One of the core strengths of the EUMaster4HPC programme is its ability to connect academic excellence with real-world industrial innovation. A remarkable example of this is the collaboration between Siemens EDA and Cohort 2 student, Pierpaolo Marzo, whose internship evolved into a case of true technology transfer—from research to industrial impact.

From Academic excellence to applied HPC

Pierpaolo, a graduate in Engineering of Computing Systems from Politecnico di Milano, pursued the EUMaster4HPC double degree at Politecnico di Milano and Sorbonne Université. With a strong background in high-performance computing, numerical modelling, and simulation, he entered his internship motivated to apply these skills to complex engineering problems. As he reflected, “It was incredible to see how HPC and optimisation concepts from academia could directly solve complex industrial problems in semiconductor modelling.”

Siemens EDA as an innovation environment

Siemens EDA, a global leader in electronic design automation and part of Siemens Digital Industries Software, provided the industrial context for this internship. The project focused on advanced calibration and modelling of a simplified MOSFET, with the aim of accelerating Fast-SPICE circuit simulation through new modelling approaches and performance optimisation.

From task to research contribution

Initially centred on parametric modelling and dynamic calibration, the internship rapidly expanded in scope. Pierpaolo developed a parallel calibration framework using metaheuristic optimisation and soon identified that the core limitations lay not in calibration, but in the physical formulation of the model. This insight led to the development of a new model structure, significantly improving dynamic accuracy.

According to his supervisor, Pierre-Loik Rothè, “Pierpaolo transformed a technical task into a deep investigation, leading to a breakthrough in predictive accuracy.” The collaboration generated industrial value for Siemens while providing Pierpaolo with a high-quality case study for his master’s thesis, illustrating the strong potential of EUMaster4HPC internships to drive innovation.

A career defined by HPC

Pierpaolo emphasised the decisive role of the programme in preparing him for industry: “The programme gave me exactly the tools I needed—parallel computing and numerical methods—to tackle real engineering challenges. Working at Siemens showed me how academic skills translate into real impact.” His experience confirmed his ambition to pursue a career at the intersection of HPC and physical simulation.

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Figure 1: Illustration of a fast-SPICE simulator, highlighting the constant trade-off between simulation speed and accuracy.