Intel Establishes Parallel Computing Center at Nanjing University
Intel and Nanjing University announced the joint establishment of an Intel Parallel Computing Center (IPCC) at Nanjing University on Sept. 12. The new artificial intelligence (AI) research center will focus on deepening cooperation in the areas of AI research and AI talent cultivation.
IPCCs are universities, institutions, and labs identified as leaders in their fields, focusing on modernizing applications to increase parallelism and scalability through optimizations. Intel currently has 90 IPCCs around the world, some of which are established in prestigious universities such as Stanford University and the University of Cambridge. Its existing Chinese partners are the Computer Network Information Centers at the Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Tsinghua University.
The Principal Investigator of this new IPCC is Professor Zhou Zhi-Hua, professor and standing deputy director of the National Key Laboratory for Novel Software Technology at Nanjing University. Zhou is also the founding director of the LAMDA Group, a deep learning and data mining research lab at Nanjing University.
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The main goal of the Nanjing University IPCC is to “implement a deep forest framework as an alternative to neural networks on KNL and all IA architectures”, according to Intel. The center will also provide hands-on experiences and training with Intel’s hardware and software platforms to help students solve real world problems. Deep forest framework, a concept proposed by Professor Zhou’s team, has the potential to optimize current Intel Xeon processors.
Nanjing University is a member in the C9 League, a league of top nine Chinese universities also known as China’s Ivy League. In March, it announced the formation of the School of Artificial Intelligence. By May, the school has already established training bases at notable Chinese technology companies such as JD.com, Face++ and Ecovacs Robotics.
The partnership with Intel comes only a month after the establishment of a joint research center with Imperial College London in August. At this rate, Nanjing University will quickly become the AI hub among Chinese universities.
