Bringing CSC closer to researchers: Scientific computing ambassadors from and for the research community

Did you know your university, university of applied sciences, or research institute might already have a CSC Scientific Computing Ambassador?

These ambassadors are volunteering researchers, postdocs, research software engineers, IT or supercomputing support staff – mostly people who understand both the realities of everyday research as well as scientific computing, and have an overview of national computing and data services (e.g. those provided by CSC). They are willing to act as your local contact for all things scientific computing, be it choosing the right tool or service for the job, share news or training opportunities with their networks. 

What Do Ambassadors Do?

Ambassadors are often your first point of contact, familiar with your organization’s research environment and resources. They can support you:

• Finding the right tools and services for your needs
• Accessing training opportunities
• Getting you unstuck or know where and how to ask for deeper help
• Navigating both institutional and national (e.g. CSC) computing infrastructure

They’re also part of an active national network of scientific computing enthusiasts hosted by CSC. This gives them the chance to collaborate with each other, exchanging knowledge across institutions, and staying closely connected also with CSC experts. 

Want to Get in Touch?

The main channel for CSC-related questions remains servicedesk@csc.fi together with the weekly support sessions, but don’t hesitate to also reach out to your local ambassador (see list of contacts below) for a chat, especially with getting started or figuring out where to go next.

Sounds like you? 

And if you’re enthusiastic about scientific computing and like helping others, you can become an ambassador too! Send an e-mail describing your interest to scicomp-ambassador-coordinators@csc.fi to learn more and get you started.

List of Active Ambassadors

Name	Organization / Campus / Research group/ Community
Richard Darst	Aalto University / Otaniemi / Aalto Scientific Computing
Sebastian Ehrhart	SYKE / Helsinki / Research Infrastructure
Hossein Firooz	Aalto University / Otaniemi / Aalto Scientific Computing
Daniel Fischer	LUKE / Jokioinen and Tampere / Applied Statistical Methods
Petteri Heikkinen	VTT / Oulu / Research IT Services
Antti Karkman	University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Microbiology / Viikki Campus
Anni Kauko	UTU / Turku / InFLAMES flagship
Jukka Lehtonen	ÅAU / Turku / Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory / Biocenter Finland Bioinformatics
Alexander Mahura	University of Helsinki (UH), Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) / Kumpula Campus / Multi-Scale Modelling Group / PEEX-Modelling-Platform community
Alan Medlar	University of Helsinki, Center for Information Technology, UH RSE
Lorenzo Menichetti	LUKE / Helsinki (Viikki) / modeling of soil C decomposition
Johannes Niskanen	University of Turku / Yliopistonmäki / Department of Physics and Astronomy / Molecular modelling and spectroscopy
Thomas Pfau	Aalto University / Otaniemi Campus / Aalto Scientific Computing / Research Software engineering, Metabolic modelling
Ina Pöhner	UEF / Kuopio / School of Pharmacy, Molecular Modeling and Drug Design group, DrugTech RC, FCAI community
Frankie Robertson	University of Helsinki, Center for Information Technology, UH RSE
Ari Rouvari	AAPA – Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences CIO Forum
Teemu Ruokolainen	Aalto University
Pedro Silva	Aalto University / Otaniemi Campus / School of Chemical Engineering
Tomi Suomi	University of Turku
Henri Vuollekoski	FMI / Helsinki / Sea (ice)
Maisa Vuorte	TUNI / Computational physics
Henri Wallen	University of Lapland / Arctic Centre
Melak Weldenegodguad	LUKE / Viikki / Applied Statistical Methods
Longying Xiao	GTK / Espoo / geophysical modeling and inversion