AI Lab Seminar: From Web Interfaces to Code: Programmatic LLM Inference at HZDR

Speakers: Peter Steinbach (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf / Helmholtz AI)

In this event, we showcase AI technology from the trenches as used at HZDR and bridge the gap to the scientific community in Dresden. Everyone is invited to join! 
Abstract
Large Language Models (LLMs) are powerful tools for research and automation—but many researchers only interact with them through web interfaces. This talk introduces the concept of programmatic inference, demonstrating how to use LLMs directly from code via standard APIs and local deployment. Participants will learn how to access Helmholtz-hosted endpoints like chat.fz-rossendorf.de and Blablador, manage API keys securely, and run local inference with vLLM on HPC infrastructure for faster, parallelized processing.By the end, attendees will understand how to integrate LLMs into their own data analysis, classification, and research workflows—without relying on commercial cloud services.
Target Audience
Researchers, data scientists, and technical staff at research institutions who:

Already use LLMs via web interfaces (e.g., ChatGPT or Blablador)
Want to automate or scale their use of LLMs for data processing, classification, or analysis
Have basic familiarity with Python scripting but limited experience with LLM APIs or local model inference

Our Host
We are grateful that Oncoray is hosting this event! We hope that this caters to a large audience from all HZDR sites, academic institutions in Dresden or the region and provides apt opportunity to attend in-person.
Address
Building 130Händelallee 2601309 Dresden
Map location
Want to Join?
Please register so we can plan for extra chairs if required.

https://events.hifis.net/event/3227/