If you are a researcher at any University of California campus and need more computing power, the HPC@UC program at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) gives you an accelerated and simple path to a substantial allocation on the Expanse supercomputer. This post explains what HPC@UC offers, who is eligible, and how to apply in 2026.
What is HPC@UC?
HPC@UC is a partnership between SDSC, the University of California Vice Chancellors of Research, and campus Chief Information Officers. It is designed to:
- Broaden the base of UC researchers who use advanced computing
- Provide an on-ramp for UC researchers who are new to high-performance computing
- Seed promising computational research
- Facilitate collaborations between SDSC and UC researchers
- Help UC researchers be successful when applying for larger allocations through the NSF’s ACCESS program
Resources available
A successful request gives you access to SDSC’s HPC infrastructure and expertise:
- Expanse: SDSC’s flagship 5+ PFlop/s system, with 728 CPU nodes (two 64-core AMD EPYC 7742 processors and 256 GB memory per node), 4 large-memory nodes with 2 TB memory, and 52 GPU nodes. See the Expanse page for details.
- Data storage: more than 12 PB of fast Lustre parallel storage, including short-term Performance Storage and long-term Project Storage, plus a Durable Storage copy of Project Storage data.
- Software: a large installed base of HPC and big-data analytics applications.
- Expertise: SDSC staff to help you make the best use of the resources and prepare larger allocation requests.
Allocation details
- Size: up to 500K core-hours of computing, plus associated data storage and access to SDSC expertise.
- Duration: awards are active for one year.
- Review: applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis; you are notified within 10 business days of the review decision.
Eligibility
- The program is intended for UC researchers who are new to high-performance computing.
- You must not have an active award in the NSF’s ACCESS program.
- You must not have previously received an HPC@UC award on Expanse.
How to apply
- Create an ACCESS account at https://identity.access-ci.org/new-user. Eligibility is evaluated through the ACCESS review infrastructure (XRAS), so you need an ACCESS_CI portal account first, as confirmed by the HPC@UC program staff.
- Contact HPC@UC at hpc_uc@sdsc.edu, or via the HPC@UC page, and submit a request/help ticket describing your research project so staff can evaluate your eligibility.
- Submit your request: once approved and an opportunity is opened, the ticket is updated with the instructions for submitting your allocation request, including a template to fill in.
Try Expanse first
If you are not sure Expanse is the right fit, request a Trial Account on Expanse before applying for HPC@UC: 1,000 core-hours, typically fulfilled within 1 working day, designed for a quick assessment of the system. You are still eligible for an HPC@UC allocation even if you already have a Trial Account. See the Trial Account section of the Expanse User Guide.
Notes
This post was written in August 2026 and updates the HPC@UC information in my earlier posts:
- Bring your computing to the San Diego Supercomputer Center (2018, now outdated: Comet and XSEDE are retired)
- How to request High Performance Computing (HPC) resources (2025)
Always cross-check the official HPC@UC page for the latest information. Questions? Email the HPC@UC team at hpc_uc@sdsc.edu.