-team-

receives-cfi-innovation-fund-award.html

First ARC equipment dedicated to tidal energy

https://research.acadiau.ca/research-news-reader/acadia-led-tidal-energy-research-team-receives-cfi-innovation-fund-award.html



In October 2017, CanDIG was selected to

help drive the development of international

standards in the rapidly growing field

of genomics. CanDIG is a pan-Canadian

collaboration approach to building a genomics

research platform, allowing researchers to

study national-scale genomic data sets while

respecting provincial jurisdiction of health

data and privacy.

Scientists estimate that, by 2025, 60 million

patients around the world will have their genes

sequenced in a healthcare context. Healthcare

is not used to this type or amount of data, which

means that guidelines need to be developed

to ensure knowledge transfer among clinical

studies is standard, interoperable and secure.

ARC is an essential tool for dealing with the

massive genomic data sets.

“CanDIG has the potential to make a significant

impact in Canadian life science research and

health care,” said Michael Brudno, PI of CanDIG

and Director of the Centre for Computational

Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children.

By contributing to this international effort,

CanDIG will advance Canadian health research,

building Canadian tools that are interoperable

with those of international colleagues while

respecting Canada’s regulatory environment.

Work on best practices for privacy and security

will also ensure the protection of Canadian

patient data within the CanDIG platform.

Article:

https://candig.github.io/releases/candig_joins_

ga4gh.html

Driving international health standards, protecting Canadian patient data

https://candig.github.io/releases/candig_joins_ga4gh.html

https://candig.github.io/releases/candig_joins_ga4gh.html

University of Calgary researchers Ian Lewis

and Sergei Noskov are leading an innovative

new program to combat infectious disease,

and using ARC to accomplish this.

The program, called Precision Infection

Management (PIM), requires a massive

computer database, ResistanceDB, which will

be hosted on Canada’s national ARC platform.

Our regional partner, WestGrid, is contributing

specialized technical expertise — from

database architects to senior programmers

to data security experts — to help develop

and build the components that will power

ResistanceDB.

PIM will allow doctors to rapidly identify and

stop serious infections before they develop

into life-threatening conditions. PIM will also

minimize side effects from antibiotics by

tailoring therapy to each patient’s needs. This

concept would not have been possible even a

couple of years ago, says Lewis. “We are really

at the cutting edge of what is possible.”

PIM may also play an important role in fighting

the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

If left unchecked, the worldwide spread of

resistance among disease-causing microbes

could cause life expectancy in Canada to drop

by 20 years as of 2050, he says.

Article:

http://ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2018-01-24/

calgary-team-leads-international-effort-reduce-

death-and-disability-infections

Combating infectious disease

http://ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2018-01-24/calgary-team-leads-international-effort-reduce-death-and-disability-infections



An apple a dayWhat do apples, human genetics and advanced research computing have in

common? Discover more about Dr. Sean Myle’s fascinating research program

at Dalhousie University that attempts to accelerate apple breeding.

Meet Sean

In search of other life in the universeFor the first time in history, humanity is in a position to make observations

that may directly detect life outside the solar system. Join Canada’s Research

Chair in Exoplanet Astrophysics, Dr. Jason Rowe, as he uncovers the answers

to our “big big question.”

Meet Jason

Creating “Google Scores” for the massesWhat if computers could read music using optical music recognition? Dr.

Ichiro Fujinaga’s lifework — a project he calls “Google Scores” — seeks to

establish a massive database of musical scores for musicologists to search

and analyze.

Meet Ichiro

Using wildlife for sentinels for human healthDelve into an intricately woven research puzzle that combines advanced

research computing, the blueprint of life, North American Bullfrogs and

thyroid hormones. The results: Groundbreaking research from Dr. Caren

Helbing and her team on potential pollutants that could affect human health.

Meet Caren

Research Profile: Stéphane MoreauAir traffic is not the only thing that’s on the rise. So is the very real problem

of noise pollution that accompanies it. Join the University of Sherbrooke’s

Research Chair in Aeroacoustics, Dr. Stéphane Moreau, as he seeks solutions.

Meet Stéphane


Photo credit: Université de Sherbrooke

https://www.computecanada.ca/research/an-apple-a-day/

https://www.computecanada.ca/research/jason-rowe-in-search-of-other-life-in-the-universe/

https://www.computecanada.ca/research/creating-google-scores-for-the-masses/

https://www.computecanada.ca/research/using-wildlife-as-sentinels-for-human-health/

https://www.computecanada.ca/research/silence-were-flying/

Simon Fraser University, CUCCIO and

Compute Canada hosted a successful

CANHEIT-TECC 2018 from June 18 to 21 in

beautiful Burnaby, B.C. The conference

welcomed close to 700 delegates from

across Canada for four intense days

of engaging conversations, thought-

provoking speakers, and challenges to

change the landscape of higher-ed IT

and research computing.

Team members from across our

federation presented and participated

in panels on a diverse range of

topics, including cybersecurity, data

management, cloud, digital humanities,

federated identities for research, and

strategies for supporting advanced

research computing in Canada.

EV

EN

TS

CANHEIT-TECC 2018

http://www.cuccio.net/en/


Industry award for top HPC-enabled scientific achievement

During SC17, Compute Canada received

an HPCwire award for Top HPC-Enabled

Scientific Achievement. This award recognized

Canada’s national ARC platform’s support of

an international scientific collaboration that

simulated — for the first time — the Sun’s

magnetic 11-year cycle.

To learn more about this scientific discovery

enabled by ARC, visit our website.

Nobel Prize-winning LIGO collaboration

Another highlight of SC17 was the conference-

wide celebration of the Nobel Prize-winning

LIGO collaboration.

Two years ago, gravitational waves generated

from a 1.3 billion-year-old collision of two

black holes were observed for the first time

by the LIGO detector in the United States. This

momentous discovery — touted as bringing

about a revolution in our knowledge of the

universe — came 100 years after Einstein’s

prediction of their existence and earned the

pioneers of LIGO a recent Nobel Prize in

Physics.

Dr. Harald Pfeiffer used ARC resources to

provide a unique contribution to this discovery.

Find out more about Pfeiffer’s contribution

and the LIGO project, on our website.

In November 2017, a small team journeyed to

Denver, Colorado for SC17, the world’s largest

international supercomputing conference. As

in years past, Compute Canada had a visible

presence with a booth on the showroom floor,

allowing for engagement with the over 11,000

delegates.

SC17 is an important event for Compute

Canada to strengthen existing international

partnerships, forge new ones, and gain

insider information on the latest technologies

and trends within the high-performance

community.

Compute Canada at SC17

https://www.computecanada.ca/featured/compute-canada-receives-2017-hpcwire-award-for-top-hpc-enabled-scientific-achievement/

https://www.computecanada.ca/featured/canadian-scientists-unique-contribution-to-the-nobel-prize-winning-ligo-collaboration/

WestGrid spans British Columbia,

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,

and is home to two national

supercomputers, Arbutus at the

University of Victoria and Cedar at

Simon Fraser University.

WestGrid is powered by more than 60

technical and support personnel who

have specialized domain expertise and a

breadth of skills in research computing.

Launching Cedar and Arbutus over the

last two years and bringing the systems

online for researchers across the

country was made possible because of

the dedication and collaboration of the

staff, who worked as a regional team

and with counterparts in other regions.

As part of Compute Canada’s

infrastructure renewal in 2017-18,

WestGrid staff coordinated the

migration of hundreds of users from six

smaller WestGrid regional systems onto

Canada’s national ARC platform.

The team behind WestGrid is one of

the region’s greatest strengths. In

addition to providing ARC services

and support, WestGrid provides ARC

training and outreach activities that

contribute to knowledge transfer and

HQP development in Western Canada.

In 2017-18, more than 1,000 researchers

participated in in-person training

workshops or online webinars, with 42%

PA

RT

NE

R H

IGH

LIG

HT

S

Users by province

51%34%

8%7%

www.westgrid.ca

https://www.westgrid.ca//


of the attendees being new users. WestGrid

delivered thousands of hours of training,

launched inaugural research-computing

summer schools in Vancouver and Saskatoon,

hosted 11 online Community Town Halls, and

ran a successful nation-wide data visualization

competition called Visualize This!

In January 2018, a Board of Directors was

elected and seven institutions were admitted as

members to provide governance and strategic

guidance as WestGrid enters a new era of

operations as a not-for-profit organization. With

a vision focused on ensuring researchers have

the tools and resources they need to conduct

excellent science, WestGrid will continue to

collaborate with its members, partners, and

the provincial governments to support and

accelerate research and innovation in Western

Canada.

“The services provided by WestGrid are invaluable and our organization would be substantially less productive without WestGrid’s assistance. Some of our research would have been impossible without WestGrid.”

University of Victoria, Environmental

and Earth Sciences Research Staff

“WestGrid is an amazing resource with incredible support. I am extremely thankful for WestGrid and all of the people associated with it.”

University of Alberta, Medical, Biological

and Life Sciences Graduate Student

Of those who used WestGrid Support:

found WestGrid

Support provided

helpful advice and

recommendations

agreed that responses

were timely and

have not had any

issues with WestGrid

Support or unresolved

requests

99%97%

WestGrid faculty accounts by research areaAs of January 2018

35.2%

25.3%

9.9%

12.2%

7.9%

Medical, Biological and Life Sciences

Engineering, Math and Computer Science

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Physics

Environmental and Earth Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Astronomy

Industry Collaborations: Lab-to-market activity reported by WestGrid usersData collected from 2018 Compute Canada Account

Collaborations

Companies created

Pending patents

Received patents

% of all CC users

30%

20%

10%

0%BC AB SK MB

7.2%


Compute Ontario is an independent, not-

for-profit organization that coordinates

investments in ARC throughout Ontario,

enabling long-term planning for researchers

and institutions. Compute Ontario is an

objective and credible voice for our partners

and takes actionable steps to deliver on our

mandate.

2017-18 was a year of growth for ARC in

Ontario and the computational power available

to Ontario researchers. Two new systems,

totalling 92,000 new cores for research

computing, were made operational: Graham

at the University of Waterloo, and Niagara —

the highest ranked supercomputer in Canada

on the Top500 — at the University of Toronto.

The number of ARC users in the province

increased substantially, growing 14% from the

previous year to 2,533 users and representing

36% of the national user base. Overall, Ontario

principal investigators accounted for 37% of

the total national usage of Compute Canada

resources. Ontario’s usage of CPUs grew by

10% as compared to the previous year while

newly installed GPUs resulted in a 60% increase

in GPU usage.

www.computeontario.ca


Ontario’s consortia staff from

Centre for Advanced Computing,

HPC4Health, SciNet and

SHARCNET, delivered 25,321

hours of teaching to more than

9,000 participants representing

more than a 50% increase

from the previous year in both

teaching time and participants

in training events.

https://computeontario.ca/

Seventy highly experienced ARC professionals

supported users to maximize their research

productivity, develop and deliver training,

as well as procuring, deploying and running

world-class systems.

As a means to connect both the provincial and

national ARC community, Compute Ontario

co-presented the 2017 High-Performance

Computing Symposium in Kingston, Ontario

along with our partners at Centre for Advanced

Computing. This event brought together 319

delegates from across Canada, including some

of our country’s most-celebrated academics

and users of ARC: Dr. Carolyn McGregor,

Dr. William Peltier, and Nobel Laureate

Dr. Art McDonald. The symposium was an

opportunity for students to present posters,

and for researchers from all disciplines and

career stages to share research, best practices,

and new technologies, and learn more about

industry partners.

In addition, Compute Ontario participated

in consultations at both the provincial and

federal levels to best represent the interest of

researchers in the province. To further deliver

on our mandate, Compute Ontario initiated

two research projects that will inform key

stakeholders on possible investments in the

development of highly qualified personnel and

in infrastructure so that Ontario may continue

to be competitive in the global innovation

economy.

For more information or for Compute Ontario’s

full annual report, visit computeontario.ca.

Compute Ontario has committed to prioritizing five Areas of Focus that allow the organization to deliver the mandate.

These are:

Serve as a credible

voice regarding

policy.

Contribute to efforts

to promote ARC and

its use, provincially

and nationally.

Coordinate and

support the

advanced computing

needs of Ontario’s

academic research

community and other

stakeholders.

Coordinate Ontario’s

efforts to develop,

retain and increase

highly qualified

personnel to support

ARC.

Build trust with and

serve as a focal

point for connecting

communities.

1

2

3

4

5

https://computeontario.ca/

McGill UMontréal Laval USherbrooke Concordia Polytechnique

UQAM ÉTS CHU Ste-Justine INRS UQTR HEC Montréal UQAC

CHUM Bishop’s UQAO Ouranos UQAT Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf

CRIM UQAR Cégep de Trois-Rivières Cégep de l’Outaouais Dawson

College Télé-université McGill UMontréal Laval USherbrooke

Concordia Polytechnique UQAM ÉTS CHU Ste-Justine INRS

UQTR HEC Montréal UQAC CHUM Bishop’s UQAO Ouranos

UQAT Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf CRIM UQAR Cégep de Trois-

Rivières Cégep de l’Outaouais Dawson College Télé-université














Evolving Requirements

Calcul Québec is a group of Quebec universities

assembled around ARC. Its mission is to

provide the research community with state-

of-the-art advanced computing equipment

infrastructure, software, and consulting

services. More than 2,000 researchers from

650 different research groups actively use

Calcul Québec’s resources. These users are

from 25 different institutions and supported

by a team of 40 experts.

Primarily used by physics and chemistry

researchers in the past, ARC is now seen as

essential across research domains. Pierre-

Étienne Jacques, Scientific Director at Calcul

Québec, explains: “Calcul Québec’s user base

is constantly diversifying, with training and

support requirements on the rise.”

www.calculquebec.ca/en/


Number of users per research domain

125

443

99

136

62

122

261

381

114

260

182

262

52

197

51

13

Biology & Life Sciences

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Environment & Eartch Sciences

Engineering Math & Computer Science

Physics & Astronomy

Medical Sciences

Human & Social Sciences

0

100

200

300

400

500

http://www.calculquebec.ca/en/













































“Governments now recognize the importance of advanced research computing in accelerating knowledge across domains. Specifically, the $572 million of federal funding in digital research infrastructure over five years will give Canadian researchers access to world-class computing resources. In Quebec, the AI Cluster Steering Committee says access for AI and data science industry actors to required computing power and expertise is key, and Quebec must support such measures through empowering Calcul Québec.”

Suzanne Talon, Chief Executive Officer, Calcul Québec

High demand for training

In 2017-2018, more than 642 French- and English-speaking participants attended one of 40

training events held across 8 different locations. All of Calcul Québec’s training sessions are

given in a practical workshop format with facilitators.

The spring Advanced Researching Computing (ARC) school is one of Calcul Québec's key events.

This intensive training week was a success with 27 participants from 14 different institutions.


ACENET represents the four Atlantic

provinces. It operates under the direction

of a Board of Directors composed of VPRs

(or their designates) from its five major

resource providers. Additionally, it has a

Research Directorate, consisting of eight

cross-disciplinary researchers from seven

institutions, who help represent the interests of

researchers, and who provide scientific advice

and guidance to ACENET’s management.

The lifeblood of ACENET is its 13-member

scientific and technical team. While loosely tied

to his or her geography, each member of the

team offers specialized skills that traverse the

region and elsewhere in Canada. Specialties

include big data, cloud computing, molecular

dynamics and data management.

During 2017-18, the team served almost 1,000

users across a range of research areas.

www.ace-net.ca


20%

14%

14%14%

13%

12%

5%8% Chemistry and Biochemistry

Environmental and Earth Science

Computer and Information Science

Biological and Life Sciences

Physics

Engineering

Math and Statistics

Other

Percentage of users by discipline

https://www.ace-net.ca/


“During the latter part of 2017 and early 2018, ACENET carried out a comprehensive series of face-to-face consultations with its user community. These sessions uncovered key areas for enhanced training and a number of ideas for new services and support initiatives. As advanced computing technology, the research needs of our community, and the Atlantic Canadian research and innovation landscape evolve, ACENET is excited to respond to developing needs, striving to provide the highest calibre service to those who created us and to whom we continue to serve, and to those we hope to serve.”

Ann MacKenzie, Chief Executive Officer, ACENET

During the same timeframe, ACENET carried

out 60 training sessions with over 900

participants, primarily in-person, and touched

154 prospective users and influencers through

11 formal outreach events. Training sessions

included those in research data management

carried out through the Compute Canada

partnership with the Portage Network.

ACENET’s 14 institutional members,

representing all of the major universities and

community colleges in the region, and its

strategic partnerships with other provincial,

regional and institutional organizations, are

a unified, single and potent voice for ARC in

Atlantic Canada.

AU

DIT

ED

FIN

AN

CIA

L

STA

TE

ME

NT

SFinancial Statements

computecanada

Year ended March 31, 2018

KPMG LLPVaughan Metropolitan Centre100 New Park Place, Suite 1400Vaughan ON L4K 0J3CanadaTel 905-265-5900Fax 905-265-6390

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORTTo the Board of Directors of Compute Canada

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of Compute Canada, whichcomprise the statement of financial position as at March 31, 2018, the statements ofoperations and net assets and cash flows for the year then ended, and notes, comprisinga summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information.

Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financialstatements in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profitorganizations, and for such internal control as management determines is necessary toenable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement,whether due to fraud or error.

Auditors' Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on ouraudit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditingstandards. Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and planand perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financialstatements are free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts anddisclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on ourjudgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financialstatements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, weconsider internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of thefinancial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in thecircumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness ofthe entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness ofaccounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made bymanagement, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate toprovide a basis for our audit opinion.

KPMG LLP, is a Canadian limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independentmember firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entityKPMG Canada provides services to KPMG LLP.


Page 2

Opinion

In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, thefinancial position of Compute Canada as at March 31, 2018, and its results of operationsand its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian accountingstandards for not-for-profit organizations.

Chartered Professional Accountants, Licensed Public Accountants

August 15, 2018

Vaughan, Canada












COMPUTE CANADAStatement of Financial Position

March 31, 2018, with comparative information for 2017

2018 2017

AssetsCurrent assets:

Cash $ 103,451 $ 950,100Accounts receivable 1,594,350 859,341Prepaid expenses 70,922 73,043

1,768,723 1,882,484

Capital assets (note 3) 94,516 116,158

$ 1,863,239 $ 1,998,642

Liabilities and Net AssetsCurrent liabilities:

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (notes 4 and 6) $ 1,039,261 $ 281,646Deferred revenue - 35,000

1,039,261 316,646

Net assets:Restricted (note 6) - 887,851Unrestricted 823,978 794,145

823,978 1,681,996

Subsequent event (note 6)Commitments (note 7)

$ 1,863,239 $ 1,998,642

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

On behalf of the Board:

Chair, Audit & Finance Committee

Chair, Board of Directors

1


COMPUTE CANADAStatement of Operations and Net Assets

Year ended March 31, 2018, with comparative information for 2017

2018 2017

Revenue:Partner contributions $ 2,579,436 $ 3,274,827Partner contributions - WestGrid (note 6) - 905,932Gift in-kind services 700,365 844,262Service contracts 190,476 382,619Membership fees - WestGrid (note 6) - 218,333Membership fees 190,000 180,000Other income - 23,552

3,660,277 5,829,525

Expenditures:Personnel 1,566,814 1,748,159Gift in-kind services 700,365 844,262Science & technology service delivery 406,898 483,828Professional services 402,587 364,474Meetings and travel 294,765 427,220Office operations 142,839 164,673Communications and events 91,000 286,918Amortization 25,176 62,339Expenses - WestGrid (note 6) - 1,040,300Other - 10,501

3,630,444 5,432,674

Excess of revenues over expenses prior tothe WestGrid transfers 29,833 396,851

Transfer to WestGrid (note 6) 887,851 15,000

Excess (deficiency) of revenues over expenditures $ (858,018) $ 381,851


2


COMPUTE CANADAStatement of Changes in Net Assets


2018 2017

RestrictedWestGrid Unrestricted Total Total

Net assets, beginning of year $ 887,851 $ 794,145 $ 1,681,996 $ 1,300,145

Excess (deficiency) of revenueover expenses and transfer ofrestricted funds to WestGrid (note 6) (887,851) 29,833 (858,018) 381,851

Net assets, end of year $ - $ 823,978 $ 823,978 $ 1,681,996


3


COMPUTE CANADAStatement of Cash Flows


2018 2017

Cash provided by (used in):

Operations:Excess (deficiency) of revenues over expenditures $ (858,018) $ 381,851Amortization of capital assets which does not

involve cash 25,176 21,137Amortization of intangible asset which does not

involve cash - 41,202 (832,842) 444,190

Changes in working capital:Accounts receivable (735,009) (541,038)Prepaid expenses 2,121 107,452Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 757,615 (39,801)Deferred revenue (35,000) (194,345)

(843,115) (223,542)

Financing:Deferred lease inducement - (197)

Investing:Purchase of capital assets (3,534) (117,697)

Decrease in cash (846,649) (341,436)

Cash, beginning of year 950,100 1,291,536

Cash, end of year $ 103,451 $ 950,100


4


COMPUTE CANADANotes to Financial Statements


Compute Canada (the "Corporation") is a not-for-profit organization, incorporated in Canada withoutshare capital under the Canada Corporations Act on September 27, 2012. The Corporation is a not-for-profit organization under the Income Tax Act and accordingly is exempt from income taxes,provided certain requirements of the Income Tax Act are met.

The Corporation aims to promote and support the shared use of advanced computing that enablesresearch and innovation for the socio-economic benefit of Canada; to promote the interest of themembers in relation to advanced computing; and to provide members with resources and a forum fordiscussion and education in relation to advanced computing.

1. Basis of presentation:

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Canadian accountingstandards for not-for-profit organizations in part III of the CPA Handbook ("ASNPO").

2. Significant accounting policies:

(a) Revenue recognition:

The Corporation follows the deferral method of accounting for contributions. Restrictedcontributions are recognized as revenue in the year in which the related expenses areincurred. Unrestricted contributions are recognized as revenue when received orreceivable if the amount to be received can be reasonably estimated and collection isreasonably assured. Partner contributions and membership fees are recognized in theyear to which they relate.

Membership fees are charged on an annual basis to partner institutions and recognized inrevenue as earned over the course of the year.

(b) Financial instruments:

Financial instruments are recorded at fair value on initial recognition. Freestandingderivative instruments that are not in a qualifying hedging relationship and equityinstruments that are quoted in an active market are subsequently measured at fair value.All other financial instruments are subsequently recorded at cost or amortized cost, unlessmanagement has elected to carry the instruments at fair value. The Corporation has notelected to carry any such financial instruments at fair value.

Transaction costs incurred on the acquisition of financial instruments measuredsubsequently at fair value are expensed as incurred. All other financial instruments areadjusted by transaction costs incurred on acquisition and financing costs, which areamortized using the straight-line method (or effective interest rate method).

5


COMPUTE CANADANotes to Financial Statements (continued)


2. Significant accounting policies (continued):

(b) Financial instruments (continued):

Financial assets are assessed for impairment on an annual basis at the end of the fiscalyear if there are indicators of impairment. If there is an indicator of impairment, theCorporation determines if there is a significant adverse change in the expected amount ortiming of future cash flows from the financial asset. If there is a significant adverse changein the expected cash flows, the carrying value of the financial asset is reduced to thehighest of the present value of the expected cash flows, the amount that could be realizedfrom selling the financial asset or the amount the Corporation expects to realize byexercising its right to any collateral. If events and circumstances reverse in a future year,an impairment loss will be reversed to the extent of the improvement, not exceeding theinitial carrying value.

(c) Capital assets:

Capital assets are stated at cost, less accumulated amortization. Amortization is providedusing the declining balance method and following annual rates:

Asset Rate

Furniture and fixtures 20%Computer hardware 55%Computer software 100%Leasehold improvements Term of the lease

The carrying amount of an item of capital assets is tested for recoverability wheneverevents or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not berecoverable. An impairment loss is recognized when the asset’s carrying amount is notrecoverable and exceeds its fair value.

(d) Gift in-kind services:

Gift in-kind services received by the Corporation, for which fair value can be reasonablydetermined and which are used in the normal course of the Corporation's operations, arerecognized in the financial statements.

6




2. Significant accounting policies (continued):

(e) Use of estimates:

The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with ASNPO requiresmanagement to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts ofassets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of thefinancial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the year.Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the carrying amountsof capital assets and provisions for impairment of trade accounts receivable. Actual resultscould differ from those estimates.

3. Capital assets:

2018 2017

CostAccumulatedamortization

Net bookvalue

Net bookvalue

Furniture and fixtures $ 51,959 $ 17,036 $ 34,923 $ 43,654Computer hardware 53,430 42,933 10,497 17,632Leasehold improvements 57,760 8,664 49,096 54,872

$ 163,149 $ 68,633 $ 94,516 $ 116,158

4. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities:

Included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities are government remittances payable of nil(2017 - $17,705).

5. Canada Foundation for Innovation:

Major Science Initiatives ("MSI") Fund:

University of Western Ontario, on behalf of Compute Canada entered into an agreement withCFI under CFI’s Major Science Initiative Fund for the period from April 1, 2012 to March31,2017. Under this program, CFI contributes to the operating and maintenance ("O & M") costsof CFI-funded large scale research facilities. Funding decisions are based on the demonstratedneed for O & M funding to enable these facilities to fully exploit their capabilities; on theiradvanced governance and management structures; on their scientific excellence; and on theircurrent and potential benefits to Canada.

7




5. Canada Foundation for Innovation: (continued):

In September 2016, CFI announced renewed funding for the O & M of Compute Canadafacilities for the five-year period from April 1, 2017 through March 31, 2022. Announced fundingfor Compute Canada and its partner institutions is $69,450,000, of which, approximately$16,500,000 will be received by Compute Canada. This funding has been split into two phasesfor award finalization purposes. Phase 1 was fiscal year 2017/2018, while Phase 2 is fiscalyears 2018-2019 through 2021-2022. Phase 2 award finalization is expected in the fall of 2018.

Under the current MSI program to date, the Corporation has earned $2,579,436.

6. WestGrid:

Effective April 1, 2014 the payroll expenses of WestGrid were assumed by the Corporation.Effective July 1, 2014 the Corporation assumed all other WestGrid operational expenses. AllWestGrid CFI eligible expenses were reimbursed to the Corporation from CFI funds flowingthrough the University of Alberta. This reimbursement was secured through a ServiceAgreement between Compute Canada and University of Alberta signed in October, 2014,supported by the revised University of Alberta MSI 30198 Award Agreement of November,2015.

Effective April 1, 2014 the Corporation invoiced WestGrid member institutions for theappropriate membership fees. Since fiscal 2015, these membership fees were held by ComputeCanada on behalf of WestGrid. In addition, $316,746 of WestGrid membership fees from prioryears, previously held at the University of Alberta on behalf of WestGrid, was transferred toCompute Canada and recognized into revenue in the 2015. In the event the CFI funds were notapproved, or expenses were deemed ineligible, WestGrid expenses would have been paid inpart by the membership fees from the institutions in the WestGrid region.

Effective April 1, 2017, the Corporation transferred accountability of all WestGrid operations asWestGrid was legally incorporated in February 2017. At as March 31, 2017, the Corporationaccrued $30,798 of costs associated with WestGrid personnel and also transferred $15,000 outof the Corporation from restricted net assets to facilitate WestGrid’s incorporation. During theyear, the Corporation transferred $855,589 out of the Corporation from restricted net assets tothe newly incorporated WestGrid entity. Subsequent to year-end on April 20, 2018, theCorporation paid $32,262 out of the Corporation, which was the remaining balance owed toWestGrid.

At the conclusion of the fiscal year, the Board transferred to accounts payable and accruedliabilities the remaining amount owed to WestGrid in the amount of $32,262. These funds werepaid out to WestGrid subsequent to year end.

8




7. Lease commitments:

The Company is committed to minimum annual lease payments under an operating lease foroffice premises as follows:

2019 $ 88,0872020 90,1272021 90,127

Total $ 268,341

8. Financial risks and risk management:

The Corporation considers its total assets to be its capital. The Corporation's objectives inmanaging capital are to safeguard the assets and maintain liquidity.

(a) Liquidity risk:

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Corporation will be unable to fulfill its obligations on atimely basis or at a reasonable cost.

The Corporation manages its liquidity risk by monitoring actual and projected cashdisbursements against funding received or to be received from operations. TheCorporation prepares budgets and cash forecasts to ensure it has sufficient funds to fulfillits obligations. There has been no significant change in exposure from 2017.

(b) Credit risk:

Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty may default on its contractual obligations,resulting in a financial loss. The Corporation is exposed to credit risk with respect to theaccounts receivable.

The Corporation manages its credit risk by assessing accounts receivable on a continuousbasis. The Corporation deals with creditworthy counterparties and seldom has doubtfulaccounts. There has been no significant change in exposure from 2017.

9. Comparative information:

The financial statements have been reclassified, where applicable, to conform to thepresentation used in the current year. The changes do not affect prior year's earnings.

9

155 University Ave, Suite 302

Toronto, ON M5H 3B7

t: 416.228.1234

f: 800.716.9417

e: [email protected]

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