The three Advisory Groups, RIAG, INFRAG and the new QTAG provide their technical knowledge and expertise to support and inform the activities of EuroHPC JU.
The first meeting of the 2026-2028 Research and Innovation Advisory Group (RIAG), the Infrastructure Advisory Group (INFRAG), and the newly established Quantum Technologies Advisory Group (QTAG) took place on 8 and 9 June 2026 in Luxembourg. The Executive Director of EuroHPC JU Anders Dam JENSEN opened the meeting and oversaw the formal part of this meeting.
The election of the Chairs and Vice-Chairs was held on 8 June 2026. The new members of these advisory groups were appointed on 24 April 2026 by the EuroHPC JU Governing Board. Each group is composed of 12 members and 12 observers who will serve a two‑year mandate. Coming from 23 different countries, they bring diverse perspectives and backgrounds to support EuroHPC’s work.
The three groups provide independent advice to the EuroHPC JU Governing Board on the strategic research and innovation agenda and on the acquisition and operation of the supercomputers, quantum computers and AI factories owned by the Joint Undertaking. They contribute to the capability building, the widening activities programme, the federation, the connectivity and international cooperation activities programme.
Research and Innovation Advisory Group (RIAG)
RIAG members elected Maike Gilliot as their Chair.
Maike Gilliot is a Project Manager for HPC-related R&I activites at CEA and involved in the ETP4HPC’s Steering Board. She graduated from TU Darmstadt at the department of Computer Science and worked as Research Assistant at the University of Freiburg at the department of Telematics, before joining Inria Research Center, where she worked as a Technology Transfer Officer, and later Teratec, to manage its European collaborations with academic and industrial partners and contribute to different EU-funded research projects.
RIAG members also elected Jan Martinovič as their Vice-Chair.
Jan Martinovič is the Head of the Advanced Data Analysis and Simulations Lab at the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center, part of VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. He holds a PhD from the same university and has extensive experience leading major R&D activities in information retrieval, data processing and analysis, orchestration platforms for HPC, cloud and AI, and traffic disaster management.
RIAG will continue to provide independent advice to the Governing Board of EuroHPC JU on its research and innovation priorities. The group contributes in particular to the development of the multiannual strategic research and innovation agenda supporting integrated HPC, quantum computing and data ecosystem in the EU, providing advice on activities related to international cooperation and skills development, as well as stakeholder engagement and feedback.
Infrastructure Advisory Group (INFRAG)
Members of INFRAG elected Walter Lioen as their Chair.
Walter Lioen is Senior Advisor at SURF and a member of the management team of its Compute Services Department. He studied mathematics at the University of Amsterdam and began his career as a scientific programmer at CWI. With more than 40 years of experience in HPC, he has held roles ranging from scientific programmer and HPC consultant to team lead and department head. Since joining SURF in 2007, he has been closely involved in major European research computing initiatives, including DEISA, PRACE, and EuroHPC, serving in a variety of advisory and governance roles.
INFRAG members also elected Valentin Plugaru and Mark Parsons as their Vice-Chairs. As the votes of INFRAG members were equally split, it was decided to divide the mandate of the Vice-Chair between the two representatives. Valentin Plugaru will start the mandate on the first year (2026-2027) and will then be substituted by Mark Parsons for the following year (2027-2028) and will conclude the mandate.
Valentin Plugaru is the Chief Technology Officer of LuxProvide. He studied information and computer science at the University of Luxembourg and has nearly 15 years of experience in High Performance Computing; he has worked as part of national and European HPC initiatives, helping shape the roadmap for the European HPC ecosystem and to create Luxembourg’s national supercomputing centre.
Mark Parsons is Executive Director and Professor at EPCC at The University of Edinburgh. He holds a PhD in Particle Physics undertaken on the LEP accelerator at CERN in Geneva and joined EPCC in 1994 as a software developer working on several industrial contracts; his research interests include highly distributed data intensive computing and novel hardware design with a specific focus on digital health research.
INFRAG will continue to provide independent advice to the Governing Board on the acquisition, deployment and operation of EuroHPC supercomputers and AI factories, as well as on the federation and interconnection of infrastructure and capability-building activities across Europe, update the multiannual strategic agenda in relation to such activities and organise public consultations.
Quantum Technologies Advisory Group (QTAG)
Members of the newly established QTAG elected Eleni Diamanti as their Chair.
Eleni Diamanti is CNRS Research Director at Sorbonne University and Director of the Paris Centre for Quantum Technologies. She is an expert in quantum technologies, acknowledged by the 2024 CNRS Silver and Innovation medals. She received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2006 and performed her postdoc as a Marie Curie fellow at the Institute of Optics Graduate School in France before joining the CNRS in 2009; her research focuses on experimental quantum cryptography and communication, and on the development of photonic resources and applications for quantum networks.
QTAG members also elected Martin Knufinke as their Vice-Chair.
Martin Knufinke is working as Senior Expert Quantum Computing and Senior IT Consultant at Bull. He is active in multiple groups on national and European levels and has joined Bull in 2014 and is working in the fields of Quantum Computing and High-Performance Computing for manufacturing.
QTAG is a newly created advisory group reflecting the expansion of the EuroHPC JU mandate to include a dedicated quantum technologies pillar. It provides independent expert advice to the EuroHPC JU on matters related to quantum technologies, in particular their development, deployment and integration within the European high performance computing ecosystem.
The group also draws up its contribution to the draft multiannual strategic programme in relation to quantum technologies activities and related subjects, contributes to strategic priorities in quantum computing, communication and sensing. It also addresses international cooperation, skills development, standardisation, and security considerations.
Background Information
The governance of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking is ensured by three bodies:
As the mandate of the previous INFRAG and RIAG 2024-2026 recently came to an end, and QTAG was established on the 24 April 2026, new members, observers and chairs have been appointed to continue the mission of the Industrial and Scientific Advisory Boards.
Updates and more information on both groups are available in the EuroHPC website:
The activities of these groups support the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking in contributing to the EU’s resilience, strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty.
Details
- Publication date
- 9 June 2026
- Author
- European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking