Scientific computing is such an exciting realm of technology and there is a severe lack of skills in Nepal in this particular area. Nepal is lagging far behind the rest of the world in scientific research. Nepal also lacks human resources and investment to leapfrog past its global peers by adopting cutting-edge technologies. Having a first good-sized HPC resource at Kathmandu University shall attract new postgrad researchers, entire research projects and, critically, larger grants. Nepal can also be a place to host HPC Data Centers as it has reliable and highly affordable renewable energy resources.
Most important areas where Nepal needs HPC:
- Weather Forecasting and Climate Change
- Seismic Data Processing
- Hydroelectric potential of different rivers (ref: Nepal has 40,000 MW of economically feasible hydropower potential, which has 2.2% of the world’s water resources)
- Extensive research in Ayurveda
HPCNepal.org, a not for profit organization is currently pro bono in configuring Nepal’s first Supercomputing facility of Kathmandu University. As there is huge scarce of resource in HPC, the organization plans to introduce the community outreach, provide technology solutions in scientific computing and HPC consulting services to government agencies and institutions.
