Rules of Procedure for the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ)

1) The LRZ is a research computing centre serving the BAdW and Munich-based universities the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), as well as a growing number of research institutes in the greater Munich area and throughout the Bavarian Free State. Furthermore, it is a supercomputing centre of national and European standing. The LRZ is also authorised to offer services to other academic institutions within the scope of its range of services. The aim of the LRZ is to support researchers and research campuses by providing an appropriate IT infrastructure for research and teaching.

2) The LRZ carries out research and development work in the field of computer science and its applications. The aim is, amongst other things, to develop innovative IT services, explore new areas of IT applications, and ensure stable, professional, high availability, secure and efficient IT services and resources based on the latest IT technologies.

1) The duties of the project committee as defined in Section 18 of the BAdW’s Statutes are carried out at the LRZ, as set out below, by the Directorate, the management team and, in the area of high-performance computing, by the Steering Committee.

2) The duties of the project advisory board, as defined in Section 19 of the BAdW’s Statutes, are carried out by the LRZ Advisory Board.

1) The LRZ Advisory Board is involved in the appointment of the Directorate (see Section 5 below)

2) The LRZ Advisory Board advises the LRZ Directorate on the IT services portfolio, measures to ensure the quality of IT services and, where appropriate, key principles for resource allocation strategies and a potential fee structure. It can provide input on research and development projects. The LRZ Advisory Board may request a report from the Directorate. The Advisory Board has the final decision on complaints from users of the LRZ’s facilities, where these cannot be resolved by the Directorate.

3) The members of the LRZ Advisory Board are
- the President of the Academy,
- the Chair of the LRZ Directorate,
- up to two members appointed by the Academy from each Section
- five members each delegated by LMU and TUM,
- one member delegated by mutual agreement by the Bavarian universities outside Munich, who is specifically responsible for representing their interests in the field of high-performance computing, and
- up to ten members proposed by the Advisory Board who are professionally qualified for the LRZ’s range of tasks and who must be confirmed by the Section.
Members of the Advisory Board who also sit on the LRZ Directorate have only an advisory role in decision-making.

4) The term of office for appointed and elected members is five years. Re-election and re-appointment are possible.

5) The LRZ Advisory Board is chaired by the President of the Academy.

6) The LRZ Advisory Board meets at least once a year.

1) The Directorate consists of the Chair of the Directorate and up to four additional members from the LRZ Advisory Board, the exact number to be determined by the LRZ Advisory Board.

2) The Chair of the Directorate, who holds a specially designated professorial chair at a Munich university, is the Director of the LRZ. The LRZ Advisory Board appoints the Chair of the Directorate in consultation with the Academy’s Executive Committee and the Munich university that nominates the candidate for appointment to the aforementioned chair. The term of office of the Chair of the Directorate is linked to professorial chair.

3) The LRZ Advisory Board elects the other members of the Directorate from among its own members. The Directorate must include at least one holder of a professorial chair from the Munich university that does not already provide the Chair of the Directorate.

4) The Directorate draws up the guidelines for the operation of the LRZ and determines its mission statement. It advises the Chair of the Directorate on strategic matters relating to the management of the institute. The members of the Directorate are responsible, in particular, for providing scientific and technical support for all specialist services and developments at the LRZ. They supervise the research projects of the LRZ’s research associates. Their expertise should therefore cover key areas of the LRZ’s work, such as scientific computing, computer architecture, distributed systems, computer networks, visualisation, data, network and system management, and big data.

5) The Chair of the Directorate represents the LRZ externally and is the immediate line manager of the LRZ’s staff. He or she is responsible for the organisational structure and operational processes of the LRZ. He or she draws up the preliminary draft budget. In accordance with statutory and collective agreement provisions, he or she is responsible for preparing personnel matters relating to staff working at the LRZ for the President of the Academy, in particular by submitting proposals for the appointment, promotion, upgrading and dismissal of staff.

6) In carrying out his or her directorship duties, the Chair of the Directorate draws on the LRZ management team. The management team consists of all department heads and may also include their deputies. The management team advises the Chair and implements the decisions taken. The Chair of the Directorate appoints a member of the management team to the position of Deputy Director. The Chairman of the Directorate may dismiss a member.

7) The Chair of the Directorate presents an annual report on the activities of the LRZ at the Advisory Board meeting.

The full-time research staff at the LRZ elect a representative from among their number by secret ballot for a term of two years. Matters relating to the planning and allocation of tasks concerning the LRZ’s research projects, human resources planning and the staff regulations should be discussed between the Chair of the Directorate and this representative.

The operation of the supercomputer at the LRZ is governed by the ‘Organisational Framework for the Supercomputer at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre’ (see Annex). In particular, it sets out the composition of the Steering Committee, which, within the framework of the joint guidelines of the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS) e.V., determines the objectives and priorities for using the supercomputer and monitors compliance with them.

1) Resolutions to amend the Rules of Procedure require the approval of at least half of the members of the Advisory Board present at the time the resolution is passed. They require the approval of the relevant Section and the plenary meeting.

2) The current Directorate of the LRZ will remain in office until the end of the current members’ term of office. On an interim basis, the current members of the Computer Science Committee will form the LRZ Advisory Board. They shall remain members of the Advisory Board until the end of the term of office resulting from their election or appointment.

3) The Rules of Procedure for the LRZ shall come into force on 19 February 2016.