Access to DiRAC is co-ordinated by The STFC’s DiRAC Resource Allocation Committee, which puts out an annual Call for Proposals to request time, a Director’s Discretionary Call, and operates a Seedcorn Time programme for small requests.
Notification about any Call will be posted on our News page, and on Twitter.
Follow @DiRAC_HPC
DiRAC Resource Allocation Committee Facility Time Opportunity: RAC16
The DiRAC Resource Allocation Committee facility time opportunity (RAC16) is now open. The UK theory and modelling communities in astronomy and cosmology, astrophysics, solar system physics, particle astrophysics, particle physics and nuclear physic are invited to apply for computational resources on the STFC DiRAC HPC Facility.
The deadline for submission of proposals is Thursday 14th September 2023 at 16:00 UK time.
This year, there is a new submission process as follows:
- Scientific proposals for Short and Thematic projects must be submitted using The new UKRI Funding Service (TFS), the replacement for Je-S. This will cover the information which in previous facility time opportunities (calls) would have been provided as part of the scientific application form, scientific case for support, and the project management and data management plans which were submitted as separate attachments via email to STFC. Applicants are no longer required to submit documents via email to STFC; any documents sent to STFC via email will not be accepted. Proposals must be submitted by the closing date of Thursday 14th September 2023 16:00 UK time. The system will close at this time and it will not be possible to submit after this deadline. Please see the UKRI Funding Finder for full details including the link to begin your application.
- A technical proposal form for Short and Thematic projects must be completed and sent directly to DiRAC via email: dirac-support@epcc.ed.ac.uk by the closing date of Thursday 14th September 2023 16:00 UK time. The technical form can be found on the UKRI Funding Finder. Applicants may discuss their request with the DiRAC RSE Team in advance of submitting a technical case by emailing DiRAC support (dirac-support@epcc.ed.ac.uk) and adding the heading ‘RAC 16 technical enquiry’ into the subject of the email.
- Applicants requesting Research Software Engineer (RSE) support must complete the RSE application form and send it directly to DiRAC via email:
dirac-support@epcc.ed.ac.uk by the closing date of Thursday 14th September 2023 16:00 UK. Time. The RSE application form and guidance can be found on the UKRI Funding Finder. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss RSE requests with the RSE team in advance of the closing date. - Seedcorn proposals can be submitted at any time; please see the DiRAC website.
Proposals for Short and Thematic projects will not be accepted unless both a scientific application has been submitted via the UKRI Funding Service and a technical application has been submitted to DiRAC.
Please refer to the UKRI Funding Finder for full instructions on how to submit proposals.
Applicants are encouraged to visit the UKRI website to see information regarding The new Funding Service including videos to show how to use the system.
Applicants should ensure they are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place for the submission of their proposal. These deadlines may be similar to those for standard Je-S grant applications and it is the applicant’s responsibility to confirm this, as they may be significantly earlier than the STFC submission deadline of Thursday 14th September 2023 16:00 UK time.
Successful awards will be scheduled to begin on 1st April 2024.
STFC welcomes applications from Early Career Researchers.
No single application can request more than 80% of the availability of a DiRAC machine within a given year. Availability figures are provided in the guidance notes at annex 1, which can be found on the UKRI Funding Finder. Please note the availability figures are provisional, and the resources which are allocated may be lower depending on confirmation of the levels of systems availability.
Applicants are strongly advised to read the RAC guidance notes and information available on the UKRI Funding Finder.
Enquiries:
Enquiries should be directed as follows:
- RAC process and remit: STFC Swindon Office: DiRACRAC@stfc.ac.uk
- Technical questions: RSE Team: dirac-support@epcc.ed.ac.uk
- Direct allocations or discretionary requests: DiRAC Director, Prof Mark Wilkinson
- UKRI Funding Service: Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
The team aims to respond to emails within 2 working days.
Phone: 01793 547490
Phone lines are open:
Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm
15th Call for Proposals (closed)
For each Call, the RAC produces a set of documentation that includes a number of forms that every applicant must complete. The RAC also provides a comprehensive set of guidance notes.
Please note that all applicants must submit a technical case (technical application form) otherwise a full proposal submission will not be accepted.
15th Call for Proposals Documentation
The Announcement, Forms and Guidance Notes for the 15th Call can be accessed at the links below are below.
- 15th Call announcement
- 15th Call guidance notes for applicants
- 15th Call Scientific application form
- 15th Call Technical application form
- 15th Call RSE support application form
- 15th Call RSE guidance notes
- 15th Call Equality and Inclusion Impact Assessment
14th Call for Proposals (closed)
For each Call the RAC produces a set of documentation that includes a number of forms that every applicant must complete. The RAC also provides a comprehensive set of guidance notes.
In addition to the scientific proposal application form, applicants must also submit a technical case (one per proposal) and an RSE Support application.
14th Call for Proposals Documentation
The Announcement, Forms and Guidance Notes for the 14th Call can be accessed at the links below are below.
- 14th Call Announcement
- 14th Call Guidance Notes
- 14th Call Application Form
- 14th Call Technical Application Form
- 14th Call RSE Support Application Form
- 14th Call RSE Support Guidance
14th Call for Proposals Webinars
Director’s Discretionary Call
The DiRAC Director of Innovation and Technology invites the UK theory and modelling communities in Astrophysics, Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics to apply for discretionary computational resources on the STFC DiRAC HPC Facility.
More details, including the application form, can be found here.
Seedcorn Time
More information on our Seedcorn Time programme can be found here.
Help
Enquiries should be directed as follows:
- RAC process and remit: STFC Swindon Office (email)
- Technical questions: Technical Working Group (email)
- General Enquiries: Director of Innovation and Technology, Dr Jeremy Yates (email)
- In order to report a security incident or concern, pleases contact DiRAC Security.
