SC15 Panel Line-Up for Nov. 20th

HPC Transforms DoD, DOE, and Industrial Product Design, Development, and Acquisition

Supercomputing has been shown to enable massive reductions in product development time, significant improvements in product capability, greater design innovation in new products, and effective systems engineering implementations.

Our panelists will share their intimate knowledge of the various methods and practices by which these results have been achieved in the U.S. Departments of Defense & Energy, and in industry.

Topics will include the Digital Thread & Twin of Air Force acquisition; the development and deployment of physics-based engineering analysis and design software for military aircraft, ships, ground vehicles, and antennas; high fidelity predictive simulation of challenging nuclear reactor conditions; accessibility in the era of hacking and exfiltration; STEM education using HPC; and cultural barriers to organizational adoption of HPC-based product development.

Audience questions and contributions to the list of key enablers and pitfalls for the implementation of HPC-based product development within both government and industry will be encouraged and discussed.

Moderator/Panelist Details:

• Loren Miller (Moderator) - DataMetric Innovations, LLC
• Christopher Atwood - U.S. Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program and CREATE Program
• Col. Keith Bearden - United States Air Force
• Douglas Kothe - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Edward Kraft - United States Air Force
• Lt. Col Andrew Lofthouse - United States Air Force Academy
• Douglass Post - U.S. Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program and CREATE Program

Return of HPC Survivor: Outwit, Outlast, Outcompute

Back by popular demand, this panel brings together HPC experts to compete for the honor of "HPC Survivor 2015". Following up on the popular Xtreme Architectures (2004), Xtreme Programming (2005), Xtreme Storage (2007)), Build Me an Exascale (2010), and Does HPC Really Matter? (2014) competitions, the theme for this year is "HPC Transformed: How to Reduce/Recycle/Reuse Your Outdated HPC System."

The contest is a series of "rounds," each posing a specific question about system characteristics and how that affects its transformation to new and exciting uses. After contestants answer, a distinguished commentator furnishes additional wisdom to help guide the audience. At the end of each round, the audience votes (applause, boos, etc.) to eliminate a contestant. The last contestant left wins.

While delivered in a light-hearted fashion, the panel pushes the boundaries of how HPC can/should affect society in terms of impact, relevancy, and ROI.

Moderator/Panelist Details:

• Cherri Pancake (Moderator) - Oregon State University
• Robin Goldstone - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Steve Hammond - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Jennifer M. Schopf - Indiana University
• John E. West - The University of Texas at Austin

 

HPC and the Public Cloud

Where high-performance computing collides with cloud computing, just about the only point where most interested and informed parties agree is that the overlap is incomplete, complex, and dynamic. We are bringing together stakeholders on all sides of the issue to express and debate their points of view on questions such as:

• Which HPC workloads should be running in the public Cloud? Which should not?
• How will Cloud economics affect the choices of algorithms and tools?
• How does Cloud computing impact computational science?
• Is there a line to be drawn between "Big Data" and "HPC"? If so, where?
• Will Cloud HPC encourage or discourage innovation in HPC hardware and software?
• What is it about HPC that the Cloud providers “don’t get”?

Moderator/Panelist Details:

• Kevin D. Kissell (Moderator) - Google
• Jeff Baxter - Microsoft Corporation
• Shane Canon - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Brian Cartwright - MetLife Insurance Company
• Steve Feldman - CD-adapco
• Bill Kramer - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Kanai Pathak - Schlumberger Limited

In Situ Methods: Hype or Necessity?

Due to the widening gap between the FLOP and I/O capacity of HPC platforms, it is increasingly impractical for computer simulations to save full-resolution computations to disk for subsequent analysis.

"In situ" methods offer hope for managing this increasingly acute problem by performing as much analysis, visualization, and related processing while data is still resident in memory. While in situ methods are not new, they are presently the subject of much active R&D, though as yet are not widespread in deployment or use.

This panel examines different aspects of in situ methods, with an eye towards increasing awareness of the current state of this technology, how it is used in practice, and challenges facing widespread deployment and use. The panel will also explore the issue of whether in situ methods are really needed or useful in the first place, and invites discussion and viewpoints from the SC community.

Moderator/Panelist Details:

• Wes Bethel (Moderator) - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Patrick O'Leary - Kitware, Inc.
• John Clyne - National Center for Atmospheric Research
• Venkat Vishwanath - Argonne National Laboratory
• Jacqueline Chen - Sandia National Laboratories 

Please note: these panels and the rest of the Technical Program are open to exhibitors on November 20th.

Brief Q&A with SC15 Exhibits Chair Trey Breckenridge

SC15 Exhibits Chair Trey Breckenridge

The following is a brief Q&A with SC15 Exhibits Chair Trey Breckenridge, Director of High Performance Computing at the Mississippi State University (MSU), High Performance Computing Collaboratory (HPC2).  He has over 22 years of professional experience in high performance computing and computer support. 

His hobbies include aviation, hunting, and golf. He is a former commander of the Civil Air Patrol's Golden Triangle Composite Squadron and currently holds the Director of Flight Operations and Director of Information Technology positions for the Mississippi Wing. He is also an active member of the local branch of the Rotary Club.

How many exhibitors this year/or total # of exhibit space?
We are expecting another sold-out Exhibition this year as we are running ahead in terms of booth space served by the industry and we are tracking ahead in terms of quantity of companies participating. We are expecting approximately 350 exhibiting organizations. The only reason we won't set a record is because we simply won't have any physical space left.

The Exhibition will feature leading companies from at least 25 countries and 60 first-time exhibitors.

How does this compare to previous SC's at this point in the calendar year?
We are tracking ahead in nearly every category as compared to any previous year. What this means is the attendee will see a full breadth of the industry represented in the Exhibition. Nowhere else will they find the industry’s leading companies demonstrating the latest innovations in HPC, networking, storage, and related areas.  No other event provides such extensive, targeted opportunities for in-depth interaction with the leading companies in the field.

What is the country breakdown and how many are first-time exhibitors?
The Exhibition is truly global as we have exhibiting organizations from 25 countries with more than one-third being located outside the United States. We are also seeing new companies being represented and we are expecting 60 or more to make their debut at SC15.

What type of synergy is there between the Research exhibitors and the Industry exhibitors?

The SC exhibit floor balances corporate exhibits with a showcase for innovative applications of high performance computing, networking, and storage from research institutions – universities, national laboratories, and nonprofit research centers.  These scientists and engineers display the latest advances in computational modeling, imaging, visual analysis, and data technologies, often partnering with industry exhibitors to showcase how particular products can achieve new research discoveries.

Breckenridge suggests building a strategy for maximizing time on the exhibit floor.

Any tips on how to best plan your time on the exhibit floor?
Know which booths you want to visit in advance by reviewing the online exhibitor list. Which vendors will help you the most? Where are they located on the exhibit floor? Review the list of presenters at the Exhibitor Forum. If possible, set up advance appointments to meet some of the exhibitors. You may also want to determine a logical route of getting around the Exhibition.

Austin is considered by many as one of the United States' technology hubs.

Why is Austin such a great SC location?
Austin is also known as  the "Silicon Hills" of the United States and is home to a diverse group of technology companies as well as some leading academic institutions.  Plus, its eclectic blend of culture, music, and beautiful geography further add to its attraction. And, it is a very welcoming city and they highly value our exhibitors and our attendees.


How did you get started as a volunteer with SC?
My first exposure to SC was in 1995 as an exhibitor.  At that conference, I provided technical support for the Mississippi State University booth as well as for MSU’s participation in the SC’95 Global Information Infrastructure (GII) testbed where we showcased an interactive, 3-D scientific visualization and virtual reality capability utilizing an experimental, high-performance wide-area network. That effort provided me with an opportunity to work with numerous SC volunteers in Exhibits, SCinet, and the Technical Program. 

The experience had an incredibly positive impact on me, both professionally and personally, and set into motion a strong desire to be more involved with the conference.  In 2006 I was given an opportunity to participate as a committee volunteer and I’ve continued to volunteer since then.

What past positions have you held and what keeps you coming back as a volunteer? 
In 2006, I began my committee involvement as a member of the security team within the Infrastructure group.  Since then I’ve held the positions of Security Chair, Space Chair, Deputy Infrastructure Chair, Infrastructure Co-chair, SCinet Chair, Executive Director to the General Chair, and of course, this year I am the Exhibits Chair.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the work and challenges associated with each of these roles, and my involvement with SC has allowed me to meet and work with a lot of great people from the supercomputing community - many of which I now consider to be personal friends.  But what brings me back as a volunteer year-after-year is the reward of seeing the result of the hard work from the volunteers and the success of each SC conference.

Given your long successful track record in the industry, what advice do you have for someone who is just starting out?
You should not start off with a narrow focus; be as broad as you can and explore complementary areas.  With the rapid integration of complex technologies, the additional knowledge gained by understanding those complementary areas will be a huge advantage down the road.   I would also suggest finding a mentor who you can emulate and learn from - the SC Mentor-Protégé Program is a good place to start.  I’ve had three in my professional career and owe any success that I’ve had to them.

Poster & Student Research Competition Poster Submissions due July 31, 2015

SC Posters are known for facilitating open discussions, ideas and collaboration.

SC15 is soliciting submissions for Posters and Student Research Competition Posters that display cutting-edge research and work in progress in high performance computing, storage, networking and analysis.

Posters provide an excellent opportunity for short presentations and informal discussions with conference attendees. Posters will be prominently displayed for the duration of the Conference, giving presenters a chance to showcase their latest results and innovations. A Best Poster Award will also be presented based on quality of research work and quality of poster presentation.

This year, SC15 is encouraging authors to explore the integration of remotely hosted multimedia elements accessible through embedded QR codes into the poster. The goal of the embedded multimedia elements should be to enhance the presentation of research in the poster.

Click here for more information on Posters.

Applications due: July 31, 2015

Web Submissions: https://submissions.supercomputing.org/

Email contact: posters@info.supercomputing.org!