The environmental impacts of scientific computing

Computing is an essential part of scientific research. From experimental to computational scientists and software developers, researchers rely, at different scales, on computing. However, the associated environmental impacts are a growing concern, especially considering the increased integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into research practices. In this webinar, we will provide an introduction to the environmental impact of scientific computing, discussing questions such as: What are the different ways that scientific computing impacts the environment? How can we monitor and mitigate it for our own research? What are funders doing in this space? And is an efficiency-based approach really the best way to tackle this issue? We will then present two community-led initiatives: the Green DiSC certification scheme for sustainable computing and the ESCS (Environmentally Sustainable Computational Science) community forum, a recently established online community space for researchers across different disciplines who are interested in or working in sustainable computing. Speaker: Loïc Lannelongue and Anica Araneta | University of Cambridge