Building Isambard-AI: 30 years and a final sprint

Posted on by Nick Riddle

Bid for a world-class AI computer, then build it in record time and run it all? Certainly – just don’t look down. After the government’s recent launch of its AI Opportunities Action Plan, Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, Director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS), describes the 30–year path that led to Isambard-AI. 

Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith

Getting Isambard-AI built has been like having kids or walking a tightrope. If you really thought about what you were attempting, you’d talk yourself out of it. So, you just do it and tell yourself it’ll be fine. And so far, it is. 

If you stepped inside my office at the University you’d find a makeshift museum of Bristol tech artefacts dating from the early 1990s to now, guarded by a life-size cutout of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the namesake for our series of supercomputers. After arriving in the city in ’94, I worked in the semi-conductor industry, then in various high-tech start-ups, producing advanced graphics processors. Then I co-founded Clear Speed; in my latter years there I worked with various universities, including Bristol. My collaborators said they were looking for someone to come and work in high-performance computing – would I be interested? So, when a post came up in 2009, I jumped across and never looked back. 

The High-Performance Computing Research Group, which I created in 2010, has grown rapidly. When the government put out a call for a new AI facility in summer 2023, we put in a proposal. They did due diligence on us, then asked: ‘If money was no object, what’s your limit?’ I’ve never had that happen before in my entire career! Our limit was the power supply we had at our supercomputer site at the National Composites Centre (NCC) – up to five megawatts. ‘Okay’, they said, ‘build us a five-megawatt AI supercomputer – how much would that cost?’ The answer was £211 million and the total running cost over five or six years is over £300 million, so it’s about a third of a billion pounds in total. 

1k to 128Gb to…? 

It’s all a far cry from when I was in the school computer club in the 1980s, using a BBC Micro B. My family couldn’t afford a home computer, but I was round my friends’ houses on their ZX Spectrums and so on, typing in programmes out of the backs of magazines – that sounds crazy now, doesn’t it?! 

The ZX-81 had 1k of memory and the ZX Spectrum started with about 16k; the Commodore 64 had 64k. These computers had an unbelievably tiny fraction of the power we’ve got now: one of the most recent bits of hardware on my office shelf has a GPU with 96 gigabytes of memory on the chip, and a CPU with another 128 gigabytes of memory. That’s eight million times more memory in about 40 years – Moore’s Law at work. 

The graphics chip I worked on in 2000 had 70 million transistors – one of the biggest chips that had ever been made at the time. We’ve gone from that to 70 billion transistors in 2024. Today AI is very much driving the incredibly rapid rate of improvement in processor technologies. 

Getting to grips with AI 

Artificial intelligence is at the start of its hype cycle. It’ll start to calm down once people stop expecting it to be able to do everything, and then it’ll become widely adopted for the things that it’s really good at. Today people have similar concerns about AI as they once did about computers in general, or with the early internet; but typically these new technologies eventually become net contributors to our quality of life. 

As with the internet, there could be misinformation or deepfakes, and there’s already lots of work underway to find ways of defending against them. The AI Safety Institute, a new government agency that will tackle a lot of these things head-on, is an early user of Isambard-AI. 

We expect Isambard-AI to evolve quite rapidly. There are research groups in AI-based drug design and discovery who are among our first users. There’s a genetic modelling project that could lead to a better understanding of how cancer works – a computational challenge that was beyond this team until Isambard-AI came along. We’re having conversations about climate modeling and other potential uses every day. 

Isambard-AI allows us to do things only Meta, Amazon or Google could do until now – it’s brilliant to be putting these tools and capabilities into the hands of scientists across the UK. 

Isambard AI at the National Composites Centre

Heating up 

Within six months, Isambard-AI part one was up and running, while part two – the main part – is due online this summer. It’s really exciting to challenge prevailing wisdom. For example, we’ve learned a lot about how to build a supercomputer much more quickly than usual. The quicker you can do it, the more science you can get done sooner – and the faster taxpayers’ money can bring benefits. 

The University’s energy supply is all renewable and we’re building one of the most energy-efficient supercomputers ever. The waste heat from the system is all captured in the form of hot water. In Scandinavia, they plug this waste hot water into district heating circuits for local homes. We’re in talks with our local council about whether we can do the same. That’s the next challenge. 

When I eventually retire, my ambition would be for BriCS to be running multiple future generations of Isambard, providing an exceptional service supporting amazing science around the UK, with waste energy helping the local community. Then, I’ll be happy to leave BriCS in someone else’s capable hands to run! 

 

Tales from the field: Professor Steve Simpson

Posted on by Nick Riddle
Professor Steve Simpson

Steve Simpson is Professor of Marine Biology and Global Change in the School of Biological Sciences. He talks about the lure and strangeness of the underwater world, the importance of ‘active hope’, and being a scientific adviser on the Netflix documentary Our Oceans.

Some of my earliest memories are of family holidays on beaches in Yorkshire, Devon and Dorset, exploring rock pools and finding these entire worlds filled with alien–like creatures. In my teens, I went scuba diving on holiday in the Mediterranean and discovered the thrill of exploration – and quickly pivoted from medicine to marine biology as my career direction. I’ve never lost that sense of wonder, and I have the privilege of passing that on to students and collaborators around the world. 

Underwater heroes 

I’ve had several inspirational figures in my career. As an undergraduate, I was taught by Professor Trevor Norton – an incredible sprite of a man. He brought the audience into his world while teaching us about, say, chemical warfare between seaweeds and sea slugs. Another was Dr Mark Meekan, an Australian marine biologist I was lucky to work with during my PhD. Both Trevor and Mark had a very creative, almost artistic approach to science; I channel them every time I get into the lecture theatre. 

More recently, I’ve been lucky to work with Dr Sylvia Earle, the marine oceanographer extraordinaire: people call Sylvia ‘Her Deepness’. She’s in her late 80s now, but still full of life and passion. 

The right stuff  

There are lots of reasons not to get into the ocean. It’s an environment that can kill you if you make mistakes or panic, get lost, run out of air… So you do it with the right preparation, equipment and training – and to begin with, you need to be a calm person.  

You’re really the equivalent of an astronaut, entering another universe. Our senses have evolved to work in air, so our perception of the world is primarily visual. We can see long distances, but sound doesn’t travel so well up here. Underwater, you can’t see that far, but you’re physically part of the ocean, so you move with everything else – swells and currents – and sound travels straight through you.  

I think there’s something very ethereal about getting back to our evolutionary origin in the ocean. We probably feel our animal selves more than we do on land. 

The work and the wonder 

If you’re diving down to do an experiment or a survey, you always make sure you’ve got a quarter of an hour at the end. Sometimes you lie on the bottom and look up at the surface, or you just stop swimming and see where the current takes you. It’s like flying: you’re just being washed across the seabed.  

The ocean’s full of surprises, which can interfere if you’re trying to focus. Once I was in the Bahamas on a field course, teaching students how to take photographs of seagrass. As they got started, I heard the clicking, whistling sound of dolphins. They soon found us, and for about 45 minutes they swam with us, wanting to play and to check us out. Probably the lowest moment in my teaching career was having to tell my students that they had to leave the dolphins and get back to photographing seagrass!  

Noises off (and on) 

The ocean is full of animals that make noise. There are tens of thousands of species of fish, marine mammals, crustaceans, mussels opening and closing, sea urchins grinding away on rocks… but we’re also adding our own soundscape with human noise pollution.

Acoustic science now allows us to make a direct measure of the health of the ocean, since biological noise is a key indicator, and we’ve done a lot of research into the sources and effects of human noise pollution. Some effects can mean life or death, or failure to breed. Thankfully we’ve now moved towards finding solutions: What happens if we move the shipping lane further away? Or if we redesign propellers, or shift from petrol engines to electric engines? 

Our Oceans and our students 

Bristol really is Green Hollywood – it’s where most nature documentaries are made. I’ve developed relationships with the production companies, so if producers are starting with a blank canvas, I get the chance to go and bounce ideas around and discuss the breakthroughs we want to communicate to viewers. We can also help the research team make connections and relationships with scientists. 

For us, it’s a huge privilege to be able to reach audiences far greater than our scientific community, and for them it’s essential to have the latest science. We’ve had three Masters students working on Our Oceans, each of them doing valuable research which has changed the script – effectively putting words into Barack Obama’s mouth!  

There have been other outcomes, too: when three students on our Masters programme, Science Communication for a Better Planet, spent their summer working with the Our Oceans team, they produced a podcast series, The Voice of Our Oceans, which links to each episode and features a lot of the filmmakers and scientists.  

Hope in action 

Nature is hugely resilient: if we stop fishing in a particular population of fish or trawling a region of the seabed, they almost always bounce back. That’s something we can bank on when the time is right: things like coral reef restoration, gene banks and marine protected areas will be critical to recolonising areas currently threatened by human practice. 

Climate change is the existential challenge to many ocean ecosystems. Some political movements still try to downplay the impacts, but scientifically we know what climate change is and what’s causing it. Politics and economics must now allow the solutions to become the new path forward. It may currently feel expensive, difficult and painful, but it could become the most economically viable path. 

I guess I’ve always been an optimist. Within our research field, and in our teaching, we’re trying to move from optimism to active hope, which is the daily practice of making that optimistic vision a reality. I think if that spreads wide enough, we really can change the narrative of the future into something very positive. 

Want to find out more? Try these videos. 

Changing the Soundtrack of the Ocean: Professor Simpson’s 2019 TEDx Talk  

Fish Sounds: Do fish talk to each other?: from BBC Earth 

Restoring Our Reefs: from the BBC’s Our Changing Planet series (on iPlayer until March 2025) 

 

What I do: Maja Karpowicz

Posted on by Nick Riddle

As autumn busts out all over, Maja Karpowicz, a Horticultural Technician for External Estates, talks us through her work and tells us about some of her top local green spots.

Image of Maja Karpowicz in a garden
Maja Karpowicz

Plants have always been a big love of mine. I was the nerdy girl who could name most of the plants in a green space. But like many who’ve gotten into the industry more recently, I was a lockdown convert. When the pandemic hit I was working in communications and engagement with Mind, the mental health charity. I loved my job, but working from home and being sedentary wasn’t for me, and during my breaks or after work I found myself gardening. That’s when I decided I wanted a career change.

Working at Bristol appealed to me because it has such a strong, ongoing commitment to increasing biodiversity across its sites. It also provides lots of opportunities for us to involve staff and students in conservation activities, such as wildflower meadow maintenance and building bug hotels.

On the ground and in the community

I work in two teams: the Royal Fort team and the Mobile team. With my colleagues at Royal Fort Garden, I mostly manage the Cantocks Steps area which connects University Walk and Tankard’s Close to the School of Chemistry (famous for their rainbow colours which were installed in celebration of Bristol Pride in 2019). This area is home to a broad range of Australian, New Zealand and Mediterranean flora which are a feast for the eyes in the warmer seasons. As for the Mobile team, we have over 78 sites to look after, hence the name ‘Mobile!’. You may have seen a chunky truck with a Remembrance Day poppy driving around the campus – that’s us!

No two days are the same. My tasks might include pruning, weeding, planting out, watering, deadheading, litter picking (sadly, an everyday occurrence), mulching, shredding… the list goes on! The seasons will determine what plants need attention, the care method and the frequency. Things that bring me the most joy are establishing a plant and watching it flourish, learning about new plants, and pruning/deadheading (nothing more satisfying than the latter!).

As we know, access to green spaces is beneficial to our wellbeing, so providing these havens is vital – to our community and beyond. A Bristol City Council and NHS survey showed that only 43.8% of the 10% most deprived local areas are satisfied with the quality of parks and green spaces in Bristol. So providing access to our beautiful public gardens is a communal necessity; the fulfilment and pride I get from knowing this is really motivating (especially when the weather isn’t ideal!).

My favourite places

Hampton House Garden (right) is a beautiful site that few seem to know about: it has a great blend of formal and informal garden styles with its neat rose garden moving into wilder borders as you follow the hoggin path. It’s peaceful yet has a lovely buzz and is a great spot to enjoy your lunch. I also have to mention the water features at Royal Fort Garden and Goldney Gardens – the pond and the canal. I’m a sucker for dragonflies, and this summer we saw a magical display of these amazing creatures.

I’m missing the summer already (with a cool breeze, otherwise it was unbearable to work in!). Portbury Wharf, the nature reserve in Portishead, is stunning in the summer. Now we’re well into autumn, the turning of the leaves is especially beautiful to behold in Royal Fort and up at the Halls, in particular Wills Hall in Stoke Bishop. They’re just off the Clifton Downs, which is another great spot for a brisk autumnal walk on a clear day.

 

Being heard, making plans, moving up: two Bristol academics on 100 Black Women Professors NOW!

Posted on by Nick Riddle

In the last year, the third cohort enrolled in the 100 Black Women Professors NOW! programme, a pioneering initiative led by the Women’s Higher Education Network (WHEN), included 10 Bristol academic staff and PhD students. Two participants from Bristol, Dr Oghale Ayetuoma and Dr Cynthia Ochieng, talk about their careers so far, the challenges they encountered, and how 100 Black Women Professors NOW! has helped. 

Dr Oghale Ayetuoma (left) and Dr Cynthia Ochieng (right) with Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President, at the 100 Black Women Professors NOW! graduation event, 20 November 2024

Dr Oghale Ayetuoma, Senior Lecturer in Human Resources Management and Work, School of Management 

I lecture and do research in human resource management; I completed my PhD at the University of Huddersfield, looking specifically at talent management in public and private sector organisations. 

I started at Bristol in 2018 and progressed up the lecturer levels, and I had tried to apply for a Senior Associate role at the time I started because I knew that I was ready for it, but I was told that it was too soon and my application was rejected. When things like that happen, it can make you worry whether you’ll ever be able to progress. But I was determined not to be deterred.  

The programme gave me the confidence to get my application in for the Senior Lecturer position. We had a great support system, including a sponsor, a mentor and a coach. I was trained in how to take stock of my achievements through action planning and how to find the right people to talk to about my application. And having put in the required work to meet the criteria and with the supportive environment created through the program, I successfully progressed to Senior Lecturer this year. 

The challenges we face as Black women, and Black people generally in academia, are often systemic. It was great that our line managers and members of the University’s Executive Group were also engaged in the programme – I think it really increased their awareness. Things have definitely improved with the support I get from my line manager.  

I’ve begun to understand what I really want to focus on to take my career forward and how I align it to my values. We don’t all necessarily want to be professors, but we’re more confident now that we can be. Whether it’s leadership or the academic route, I can work towards it, and I know how to get support.  

The programme has also allowed us to be heard by the senior team about some of the challenges we face, at different levels, with career development. We now need to build on this. And our policies are being impacted in various ways as a result of the programme. I hope this drives lasting change for those who will follow in our footsteps.  

I’m now working towards an Associate Professorship. I’ve been getting advice from my coach, the senior leaders – even the Vice-Chancellor, which is amazing. I’m confident that my end goal of getting a full professorship is possible.  

Dr Cynthia Ochieng, Research Fellow in the School of Psychological Science and Bristol Medical School 

I conduct applied health research in different specialities including palliative care, neurology and surgical research. More recently, I have been working in the School of Psychology and the Medical School co-producing behaviour change interventions.

I arrived at Bristol in 2013 and did most of my PhD here. I was a Senior Research Associate in the Medical School from 2016 to 2017, then moved to several other institutions where I had both positive and negative experiences, before I returned to Bristol in 2020 to take up a research role. 

The 100 Black Women Professors Now! programme came at a pivotal moment for me: I’d been stuck at the Senior Research Associate level for several years, and I knew I was more than capable of moving to the next level. I’d asked for opportunities with various managers and the answer was always ‘We’ll look into it’, or ‘Let’s chat some more’, but nothing ever came of it. I was beginning to get frustrated, much like many of my friends who had ultimately decided to leave academia.  

The programme has been great. We’ve had support which has reminded us that we do have the skills and the experience to accomplish our goals, and tips on how to promote ourselves by speaking up, staying visible and being assertive in asking for opportunities. Our line managers and senior university management are also involved in opening up those opportunities more and ensuring that we’re properly supported.  

Sometimes a manager will say ‘You shouldn’t apply for that grant – you need to concentrate on finishing your current project.’ But you need that grant to get to the next level. So having the confidence to go back and say, ‘I will finish this project, but I also need to do this for my career growth’ – that’s made a real impact for me. Now when I say I want to go for a grant, it’s taken seriously, and things move forward. 

I’ve found the whole experience very motivating. I have a plan for my career: I know for sure that I need to keep pushing for those grant applications, and to increase my output in terms of research papers and to do more teaching. These things are not always easy to attain, but I now have a better idea of how to navigate the challenges and push back.

Photography by Bhagesh Sachania 

A tale of three apprentices

Posted on by Nick Riddle

The University has been named Social Justice Employer of the Year in the regional finals of the Department of Education’s National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2024. Having started with three apprentices in one standard in 2019, the Apprenticeships and Employment Outreach team, headed by Rebecca Scott MBE, has supported 55 apprentices in progressing their careers across 10 standards, from levels 2 to 7.

‘Twenty-two apprentices have moved into open-ended roles at Bristol, bringing with them their talent and learning, and many of these employees continue their development through degree apprenticeships,’ says Rebecca. ‘It’s great that we can make a positive contribution to the region’s social mobility. I feel really proud of my colleagues for embracing apprenticeships and creating so many meaningful opportunities.’

The team’s success would have not been possible without the support of hiring managers across the University – or the apprentices who responded to advertisements and attended the employment outreach sessions. We asked three of them to tell us how their apprenticeships have been going.

Idman Abdullahi Mohamed, Laboratory Technician Apprentice, Translational Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School

My apprenticeship as a laboratory technician at Bristol Medical School over the past year has been one of the most valuable opportunities I’ve had. With strong support from my team, I’ve been able to expand my skills through shadowing in different departments and getting involved in apprenticeship outreach.

The best part of my apprenticeship is the balance of theory and practical skills I gain through my coursework, which has helped me grow both technically and professionally. Joining the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team has also been a privilege, allowing me to engage in meaningful discussions with colleagues. I’m incredibly proud to be an EDI board member, representing faith and religion.

Charlotte Facer, Internal Auditor Apprentice, Finance Services

For my Internal Audit Professional Apprenticeship, I’m studying for professional qualifications and a masters in Internal Audit Management and Consultancy. I’ve been learning the theory that underpins my discipline and the practical skills that support my daily work, and I’ve recently achieved Certified Internal Auditor status.

The most impactful part of my apprenticeship has been meeting coursemates. They’ve become friends, and a great professional network, offering support and guidance from their career experiences.

Olivia Bomani, Solicitor Apprentice, Research Compliance Team, Division of Research, Enterprise and Innovation

Embarking on an apprenticeship is a rewarding, but very challenging experience. There is a lot to juggle at one time, which is why I’m so grateful to have such a supportive employer. I am due to start year 4 of a 6 and a half year Solicitor Apprenticeship in January, and I’m not sure I would’ve made it this far if I didn’t have an employer that didn’t have my best interests and personal development at heart.

I feel really supported and valued at Bristol, and it’s really reassuring to know that I can speak to my supervisors if I ever need anything.