Esteban Meneses
Behind every artificial intelligence model there is a machine that trains it. Esteban Meneses handles that invisible but indispensable part: computing infrastructure. He is the director of the National Advanced Computing Collaboratory (CNCA) at the National Center for High Technology (CeNAT).
Key facts
- Institution: National Center for High Technology (CeNAT); Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC).
- Role: Director of the National Advanced Computing Collaboratory (CNCA).
- Field: High-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, system resilience.
- Education: Doctorate in Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), United States.
Why he is a leader
Modern artificial intelligence is, to a large extent, a problem of computing power. Without machines capable of processing large volumes of data, machine learning research stays on paper. Meneses directs CeNAT’s Kabré cluster, the country’s main academic supercomputing platform, the material base on which researchers from different universities run their data science and AI experiments.
His doctoral training at the University of Illinois, one of the world’s strongest institutions in high-performance computing, lets him sustain that infrastructure to international standards. He also fosters the training of new generations through schools and activities on big data and advanced computing.
His contribution to the ecosystem
Meneses embodies an uncomfortable and necessary truth: a country cannot do serious artificial intelligence without investing in the foundations. High-performance computing is that foundation. Keeping it alive and accessible to the academic community is perhaps one of the most strategic contributions to the future of Costa Rican AI.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Esteban Meneses?
- He is the director of the National Advanced Computing Collaboratory (CNCA) at CeNAT and a professor at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology. He holds a doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and specializes in high-performance computing.
- How is supercomputing related to artificial intelligence?
- Training AI models requires great computing power. The high-performance computing Meneses directs, through CeNAT's Kabré cluster, is the infrastructure that makes AI and data science research possible in Costa Rica.