SC15 Breaks Exhibits and Attendance Records While in Austin, Texas

Noted science communicator and award-winning actor Alan Alda gives the SC15 Keynote Address in Austin, TX, where record-breaking attendance reached approximately  13,000 people.

 Media Contact: Brian Ban (773) 454-7423 or BrianBan@SC15Austin.com

Austin, TX - SC15, the 27th anniversary conference of high performance computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis, celebrated the contributions of researchers and scientists - from those just starting their careers to those whose contributions have made lasting impacts.

The SC15 Exhibit Hall broke records in Austin, TX. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The conference drew a record-breaking 12,914+ registered attendees (as of data collected on 11/20) and featured a technical program spanning six days. The exhibit hall featured 343 exhibitors from industry, academia and research organizations from around the world.

Crowds rushed to the SC15 Exhibit Hall between engaging Technical Sessions.

“In a world of ever-growing, complex problems, high performance computing has a plethora of opportunities to impact lives across multiple fields,” said Jackie Kern, SC15 General Chair from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

SC15 found its home in Austin, TX - pictured here at dawn.

She continued, “No longer is high performance computing reserved for only the biggest corporations in the world. It is now trickling down to smaller, medium-sized firms, which is only increasing its impact. This conference brings together the best research and industry minds in the world for one packed week of sharing ideas, networking, and education.”

SC15 General Chair Jackie Kern being interviewed by Austin-CBS affiliate KEYE in the Exhibit Hall.

According to Kern, the SC15 Exhibition was sold out and the industry-focused exhibit space was the largest to date in the history of the conference. The 217 industry-focused exhibits also marks a new SC15 record. In addition to record-breaking exhibit space, there were a total of 43 first-time exhibitors and 113 international exhibitors from 23 countries (outside the US).  In all, there was a total of approx. 137,000 net square feet of exhibit space and 343 industry and research organizations

SCinet - once again, the world's fastest conference computer network.

During the conference, Austin also became the hub for the world’s fastest conference computer network - SCinet (SC15’s custom network) which made 1.62 (16 100G + 2 10G) Terabits of bandwidth available to exhibitors and attendees.  The network featured 84 miles of fiber deployed throughout the convention center and $18 million in loaned equipment.  It was all made possible by 130 volunteers representing global organizations spanning academia, government and industry.

Noted science communicator and award-winning actor Alan Alda opened the SC15 Technical Program with a keynote speech focusing on the role of science in our society and the intersection of science and computing to a full house of approximately 3,000 people in Austin, Texas on November 17th.

Jeffrey S. Vetter, the SC15 Technical Program Chair, takes the stage.

The Technical Program again offered the highest quality in original HPC research. The SC workshops set a new record with more than 2,000 attendees. There were 10 Best Paper Finalists and 5 Gordon Bell Finalists. These submissions represent the best of the best in a wide variety of research topics in HPC.

Congrats to the 2015 Gordon Bell Prize Award winners. The team received their award at SC15 for using innovative algorithms & implicit solvers to realistically simulate current conditions of the Earth’s interior for the first time. Their work could herald a major step toward more accurately predicting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Overall Stats on Tech Program Tracks:

•    75 Birds-of-a-Feathers
•    78 Papers
•    12 Panels
•    135 Posters  
•    41 Tutorials
•    42 Workshops
•    14 Invited Speakers
•    14 Doctoral Showcase Presentations
•    10 Emerging Technology Presentations

Intel executive Diane Bryant addresses the crowd at the HPC Matters Plenary.

For the second year, SC featured an opening “HPC Matters” plenary that this year was led by Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Data Center Group, who discussed how next-generation supercomputers are transforming HPC.  She further identified exciting opportunities for advancing scientific research and discovery to deliver far-reaching impacts on society.

As part of this Plenary, Intel announced a $300,000 scholarship per-year for five years for women/minorities with STEM undergraduate degrees to fund fellowships for those pursuing PhD's degrees in computational and data science.  This commitment is in honor of Intel's third CEO Andrew Grove. 

The entire Plenary is available online and available by clicking here.

SC16 will be held next November 13th-18th in Salt Lake City, Utah.  For more details, click here.

About SC15
SC15, sponsored by ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and IEEE Computer Society offers a complete technical education program and exhibition to showcase the many ways high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis lead to advances in scientific discovery, research, education and commerce. This premier international conference includes a globally attended technical program, workshops, tutorials, a world class exhibit area, demonstrations and opportunities for hands-on learning. For more information on SC15, please visit http://www.sc15.supercomputing.org/, or contact communications@info.supercomputing.org for more information.

About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional.

Make New Friends at SC15 with this Free Meet-up/Networking Tool

SC15 is on Duckling! Is there an Austin restaurant or attraction that you are dying to visit, but don’t want to explore on your own? Create an informal outing of like-minded SC15 attendees with this free networking website called Duckling.

Simply visit the SC15 page on the Duckling site and click “add an outing.” Use the Yelp-connected search engine to find a specific restaurant or venue or search around for something of interest. Once you've picked the venue, fill in information about the details, meeting spot, etc. to create your event. We are encouraging all SC15 Duckling outings to meet at the information booth at the Fourth St. entrance of the Austin Convention Center. 

If you are looking to network and meet other attendees while exploring the city, just visit the SC15 Duckling site for a list of events. Or follow @ducklingquacks on twitter. Outings created on Duckling are open to everyone, so all you have to do is show up. You can also search the #SC15 hashtag on Twitter for duckling events.

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.

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.

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!