The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) announces the election of Sinéad Ryan, Dean of Research, Trinity College Dublin as Chair and the re-election of Maria Girone, Head of CERN openlab, as Vice-Chair of the EuroHPC User Forum Coordination Group (UFCG).
The elections took place in the context of the EuroHPC User Days 2026, following the completion of the two-year mandates of the outgoing Chair and Vice-Chair.
For the next two years, Sinéad Ryan and Maria Girone have chosen to act as co-chairs of the group. The UFCG will continue its work to foster dialogue, collaboration and exchange across the EuroHPC user community.
The EuroHPC JU would like to thank Chris Richardson for his commitment and contribution as the UFCG’s first Chair since its establishment in 2024, and for his role in supporting the development of the User Forum in the past two years.
More Details
The User Forum Coordination Group (UFCG) was initially established in October 2024.
The EuroHPC User Forum provides a platform for users to exchange experiences, identify common needs and provide feedback on the development of EuroHPC services and infrastructures.
In this context, the UFCG supports this dialogue, helping to strengthen connections between users and the EuroHPC JU and ensuring that the perspectives of the user community contribute to the continued development of the European HPC ecosystem.
The UFCG and its User Forum report directly to the EuroHPC JU Executive Director.
The UFCG is composed by:
| Sinéad Ryan (Chair) | Trinity College Dublin |
| Maria Girone (Vice-Chair) | CERN openlab |
| Ivan Carnimeo | Italian National Research Council (CNR) |
| Zoe Cournia | Biomedical Research Foundation, Athens |
| Andrius Popovas | University of Oslo |
| Lara Peeters | Ghent University |
| Alessio Roccon | University of Udine |
| Eleni Briola | Danish Meteorological Institute |
| Massimo Bocus | Ghent University |
| Chris Richardson | University of Cambridge |
Join the User Forum by scanning the QR Code here below:
Background
The EuroHPC JU is a legal and funding entity that brings together the European Union and participating countries to coordinate efforts and pool resources with the objective of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing.
To equip Europe with a cutting-edge supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured 12 supercomputers, distributed across Europe.
European scientists and users from the public sector and industry can benefit from EuroHPC supercomputers via the EuroHPC Access Calls no matter where in Europe they are located, to advance science and support the development of a wide range of applications with industrial, scientific and societal relevance for Europe.
Currently, the EuroHPC JU is also overseeing the implementation of 19 AI Factories, across Europe, complemented by 13 AI Factory Antennas, which offer free, customised support to SMEs and startups.
Additionally, the EuroHPC JU is deploying a European Quantum Computing infrastructure, integrating diverse European quantum computing technologies with existing supercomputers.
The EuroHPC JU also funds research and innovation projects to develop a full European supercomputing supply chain, from processors and software to applications to be run on these supercomputers and know-how to develop strong European HPC expertise.
With the recent adoption of Council Regulation (EU) 2026/150, the EuroHPC JU’s mandate has been expanded with new action pillars dedicated to the deployment of AI Gigafactories across Europe and the advancement of quantum technologies.
- Publication date
- 14 October 2026
- Author
- European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking