Doctoral Showcase Deadline Extended to Aug. 21st

As part of the SC15 Technical Program, the Doctoral Showcase provides an important opportunity for students near the end of their Ph.D. to present a summary of their dissertation research in the form of short talks and posters.  Unlike technical paper and poster presentations, Doctoral Showcase highlights the entire contents of each dissertation, including previously published results, to allow for a broad perspective of the work.

Submissions will be accepted for the Dissertation Research Showcase track for Ph.D. students who will be graduating in the next 12 months. This track provides a venue for Ph.D. students to present a summary of their latest and systematic dissertation research. It provides an opportunity to educate junior graduate students working in high performance computing areas. This program also provides an ideal opportunity for prospective employers in academia, research laboratories and industry to interact with prospective Ph.D.s.

More information, click here.

Make A Difference: Volunteer for the SC15 Mentor-Protégé Program

Mentor Jim Ahrens of Los Alamos National Laboratory meets with his protégé, Maria Ruiz, at SC14.

When you register for SC15, consider signing up as a mentor to help students get the most out of the conference and make a difference in their careers. Protégés are from the Student Volunteers, HPC for Undergrads, Student Cluster Competition and Doctoral Showcase programs. The suggested commitment for mentors and protégés is a pre-conference email or phone contact, attendance at the Mentor-Protégé Program Mixer from 3:30-5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, and another meeting during SC15.

Maria Ruiz

Thanks to the SC14 Mentor-Protégé Program, University of Delaware Ph.D. Student Maria Ruiz gained valuable experience by attending the 2015 Data Science at Scale Summer School at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Following that program, she was able to continue working with her SC14 mentor Jim Ahrens, who leads the Data Science at Scale Team in the Applied Computer Science group at LANL.

Ruiz first met Ahrens at the Mentor-Protégé Program mixer held at the beginning of SC14. Ruiz said she was thrilled to have a mentor who is engaged with related research and understands it well enough to discuss advanced topics in the field. As her mentor, Ahrens was impressed by Ruiz’s enthusiasm and knowledge. He helped orient her to the conference and suggested names of people she should meet. Later that week, Ruiz attended some of Ahrens’ conference talks and followed up by sharing her resume, which led her to LANL this summer.

Because it’s difficult to find mentors in a specific field from outside of your university, Ruiz said that the SC Mentor-Protégé experience fostered new connections that will ultimately help her make a greater research impact and open up more opportunities in the future. From Ahrens’ perspective, the connection was a win-win, because he found a capable student for his summer program whom he may not have met otherwise. He felt fortunate for having the opportunity to guide Ruiz’s conference experience and is excited that she is planning to contribute to and participate in SC15 this year.

For more specifics on getting involved, click here.

Historical Perspective: Getting to Know the SC Perennials

The SC Perennials is a name affectionately given to the 18 hardy individuals who have demonstrated an unswerving commitment to the HPC community, having attended all 27 of the SC conferences, starting with SC88.  The Perennials just keep coming back – year after year after.

Just as a point of reference, we refer to SC15 as the 27th annual SC conference, but for these individuals, it will actually be their 28th consecutive appearance.

The SC Perennials have seen a lot of change over the years and their contributions, past and present have helped the SC conference in many ways - from program responsibilities to committee roles to evangelizing the importance of HPC.  Their roles in the community and their years of volunteer service on various conference committees is noteworthy.  Some of the names on this list need no introduction – you will recognize them as HPC community legends.

That first event, SC88, which featured a keynote from Seymour Cray, had 1,495 attendees, 36 exhibitors and used a small hotel ballroom for the exhibit hall. This year, at SC15, we anticipate more than 10,000 attendees, more than 350 exhibitors, and we’ll be occupying more than 140,000 sq. ft. of exhibit hall space.

Leading up to SC15, we’ll be posting a series of articles based on interviews with the SC Perennials in which we’ll share some of their favorite memories, discuss some of the SC conference highlights over the years, and bring you an entertaining perspective on many “cool” things to know about the history of this amazing conference.

We hope you enjoy this rare treat of getting to know some more about the SC conference history, as well as getting to know this group of colorful, dedicated SC conference attendees.

SC Perennials (listed in alphabetical order)

• Mike Bernhardt / Intel
• Bill Boas / System Fabric Works
• Vito Bongiorno / Cray Inc.
• Jim Bottum / Clemson Univ. / Internet2
• Maxine Brown / Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
• Jack Dongarra / Univ. of Tennessee and ORNL
• John L. Gustafson
• Fred Johnson
• Anne Marie Kelly / IEEE Computer Society
• John M. Levesque / Cray Inc.
• Allen D. Malony / Univ. of Oregon
• Kenichi Miura / NII / LBNL
• Steve Poole
• Ralph Roskies / Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
• Horst Simon / LBNL
• Burton Smith
• Quentin F. Stout / Univ. of Michigan
• Steve Wallach

Meet the SC15 Student Cluster Competition Chair: Hai Ah Nam

The SC15 Student Cluster Chair Hai Ah Nam from Los Alamos National Laboratory.

In 1999, the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Hai Ah Nam left graduate school for a summer hiatus to take care of her ailing father and save a marriage that was cracking under the grad school pressure. The summer hiatus ended up lasting five years.

“I had a master’s degree in physics at that point,” Nam says, “but it wasn’t getting me anywhere in southern California. I went to work in the internet industry for a while and then taught high school math, but it wasn’t fulfilling that part of me that wanted to know more, do more.”

By now a single parent with an 18-month-old daughter, Nam sat down at her desk one evening and took stock.

“I felt nearly as lost as when I had first gone off to college,” Nam recalls. “I loved physics, but I did not see a path forward and needed to take a step back.”

Nam was at a turning point and in the end decided to join another graduate school, but this time a joint doctoral program in computational science through San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University.

“Going back to school when everyone else was at least five years younger and didn’t have to rush home after classes to struggle with the joys of potty training was tough,” Nam notes with a smile. “I had to push down a lot of insecurities and convince myself that the sacrifice would pay off.”

While spending her summers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Nam was asked whether she would be interested in helping the 2007 Student Cluster Competition as a volunteer. Although she was not sure what the competition entailed or how to fit it into her busy schedule, she said yes and was glad she did. The initial yes ended up leading to a wide variety of professional development and networking opportunities, including staff positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and now Los Alamos, and a new husband to boot.

Nam with SCC co-chair Tiki Suarez-Brown and Awards Chair Jack Dongarra with the 2010 SCC winner, University of Texas at Austin.

Student Cluster Competition
Since volunteering for her first Student Cluster Competition, Nam has been an active member of the event’s organizational team and in 2010 served as that year’s Student Cluster Competition chair.

“Over 10,000 high-performance computing professionals and students from all over the world attend SC annually, which includes the Student Cluster Competition,” Nam explains. “Students from as far away as Australia, Colombia and China compete on the global stage to build and operate powerful cluster computers—smaller versions of high-capacity supercomputers—and everyone has a lot of fun.”

But offering chances to compete and have fun are only part of the event’s contributions.

“The Student Cluster Competition provides students with training beyond what they are able to get through their universities,” Nam says, “and they learn about new research, have a chance to network and get a taste of future career paths that they probably never even knew existed.”

Click here to read the full article.

Click here for more information about the Student Cluster Competition.

Article courtesy of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Focus on Austin: Take a Nature Break Minutes from Downtown

McKinney Falls State Park is a popular attraction close to downtown Austin.

Planning to bring your family with you to Austin or just want a quick get-away for yourself? The weather in Austin is beautiful, so why not head to a nearby park? A local favorite is the nearby McKinney Falls State Park.

Located just 13 miles southeast of downtown, McKinney Falls offers 726 acres of hiking and cycling trails, playgrounds, picnic areas, a campground, and Onion Creek for wading and rock skipping. If you bring kids, ask the park rangers for free Junior Ranger Explorer Packs so they can track and sketch animals, bugs and other wildlife.

The falls at McKinney Falls are considered one of the most impressive falls in the Austin area (based on the amount of rain the area has received.) The park’s trails are moderately long and easy enough for kids of all ages to walk and skip to their heart’s content. When the creek is low, everyone enjoy walking on the limestone creek bed.

McKinney Falls State Park is open daily, year-round from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. Free for kids 12 years and under, and only $6 for adults, it is a good option for an adventure with the family. Bring a picnic lunch and make a day of it!

McKinney Falls State Park
5808 McKinney Falls Parkway
Austin, TX 78744
Click here for the website.

SC15 Announces New NSF-Funded Diversity Program for SCinet

SCinet, SC’s dedicated high-performance research network and backbone of information and communication, is running a new "pilot” program that will fund up to five US women candidates in their early to mid-career to join the SCinet volunteer workforce for SC15.

Marla Meehl

“I am very excited to be enabling career women to expand their experience at SC15” said Marla Meehl, Principal Investigator for the NSF grant and UCAR Manager of Network Engineering, Telecommunications, FRGP, and BiSON. “This is a fabulous opportunity for those chosen, and I appreciate NSF’s, SC15's, ESnet’s, and KINBER's commitment and support.  I hope this is the first in an ongoing effort to engage women in IT and SC.”

Funded by the NSF’s Campus Cyberinfrastructure: Infrastructure, Innovation Engineering (CC*IIE) Region: Rocky Mountain Cyberinfrastructure Mentoring and Outreach Alliance (RMCMOA) under grant number 1440642 and lead by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Reseach (UCAR), the Pennsylvania research network KINBER, and the Department of Energy’s network ESnet, selected candidates will receive full travel support and mentoring by well-known engineering experts in the networking community.

SCinet offers many unique growth opportunities for volunteers including hands-on training with emerging network hardware and software, working collaboratively with known experts in the networking field, and building new professional connections.

Applications are currently being reviewed and notifications of the SCinet candidates will be sent out August 15.

For specific details, click here.

Technical Program Deadline Extended to Friday, August 7

The deadline for remaining Technical Program submissons has been extended to Friday, August 7, including Emerging Technologies, Posters, ACM Student Research Competition Posters, Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions (BoFs), Scientific Visualization and Data Analytics Showcase Program, and Doctoral Showcase.Visit the Technical Program page for more information.

Deadline: Friday, August 7
Web Submissions: click here