High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart

Golden Spike Awards

Photo of Golden Spike Award

Each year, representatives of the national research community using the high-performance computing resources of HLRS meet in Stuttgart-Vaihingen for the annual HLRS Results and Review Workshop. During the two day event, participants present and discuss their research projects from the past 12 months. Of all projects presented at the HLRS Results and Review Workshop, the steering committee of HLRS chooses three particularly excellent ones to honor them with a special trophy: The HLRS Golden Spike Award.

Decision criteria for the Golden Spike Awards include:

  • Scientific relevance (top in their research field)
  • Imperative of high-performance computing for their research
  • Optimal usage of HPC equipment in terms of optimization, parallelization, and overall performance
  • Presentation format of the results at the Results and Review Workshop.

Golden Spike Award Winners 2025

Group portrait of the three Golden Spike Award winners, holding their awards

Winners of the HLRS Golden Spike Awards 2025 (l-r): Spencer Starr, Andreas Stegmeir, Karen Palacio-Rodriguez

Spencer Starr, Institute of Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics, University of Stuttgart

Combining the discontinuous Galerkin solver FLEXI with deep reinforcement learning (Project: hpcdg at HLRS)

Dr. Karen Palacios-Rodriguez, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Max Planck Society, Frankfurt am Main

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of the human nuclear pore complex (Project: GCS-MDhNPC at HLRS)

Dr. Andreas Stegmeir, Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Max Planck Society, Garching

Plasma turbulence simulations in the periphery of magnetic confinement fusion reactors (Project: GRILLIX at HLRS)

List of all Golden Spike Award recipients

Dr. Björn F. Klose, Institute of Test and Simulation of Gas Turbines, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne

Numerical investigation of shock-boundary layer interaction on a highly-loaded transonic compressor cascade to compare with experimental results (Project: TCTA-SBLI am HLRS)

Simon Homes, Thermodynamics Section, Technische Universität Berlin

Molecular simulations: A thermodynamic study of bulk and interface behavior (Project: MMHBF2 am HLRS)

Tim Niklas Uhl, Institute of Theoretical Informatics, Algorithm Engineering, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Scalable discrete algorithms for big data applications (Project: basictoolbox am SCC, Karlsruhe)

Pascal Mossier, Institute for Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics, University of Stuttgart

A High-Order Framework for Compressible Droplet Dynamics

Theresa Pollinger, Institute for Parallel and Distributed Systems, University of Stuttgart

The Sparse Grid Combination Technique for Higher-Dimensional Simulations at Extreme Scales

Maximilian Jacobi, Institute for Nuclear Physics, Technical University of Darmstadt

Neutron Star Mergers: From Nuclei to Cosmic Explosions

Anna Neuweiler, Theoretical Astrophysics Group, University of Potsdam

Simulating Binary Neutron Star Mergers

Martin P. Lautenschläger, Institute for Engineering Thermodynamics, Computational Electrochemistry, German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Flow, Transport, and Reactions in Battery Components

Johanna Potyka, Institut für Aerospace Thermodynamics, University of Stuttgart

Towards DNS of Droplet-Jet Collisions of Immiscible Liquids with FS3D 

Markus Scherer, Institute for Hydromechanics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology


Secondary flow and longitudinal sediment patterns in turbulent channel flow over a bed of mobile particles in domains of small to intermediate size

Jakob Dürrwächter, Institute for Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics, University of Stuttgart


Uncertainty quantification in high order computational fluid dynamics

Daniel Mohler, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt

Hadronic contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon from lattice QCD

Marian Albers, Institute of Aerodynamics, RWTH Aachen University

Comparison of two airfoils for active drag reduction in turbulent flow

Gerd Schädler, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Regional climate simulations with COSMO-CLM: CORDEX Africa and CORDEX FPS convection

Lars Schäfer, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Ruhr University Bochum

Caught in the act: all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of substrate transport in the ABC exporter TM287/288

Konstantin Fröhlich, Institute of Aerodynamics, RWTH Aachen University

Simulation of Particulate Flows

Thomas Kuhn, Institute of Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics, University of Stuttgart

Uncertainty Quantification in High Performance Computational Fluid Dynamics

Annalisa Pillepich and Dylan Nelson, MPIA Heidelberg, Galaxy and Cosmology Department, Max Planck Society

The TNG50 Simulation: highly-resolved galaxies in a large cosmological volume to the present day

Mathis Bode, Institut für Technische Verbrennung, RWTH Aachen

Towards clean propulsion with synthetic fuels: Computational aspects and analysis

Travis Jones, Inorganic Chemistry, Electronic Structure Group, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society

Sulfur in ethylene epoxidation on silver

Christoph Wenzel, Institute for Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics, University of Stuttgart

DNS of compressible turbulent boundary layers with adverse pressure gradients

Johannes Letzgus, Institute of Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics, University Stuttgart 

Optimization and HPC-Applications of the Flow Solver FLOWer

Volker Springel, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Zentrum für Astronomie, Heidelberg University

Cosmic large-scale structure in the Illustris TNG simulations

Thorsten Zirwes, Engler-Bunte-Institute / Combustion Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Automated Code Generation for Maximizing Performance of Detailed Chemistry Calculations in OpenFOAM

Samuel Braun, Institut für Thermische Strömungsmaschinen, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Modeling of the deformation dynamics of single and twin fluid droplets exposed to aerodynamic loads and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics for Numerical Predictions of Primary Atomization

Sebastian Rettenberger, Chair of Scientific Computing, Department of Informatics, Technical University of Munich

Large Scale I/O of an open-source earthquake simulation package

Volker Springel, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Zentrum für Astronomie, Heidelberg University

The Illustris++ Project: The Next Generation of Cosmological Hydrodynamical Simulations of Galaxy Formation

Gabriel Bester, Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Universität Hamburg

Ab-initio calculations of the vibrational properties and dynamical processes in semiconductor nanostructures

Patrick P. Kranzinger, Institut für Aero-  und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Advances in Parallelization and High-fidelity Simulation of Helicopter Phenomena

Ana-Catalina Plesa, Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin

Large Scale Numerical Simulations of Planetary Interiors

Muhammed Atak, Institut für Aero-  und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Discontinuous Galerkin for High Performance Computational Fluid Dynamics

Gonzalo Brito Gadeschi, Christoph Siewert, Andreas Lintermann, Lehrstuhl für Strömungslehre und Aerodynamisches Institut, RWTH Aachen

Towards large multi-scale particle simulations with conjugate heat transfer on heterogeneous super computers

Stefan Krieg, Fachbereich C - Physik, Bergische Universität Wuppertal

Thermodynamics with 2+1+1 dynamical quark flavors

Daniel Harlacher, Lehrstuhl für Simulationstechnik und Wissenschaftliches Rechnen, Universität Siegen

Industrial Turbulence Simulations at Large Scale

Daniel Maurer, Institut für Angewandte und Numerische Mathematik 3, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

A highly scalable multigrid method with parallel direct coarse grid solver for Maxwell's equations

Kirsten Warrach-Sagi, Institut für Physik und Meteorologie, Universität Hohenheim

High-resolution climate predictions and short-range forecasts to improve the process understanding and the representation of land-surface interactions in the WRF model in southwest Germany (WRFCLIM)

Gordon Groskopf, Institut für Aero-  und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Effects of an oblique roughness on hypersonic boundary-layer transition

Ana-Catalina Plesa, Institut für Planetologie, Universität Münster

A particle-in-cell Method to model the Influence of Partial Melt on Mantle Convection

Alexander Winkler, Institut für Physik, Komet 331, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Spinodal Decomposition Kinetics of Colloid-Polymer Mixtures Including Hydrodynamic Interactions

Daniel Harlacher, Applied Supercomputing in Engineering, German Research School for Simulation Sciences GmbH, Aachen

Highly efficient and scalable software for the simulation of turbulent flows in complex geometries

Owe Philipsen, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt

QCD critical surfaces at real and imaginary mu 

Johannes Roth, Institut für Theoretische und Angewandte Physik, Universität Stuttgart

Laser Ablation of Aluminium: Drops and Voids

Felix Bensing, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

CFD-CSD-Coupled Simulations of Helicopter Rotors using an Unstructured Flow Solver

Arne Biastoch, Leibniz-Institut für Meeresforschung (IFM-GEOMAR), Universität Kiel

The Agulhas System as a Key Region of the Global Oceanic Circulation 

Tillmann Friederich, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Direct Numerical Simulation of Swept-Wing Laminar Flow Control using Pinpoint Suction

Volker Gaibler, Max-Planck Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching

Numerical Models for Emission Line Nebulae in High Redshift Radio Galaxies

Juliane Schwendike, Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung, Universität Karlsruhe

Modelling convection over West Africa

Björn Selent, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Direct Numerical Simulation of Jet in Crossflow Actuators

Bernhard Müller, Max-Planck Institut für Astrophysik, Garching

The SuperN-Project: Status and Outlook

Dr. Dominic A. von Terzi, Institut für Thermische Strömungsmaschinen, Karlsruhe University

Hybrid Techniques for Large-Eddy Simulations of Complex Turbulent Flows

Dr. Thomas Zeiser, Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Vector computers in a world of commodity clusters, massively parallel systems and many-core many-threaded CPUs: recent experience based on an advanced lattice Boltzmann flow

Rainer Stauch, Institute for Technical Thermodynamics, Karlsruhe University

Ignition of Droplets in a Laminar Convective Environment

Janina Zimmermann, Fraunhofer Institut für Werkstoffmechanik, Freiburg

DFT Modelling of Oxygen Adsorption on CoCr Surfaces

Dr.-Ing. Michael Breuer, Institute of Fluid Mechanics, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg

Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flow Over Dimples - Code Optimization for NEC SX-8 plus Flow Results

Jens Harting, Institute for Computational Physics, Universität Stuttgart

Rheological properties of binary and ternary amphiphilic fluid mixtures

Andreas Marek, Max-Planck Institut für Astrophysik, Garching

The SuperN-Project: Understanding core collapse supernovae

Sven Ganzenmüller, Department of Computer Engineering, University of Tübingen

Object-Oriented SPH-Simulations with Surface Tension

Olaf Marxen, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Direct Numerical Simulation of Non-Linear Transitional Stages in an Experimentally Investigated Laminar Separation Bubble

Matthias Meinke, Wolfgang Schröder, Aerodynamisches Institut, RWTH Aachen

A Hybrid LES/CAA Method for Aeroacoustic Applications

Markus Dietz, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Advanced Rotary Wing Aerodynamics

Maxim S. Loginov, Institut für Strömungsmechanik, Technische Universität Dresden

LES of Shock Wave / Turbulent Boundary Layer Interaction

Erik H. Saenger, Fachrichtung Geophysik, Freie Universität Berlin

Numerical considerations of fluid effects on wave propagation

Thomas Zeiser, Lehrstuhl für Strömungsmechanik, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Combination of detailed CFD simulations using the lattice Boltzmann method and experimental measurements using the NMR/MRI technique

Marc Freitag, Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Universität Heidelberg

Collisional Dynamics of Black Holes, Star Clusters and Galactic Nuclei

Petra Hardt, Bauinformatik, TU München

Interactive CFD Simulations by Coupling Supercomputers with Virtual Reality

Thomas Hartlep, Institut für Geophysik, Universität Göttingen

Rayleigh-Bénard Convection at Large Aspect Ratios

Honorary Golden Spike Award 2002: 
Friedel Hoßfeld, Central Institute for Applied Mathematics, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH

for his contribution to the promotion of High-Performance Computing in Germany and the support of young scientists in the field of Computational Science & Engineering

Andree Altmikus, Hubert Pomin, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

Aeroelastic Analysis of Helicopter Rotor Blades using HPC

Marc Lange, HLRS, Universität Stuttgart

Massively Parallel DNS of Flame Kernel Evolution in Spark-Ignited Turbulent Mixtures

Frank Rückert, Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Dampfkesselwesen, Universität Stuttgart

A Vectorised Lagrangian Particle Model for the Numerical Simulation of Coal-Fired Furnaces

Honorary Golden Spike Award 2001: 
Georg Bopp, Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg

for his contribution to the promotion of High-Performance Computing in Germany and the support of young scientists in the field of Computational Science & Engineering

Peter Gerlinger, Institut für Verbrennungstechnik der Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR Stuttgart

Assumed PDF Modeling with Detailed Chemistry

Daniel Krüger, Physikalisches Institut, Universität Münster

Car-Parrinello Density Functional Calculations of the Bond Rupture Process of Thiolate on Gold

Stefan Lang, Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen, Universität Heidelberg

High-accuracy Simulation of Density Driven Flow in Porous Media

Sven Enger, Lehrstuhl für Strömungsmechanik, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

High Performance Computing: Numerical Simulation of the Melt Flow in an Industrial Czochralski Crucible

Ellen Reister, Institut für Physik, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Spinodal Decomposition in Binary Polymer Blends: Monte Carlo Simulations and Dynamic Mean Field Theory

Peter Wassermann, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

DNS of Laminar-Turbulent Transition in a 3-D Aerodynamics Boundary-Layer Flow

Ulrich Rist, Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart

DNS of Laminar-Turbulent Transition in Separation Bubbles

Ulrich Freking, Institut für Theoretische Physik II, Universität Münster

Vibronic studies of adsorbate-covered semiconductor surfaces with the help of HPC

Guntram Rauhut, Institut für Theoretische Chemie, Universität Stuttgart

Quantum Chemical Studies on Heterocyclic Rearrangements in Benzofuroxans: Reaction Paths, Vibrational Spectra, and Rate Constants

Ulrich Jakobus, Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik, Universität Stuttgart

Parallel Computation of Electromagnetic Fields based on Integral Equations

Matthias Meinke, Aerodynamisches Institut, RWTH Aachen

CFD-Applications on NEC SX-4

Marc Lange, Jürgen Warnatz, Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen, Universität Heidelberg

Detailed Simulations of Turbulent Flames using Parallel Supercomputers

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