University of Birmingham researchers recognised for pioneering use of AI and high-performance computing to tackle biodiversity loss and environmental pollution
University of Birmingham researchers have been recognised on the global stage for their pioneering use of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing to tackle biodiversity loss and environmental pollution.
Professor Luisa Orsini and Dr Jiarui Zhou, from the University’s School of Biosciences, have been named winners of the HPCwire Editor’s Choice Award for Best Use of AI Methods for Augmenting HPC Applications. The award was announced at the SuperComputing 2025 (SC25) conference in St Louis, Missouri, USA.
The award celebrates exceptional achievements in the use of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) across science and industry. The University of Birmingham’s winning project, AI-driven insights into biodiversity decline, uses advanced computing techniques to process and analyse terabytes of ecological and chemical data, uncovering how pollution and climate extremes interact to threaten vulnerable species.
We are thrilled that our work has been recognised with the HPCwire Editor’s Choice Award for Best Use of AI Methods for Augmenting HPC Applications. This achievement underlines the cutting-edge nature of our research at the University of Birmingham, where we harness advanced computing and AI to tackle real-world challenges in biodiversity loss and pollution. None of this would have been possible without the University’s Advanced Research Computing (ARC) facilities, whose collaboration enables us to turn scientific innovation into meaningful impact.
The research leverages the University’s BlueBEAR supercomputing cluster-powered by NVIDIA A100 GPUs - to accelerate large-scale environmental data analysis. This work has already influenced UK government policy on PFAS pollutants, demonstrating how AI and HPC can inform evidence-based environmental regulation and conservation.
The HPCwire Awards are among the most prestigious recognitions in the high-performance computing community, celebrating innovative applications of advanced computing that deliver real-world benefits. Previous winners include global research institutions and technology leaders.
For more information about this year’s awards, visit HPCwire Readers’ Choice Awards 2025.
