October 10, 2025 - by CSCS
Could you briefly introduce yourself?
I’m Domenico, and I am a master's student enrolled in a double-degree program — I study high-performance engineering at Politecnico di Milano (PoliMI) and also computational science at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). My passions are informatics, mathematics, and basketball.
What fascinates you in the world of supercomputing?
I’m impressed by the size and complexity of supercomputers and by the large range of problems they can be used to solve. I am also curious about how the infrastructure is built and engineered and what size and scale of simulations are possible on such machines.
How did you first hear about CSCS?
Out of curiosity, I usually check the Top500 List of supercomputers. When I checked it in 2024, I saw that "Alps" was ranked sixth in the world. From there, I came across the CSCS website and was both intrigued and fascinated by this reality.
Why did you want to intern at CSCS?
As you might have guessed, supercomputing is also one of my passions, particularly writing and optimizing parallel code to take full advantage of the hardware. I also enjoy understanding what happens inside a supercomputer, so an internship at CSCS seemed like the perfect fit. As soon as the internship applications opened, I immediately identified the one closest to my interests and applied.
What projects have you worked on so far during your internships at CSCS?
I worked on YAULT (Yet Another User Lurking Tool), an ambitious project to monitor the software layer by identifying classes of binaries from different scientific applications through analysis of their strings and symbols. It was challenging, and I’m grateful for the daily support from my tutors.
How would you describe a regular day as an intern at CSCS?
My day starts with a team meeting where we share progress and discuss obstacles. Then I have breakfast, usually with fresh fruit and coffee. On Tuesdays, there's a great initiative called "Juice Up Your Morning," where we enjoy croissants and juice while building relationships with colleagues. Afterward, I work until lunch, take a 30-minute break, and then continue my project in the afternoon. I have also appreciated the flexibility of being able to work from home on certain days. Generally, every Monday afternoon, we hold a meeting where I present my work and we brainstorm improvements together.
What will you take home from this experience?
At CSCS, the technology is powerful and inspiring, but it's the people who make the difference. My mentors in particular are brilliant minds and have been incredibly kind, making me feel at ease from day one. I've gained hands-on experience ranging from low-level programming to a data science pipeline, further enhancing my skills, but I've also taken away a clear understanding of the value of a healthy and collaborative work environment.