Presenter

Alan Real is Director of Advanced Research Computing (ARC) at Durham University and Technical Director of the N8 Centre for Computationally Intensive Research (N8‑CIR), as well as Director of the EPSRC Tier‑2 “Bede” supercomputing service. With a PhD in molecular biophysics, he began his career managing Beowulf clusters before rising through HPC user support and leadership roles. His expertise spans HPC, digital research infrastructure, AI, and biomolecular simulation. Alan has held executive positions in the UK’s HPC Special Interest Group and recently chaired the STFC advisory committee for DiRAC. Under his stewardship, Durham’s “Bede” supercomputer has supported vital research in areas like COVID‑19, AI, drug design, and energy . Alan champions inclusive, sustainable, and collaborative research computing, speaking at international forums on topics from diversity to professional development.