In recognition for his many years of dedication to HPC, Valero was awarded the HPCwire Readers’ Choice Award in 2020 for his “exceptional leadership in HPC” and for being “the driving force behind the renaissance of European HPC independence.”

Mateo Valero was also a panelist in the I Am HPC Plenary at SC23.

Fostering Global Collaboration

In this I Am HPC profile, Valero gives a look into his history with HPC, as well as where he sees the industry going.

Mateo Valero

Director, Barcelona Supercomputing Center

Mateo on LinkedIN

Q: What single event most made you realize you wanted a career in HPC/computing?

Valero: The realization that I wanted a career in HPC was sparked when, around 1977-78, I collaborated with my undergraduate students to construct some small-scale (two to four processors) multiprocessor systems featuring 4-8-bit Intel processors and shared memory.

Q: What do you consider your biggest contribution to the HPC/computing community?

Valero: My most significant contribution to the HPC/computing community has been the pioneering work my students and I conducted on Vector Architectures. During a time when the prevailing belief was that pure superscalar processors would render vector architectures obsolete, we defied conventional wisdom. We foresaw that high-performance vector processors would continue to thrive, and this prediction has become a reality today. We also made substantial contributions by bridging the worlds of ILP [instruction-level parallelism] and DLP [data-level parallelism], fostering a productive cross-pollination between these two fields. Our introduction of the concept of “fuzzy computation” evolved into the idea of “reduced data formats,” which has proven immensely valuable in terms of energy and space efficiency while also contributing to the advancement of current AI [artificial intelligence] hardware.

Q: In the past 35 years, what is the most significant overlooked breakthrough that has impacted the field in your eyes?

Valero: Vector architectures, notably those championed by Cray’s pioneering work and followed by other Japanese companies, have been a fundamental—and often an overlooked—breakthrough in the landscape of HPC and supercomputing. I consider them a hidden treasure in high-performance computing with their remarkable energy efficiency, clean semantics, and profound influence on contemporary architectures like GPUs [graphics processing units]. As the world seeks more efficient and powerful computing solutions, the impact of vector architectures continues to be felt, both in the quest for scientific discoveries and the design of innovative hardware.

Q: What would you like to see change about, within, or among the HPC/computing community?

Valero: I envision a transformation in the HPC/computing community, where we harness the power of our exceptional machines, supercomputers, and various instruments to foster global collaboration in addressing critical societal challenges. Issues such as climate change, sustainable energy solutions, and personalized medicine demand collective efforts from diverse institutions. One of the most challenging and promising research areas in this context is the development of a digital twin for the human body. Achieving breakthroughs in this field necessitates an extensive collaboration, where institutions come together and share their valuable resources. By promoting such cooperation, we can accelerate progress and make a significant impact on these pressing issues.

To help get them there, HPC Immersion guides students through the SC Technical Program and helps them engage with the community through panels, hands-on learning sessions, mentoring, and workshops. Under Lisa Perez, this year’s HPC Immersion Chair, the program hopes to inspire and educate the next crop of HPC professionals. 

Below is a list of this year’s participants as well as some introductory information about them.

Meet This Year’s Students

madison Lopez

California Polytechnic State University (Computer Science, Graphics)

I am looking forward to the panels and workshops available to students to learn more about HPC.

Hobbies: Art, manga, video games, game developing, modding

Favorite Ice Cream: Jamoca Almond Fudge

Hojahnea Hodges

Bluefield State University, Bluefield, West Virginia (Computer Science)

I am looking forward to seeing the architecture and landmarks that Denver has to offer. I also saw that there is also the Denver Zoo, it would be a dream to visit there.

Hobbies: Cooking, hiking, learning architecture and history, photography, ssurfing the web

Favorite Ice Cream: Cookies & Cream

Ashley Adams

Bluefield State University (Major: Computer Science, Minor: Cybersecurity)

I am looking forward to a fun time! I love that this an opportunity to network with and learn from experts in the field, as well as from my peers.

Hobbies: Listening to new music, nature photography and videography

Favorite Ice Cream: Cheesecake or Chocolate Chip

Md Toki Tahmid

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Computer Science and Engineering)

I am looking forward to my first time outside the country, meeting people from different cultures, and if possible, a calm walk around the city.

Hobbies: Singing and watching cricket

Favorite Ice Cream: Butter Pecan

Olivia Heng

Brown University (Computer Engineering)

I am excited to network and meet like-minded individuals and am especially looking forward to participating in HPC Immersion, where I’ll interact with similarly passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds and have experiences that will expand my perspectives of both HPC and how I can contribute to the HPC community.

Hobbies: Hakathons, trying new foods, and roller coasters

Favorite Ice Cream: Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey

Yimin Wang

Wake Forest (Computer Science and Statistics)

Hobbies: Basketball

Favorite Ice Cream: Oreo

Valery Hoyos

Politecnico Grancolombiano (Software Engineering)

I look forward to seeing the Rocky Mountain National Park and Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Hobbies: Painting, exploring nature, and playing sports

Favorite Ice Cream: Cookies & Cream

Oliver Higginbotham

Mississippi State University (Computer Engineering)

I am looking forward to seeing local parks and museums.

Hobbies: Working on personal servers and computers, playing tuba, tinkering

Favorite Ice Cream: Cookies & Cream

Namita Shah

Arizona State University (Computer Science)

I can’t wait to explore Denver with my fellow participants, the people and the beautiful city itself. Denver is the hub of historical landmarks and gorgeous views!

Hobbies: Playing piano, singing Indian classical music, hiking, and hanging with friends

Favorite Ice Cream: Cookie Dough

Basit Hussain

BRAC University Dhaka Bangladesh (Computer Science)

I’m excited to participate in panels, hands-on learning sessions, mentoring, workshops, and gaining valuable insights as I explore potential career options. It’s great to see initiatives like this that help me gain practical knowledge and exposure early on in my academic journey.

Hobbies: Reading, coding, traveling, hiking, camping, swimming, and dancing

Favorite Ice Cream: Chocolate

Megan Hendrickson

Tennessee Tech University (Major: Computer Science, Minor: Mathematics)

I have been to Colorado before and loved it, so I’m just excited to be going back!

Hobbies: Cooking, crocheting, working out, and collecting records

Favorite Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry’s The Tonight Dough

Autumn Nguyen

Mount Holyoke College (Computer Science, Math, Philosophy, Environmental Economics)

I want to visit Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver Botanic Garden, and Colorado State Capitol. I also find outdoor activities in and around Denver exciting, like zip lining, rafting on the Clear Creek, or just simply hiking in some beautiful natural sites with other people in the program.

Hobbies: Writing journals, watching documentaries, and looking at the night sky

Favorite Ice Cream: Any vegan ice cream with nuts

Adebowale Adelekan

Indiana University Bloomington (Computer Science, Economics, Mathematics)

I am looking forward to big, fast, computers and the people/companies that make big, fast computers.

Hobbies: Basketball, cooking, building/upgrading computers

Favorite Ice Cream: Mint Chocolate Chip

Angelica Lucia Vasquez Gudiel

Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (Electrical Engineering)

I am looking forward to immersing myself in the program and meet professionals who share the same interests as me.

Hobbies: Watching movies and series, going out with friends, and spending time with family

Favorite Ice Cream: Cookie Dough

Brinkli Abbitt

Oklahoma State University (Chemical Engineering)

I am looking forward to the mountains.

Hobbies: Art and research

Favorite Ice Cream: Mint Chocolate Chip

Abby Kapocius

UNC Charlotte (Major: Computer Science, Minor: English)

I am looking forward to the downtown area! I would love to see the plains and the mountains as well.

Hobbies: Programming, computers, motorcycles, video games, and gardening

Favorite Ice Cream: Vegan Vanilla Bean

Sukai Fanneh Hydara

Everett Community College (Computer Science)

As a first-time visitor, I’m really excited to finally see the city of Denver! I love museums so I look forward to seeing the Denver Art Museum, or the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Hobbies: Listening to music, writing poetry, spending quality time with family

Favorite Ice Cream: Cookies & Cream or Talenti Alphonso Mango

Zachary Watson

Tarleton State University (Computer Science)

Here are some of the exciting Students@SC events coming up in Denver, with the information students need to sign up and move ahead on their HPC journey.

“Don’t Miss” Events for Students

alumni networking event

The Alumni Networking Event aims to help students make the connections they need to be successful in their future careers. Over a complimentary lunch on Tuesday, November 14 from 12-1:30 pm, students can meet new and former members of the Students@SC program as they create the lifelong connections that make HPC (and the SC Conference) such a tight-knit community.

This event is open to all members of the SC23 Student Program, including Student Volunteers, Student Cluster Competition, HPC Immersion, Broader Engagement, and HPC for Undergraduates, as well as alumni of these programs.

There is no deadline to apply to attend the Alumni Networking Event, and registrations will be accepted until the event has reached capacity.

Co-sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Students@SC, the Speed Mentoring Event is for students who want to get into the exciting field of HPC. The goal is to connect students with experienced mentors from academia, industry, and national laboratories who can share real-world advice on how to advance their careers—all in 10- to 15-minute meet-up “bursts.”

On Wednesday, November 15 from 12-1:30 pm, students will participate in a series of mentorship activities, including timed discussions with mentors, which will include questions from students. Lunch will be provided.

Any student who would like to participate in this unique speed mentoring event must register to reserve a seat.

Mentor–Protégé Matching

Mentor-Protégé Matching places students with experienced mentors who can guide them through the entire SC23 experience.

Mentor-Protégé “matches” are based on multiple factors, including research interests, career goals, long-term plans, and general interests.

Information gleaned from the protégé survey and mentor survey facilitates these matches. As such, any students or mentors interested in the program must complete their respective survey before Wednesday, November 1.

Guided Interest Groups (GIGs) are community learning experiences where students shepherd participants through the SC Technical Program.

Participating students must attend sessions chosen by the GIG leaders, as well as short pre- and post-session discussions facilitated by the leader. A GIG kickoff meeting and social event will be held on Sunday, November 12 at 5:30 pm.

Once students have registered and received registration confirmation for a specific GIG, they will be put in contact with the GIG leader. The leaders will send all meeting invitations directly to the GIG participants.

For SC23, GIGs likely will span a variety of HPC topics, including performance analysis and optimization, machine learning, parallel architectures, graph applications, sustainable computing, and software tools. See the GIG webpage for full details and sign up!

Lightning Talks

The Students@SC Program invites students to partake in Lightning Talks, which are short, focused presentations that showcase the broader significance of research or projects (notably, this rapid-fire presentation style originated within the computing community). These compelling sessions will be held at the Student Headquarters and the SCinet Theater. 

Stay tuned for more details on how to sign up for these thrilling talks that will introduce you to the SC community.

“Students are exposed to everything from systems administration to applications,” says Jenett Tillotson, the SCC Chair at SC23, and Senior HPC Systems Engineer at NCAR . “Vendors also benefit by partnering with teams to lend them hardware for the competition. Students get experience with real-world hardware and real-world applications and the vendors can show off the latest and greatest HPC technology.” 

On top of the technical experience student’s gain, these newcomers to the industry are also able to collaborate with other young minds as well as veteran mentors. 

“Once they get to the conference, it is an amazing opportunity to show off their new skills, network and make professional connections,” says Dan Dietz, the Vice Chair for this year’s competition, and HPC Engineer in the User Assistance and Outreach group (UAO) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “This is especially great for students who will be moving into the workforce soon! The advisors get many of the same benefits – they get to work with and mentor their aspiring students, and help them grow into their professional lives.”

While there are many layers to the SCC competition—for instance, the IndySCC event is intended for less-experienced teams and focuses on education and inclusion—it is a complex and complicated competition with deep roots at SC.

Let the Games Begin!

This year’s crop of SCC contestants will feature fierce competition between both new and veteran teams. Each team will consist of six students, an advisor, and vendor partners that provide hardware and software. 

Each SCC team works toward the goal of proving their skills by building and operating a modern, functional HPC cluster using specific hardware, all within a fixed power limit. The fast-paced design/build competition will take place during a non-stop, 48-hour challenge on the SC23 Exhibition floor.

Good luck to all SC23 SCC competitors!

Peking University, China

Team Name: Radiance of Weiming

Shengyu Liu

Yuanhang Sun

Tianle Xu

Zhuofeng Wang

Jiameng Huang

Jiaqi Si

Although Peking University did not compete in last year’s SCC competition, the students in Team Radiance of Weiming intend for the university’s return to be a successful one. 

To create their team and prepare for the competition, Peking University organized a competition – PKU HPCGame – which was the first HPC competition in China aimed at every skill level from beginner to expert. The event garnered participants from different majors at the university, allowing the team to gather the most talented and enthusiastic people. Radiance of Weiming also arranged workshops about various HPC topics and recruited many new members from both PKU HPCGame and the HPC From Scratch program. 

The team is excited to gain access to various hardware and software solutions and explore the trend of next-generation HPC systems in a competitive setting. They also are interested in competing and communicating with their competition from other universities. 

The University of New Mexico, USA

Team Name: The Roadrunners

Ryan Scherbarth

Carter Frost

Alex Knigge

Ellie Larence

Maisy Dunlavy

Abdalaziz Raad

The team from the University of New Mexico (UNM) is new to SCC, and they have big plans for their first competition. Naming themselves The Roadrunners, this team has been preparing for SCC since the beginning of this year. 

The team was able to secure equipment earlier this year to build clusters that they used for practice, and they have familiarized themselves with the software that the teams will be using. They hope this will give them an edge over the competition. 

In fact, The Roadrunners formed as a result of a semester-long competition throughout the spring that resulted in multiple members receiving and accepting job offers from the UNM’s Center for Advanced Research Computing over the summer. The team members hope this experience will be a defining feature of their experience at SCC.

Shanghai Tech University, China

Team Name: GeekPie_HPC

Aibo Hu

Jiajun Cheng

Lei Huang

Siyan Zhuo

Xuanjun Wen

Yichi Zhang

ShanghaiTech University is quite familiar with SCC, and the team name GeekPie_HPC has origins that stretch back to the 2019 competition. The team also won the IndySCC in 2022. Despite the university’s history with the competition, this year will be each current team member’s first time attending an international conference. 

Creating their team through a combination of HPC enthusiasts and students from the university’s artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory, GeekPie_HPC is focusing heavily on fostering an environment of open communication, collaboration, and mutual respect. They look forward to putting their skills to the test and seeing how well they can perform under pressure.

ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Team Name: RACKlette

Alexander Sotoudeh

Hannes Eberhard

Sophia Herrmann 

Samuel Karsko 

Alexander Pietak 

Yi Zhu 

ETH Zürich is another university with history at SCC, and the team name RACKlette stretches back to at least 2019. To prepare for the SC23 competition, the team plans on having more experienced members from previous years hold workshops to teach newer recruits and hopefully give them an edge. 

The team is excited to represent both Switzerland and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. Moreover, the team members are eager to meet industry professionals, as well as have the chance to see exciting new technologies up close.

Tsinghua University, China

Team Name: Diablo

Runqing Zhang

Xinran Cai

Xingye Yuan

Jiaming Jiang

Chengdong Xiang

Kai Yang

Not only does Tsinghua University have a deep history with the SCC competition, it also has a record of winning. The university was declared the overall winner of SCC every year from 2018 until 2021. However, as Team Diablo remarked this year, simply competing with the outstanding competition offered at SCC is its own reward. 

To create their team, Diablo built a website to attract students interested in supercomputing. These students then participate in talks led by senior team members and take part in weekly meetings. In these meetings, each member reports on the effort and progress made in the previous week. They also discuss any problems met along the way. The team believes coordination and camaraderie will be a major advantage for them in the competition.

University of Kansas, USA

Team Name: Embarrassingly Parallel

Yara Al-Shorman

James Hurd

Abir Haque

Adair Torres

Richard Moser

Shad Hameed 

By their own admission, the group out of the University of Kansas is a “beginner team.” However, by working with professors at the university, they have been able to bring HPC-interested students into the fold to create a team that is hungry for victory.

 They prepared for this competition by building a cluster they hope will give them the experience necessary to win. They also participated in regular team meetings and found resources through their sponsors and advisors, both within the University of Kansas and elsewhere at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Boston university, Brown University, UMass Boston, USA

Team Name: BU³

Kevin Hsu

David Li

Julia Hua

Yida Wang

Shamir Legaspi

Yiran Yin

Last year, Boston University teamed up with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Northeastern University to compete in SCC. This year, the school is working with Brown University and has come up with a clever name to boot: BU³. 

Although the team has a history with the competition, they admit this year there are fewer members who are experienced with the SCC challenge. Not only are they working hard to ensure they have the skills necessary to win, the team is also endeavoring to guarantee that everyone will have an engaging experience with the SC Conference. 

As part of its strategy, BU³ applied for access to the MIT cloud, so the whole team could “play around” with the applications. They also hold biweekly meetings to quickly tackle any issues that arise.

Clemson University, USA

Team Name: HPC Tigers

Ainara Garcia 

Thomas Joseph 

Kristen Guernsey

Benjamin Schlueter

John Karakkattu

William Fey

Clemson University is no stranger to SCC and has competed at previous conferences, including 2022’s IndySCC. However, they admit this will be each team member’s first in-person SCC experience and expect to encounter technical issues involving the set up and operation of an unfamiliar cluster. That said, they believe their extensive preparation, comprehensive knowledge base, and flexible mindsets will enable them to attain victory. 

The HPC Tigers have planned strategies to accomplish different competition requirements as efficiently as possible. On top of that, many team members have internships that will build skills necessary to win SCC.

University of California, San Diego, USA

Team Name: Triton LLC (Last Level Cache)

Austin Garcia

Francisco Fabian Gutierrez

Khai Vu

Gloria Seo

Kyle Smith

Zixian Wang

Although they were not the overall winner of SCC at SC22, University of California, San Diego did receive the highest Linpack score in last year’s competition. As such, they have high hopes for success at SC23. 

This year’s squad was selected in an application process based on each person’s experience and how every team member’s skill set could compliment one another. The team also prepared by having their own competition that tests certain benchmarks on a single-board cluster. This, combined with mentoring from students who participated in previous SCC years, makes Triton LLC confident about their chances for victory.

New York University, USA

Team Name: NYU

Mohan Lu

Asaad Al-Barwani

Riku Santa Cruz

Aisha Roslan

Pavly Halim

Nina Li

The New York University team may be first-time competitors, but they plan for an exciting introduction to their skills. Their team is part of a larger VIP course that teaches students about supercomputing. 

Although only six students can go to the competition, everyone involved with this course gets a chance to explore the basics of hardware, operating system configuration, and various HPC applications.

nanyang technological university, Singapore

Team Name: Supernova

Luo Yihang

Wang Ruisi

Duong Ngoc Yen

Ding Dao Xian

Sharma Aryan

Agarwal Lakshya

The Nanyang Technological University Supernova team is working hard to showcase their skills at this year’s SCC. Although the team is mildly concerned about shipping their machine from Singapore, their main focus is bringing their international team together to broaden their horizons and learn new skills from experts in the field. 

The team was formed via an annual recruitment effort that enables the university’s students to register for workshops. The best students are chosen to attend competition, and advisors give feedback that grows and hones their respective skill sets.

This program matches mentors who have a wealth of industry and SC experience with students who are just starting out their careers. This year, early applications will be accepted on August 1 while later applications will begin on September 2. 

Reaping the Rewards

For many mentors, the program is a way to repay a kindness from early on in their own careers, as well as foster a welcoming environment within the HPC community. 

Adam Hough

HPC Systems Architect and Project Manager, Shell

Adam on Linkedin

“Mentorship for me is just how I pay forward the mentorship that I received from Isaac and Kathy Traxler as they mentored me when I joined Louisiana State University’s HPC group,” says Adam Hough, an HPC systems architect and project manager at Shell and a former SC mentor.”

“There is a need for more HPC professionals, and the way to create more is to mentor and expose younger generations to all the HPC opportunities that are available.” — Hough

Easing the Transition

HPC can feel like a complex and daunting field to enter for newcomers. Mentor–Protégé Matching aims to ease this transition for incoming students while also giving experienced mentors a means of connecting with new talent. 

While the program abounds in stories of success between mentors and proteges, Suren Byna’s experience mentoring Jean Luca Bez during SC20 is a specific example of the mutually beneficial nature of this unique SC experience.

Suren Byna

Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University

Suren at OSU

Byna is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University and a Visiting Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). He has also been part of Mentor–Protégé Matching at SC since 2015. He states that his time working with Bez was not only a great opportunity to teach, but one where he saw the distinct benefits of working with new talent. 

“I enjoy the inquisitive nature of those participating as protégés. Some of these questions remind me of situations I went through in my career.” — Byna 

“I came to know that Jean Luca had been planning for a post-Ph.D. career and was still thinking about where to join. I shared my experience with industry labs and national lab research environments. At the same time, I had a position open in my group and encouraged Jean Luca to apply. Without much hesitation, he applied, and we hired him. As expected, Jean Luca has been performing well during the past two years.”

Finding reliable talent can be a struggle, and Mentor–Protégé Matching is a great resource for meeting and evaluating the next generation of HPC experts. As a result of his experience, Byna encourages his colleagues to participate in mentorship whenever possible. 

jean Luca Bez

Data Management Research Scientist, Berkeley Lab

jean Luca at Berkeley Lab

Bez is also quite emphatic about the positive opportunities offered by the program. 

“Suren and I were paired because of our similar interest in I/O, Storage, and Data Management and my interest in learning more about research opportunities and careers in national laboratories,” says Bez.

“We continued to correspond and interact throughout the year, and our relationship grew. His openness, willingness to help, and encouragement gave me key insights into my upcoming career decisions. I can honestly say that this experience was life-changing and helped shape my current path.” — Bez

Unsurprisingly, Bez has extremely positive memories of the program. Not only was he offered an exciting postdoctoral research opportunity at LBNL, he was also able to grow in this position and was recently offered a position as a Career-Track Researcher at LBNL. 

New Friendships, New Opportunities

Although every Mentor–Protégé Matching story is unique, the outcomes are generally the same – new friendships, new opportunities, and new ways to think about problems. While Bez and Byna’s experience showcases how important the program is in setting up career opportunities, Hough also points out that his time with protégés exposes him to different viewpoints and helps him to diversify his own thoughts. 

Of course, all three are emphatically in favor of both potential mentors and protégés signing up for the program. 

“Every year, when I talk to new students, I recommend they sign up for this program and tell them my story and experience, hoping it would spark their interest in participating,” says Bez.

“I would also add for those that are beyond convinced that this is a good program to be open and honest with your mentor and take advantage of every interaction you have with them. My mentor was kind enough to share his experiences and his story and was open to listening to my concerns and dreams.” — Bez

Get Ready to Sign Up

HPC would be a lonely field if recruits needed to have a high level of expertise before they began their training. HPC Immersion was introduced to SC as a way help computing newbies learn as much as they can about HPC and help them understand the many possibilities within the field.

A World of Possibilities

We spoke with Sally Ellingson, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky and this year’s Student@SC Chair, as well as Lisa Perez, the Director for Advanced Computing Enablement at Texas A&M’s High Performance Research Computing facility and this year’s HPC Immersion Chair, to learn more about this exciting program.

Sally ellingson

Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky

Sally on Linkedin

Lisa Perez

Director for Advanced Computing Enablement, Texas A&M University

Lisa on Linkedin

Starting something new can be daunting. But as Ellingson explains, the HPC Immersion program is specifically designed to help students overcome this fear. 

“HPC Immersion is a program to engage students who have never been to SC and are new to HPC,” says Ellingson. “This program helps bring in people who otherwise would not be exposed to the conference and engages them in a way to help foster their return and interest in HPC, building the community in breadth. HPC can transform all fields and being inclusive unlocks its highest potential.”

That last point is especially relevant in today’s computing climate. While HPC resources were once reserved for academic and high-level research purposes, they’ve since become more accessible to a wider range of people. Combined with tools meant to integrate simpler user interfaces with HPC machines, that means supercomputing is more available and versatile than ever. 

For instance, Perez states that she was introduced to the value of computing as a whole in junior high, using a Macintosh II computer to write a program that drew a rainbow leading to a pot of gold. Going on to earn a degree in chemistry, she learned about the awesome power of HPC and the need to spread these tools as widely as possible. 

“While I chose to pursue a degree in chemistry, I learned about supercomputers and computational chemistry as an undergraduate student which combined my passion for computers, math, and chemistry,” says Perez. “I went on to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry with a focus on computational chemistry where I not only heavily used HPC as a researcher but also as a system administrator.”

Perez continues, “I was fortunate to attend educational institutions that had the resources to introduce programing and HPC early in my academic career. That had a profound impact on my career path. I am very excited to bring the same opportunities to undergraduate students early in their academic career through the HPC Immersion program. Participation opens up a world of possibilities in all things HPC!”

Welcoming Newcomers

SC wouldn’t exist if the conference didn’t encourage young people lacking experience in HPC to join and learn all they can. As such, HPC Immersion is designed to ensure that everyone feels welcome and valued, and that newcomers gain exposure in many aspects of HPC.

“Prior to SC, an introduction to HPC will be provided to participants,” says Ellingson. “Then during the conference, students will engage in peer mentoring, group activities, attend conference events with Guided Interest Groups, and have access to the rich Students@SC experience with lots of additional mentoring and networking opportunities. Students can expect to learn a lot, meet a lot of people, make new friends, and have fun!”

Don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from this amazingly empowering experience. Join up for the HPC Immersion program today!

Immerse Yourself in HPC

With sponsorships from hardware and software vendor partners, the SCC gives students an arena to compete and show their skills while designing and building small computing clusters. Recently, the SCC committee held a webinar to inform students about how the SCC works and what they can expect. For anyone who missed it, the SSC23 webinar and its accompanying presentation are available online:

https://studentclustercompetition.us/

Hands-On HPC Learning

To learn more about what the SCC has to offer, we spoke with Tillotson about her thoughts on the program and how she got involved.

Jenett Tillotson (right)

National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Jenett on Linkedin

Q: What is the SCC, and why do you believe it is valuable?

Tillotson: The SCC is composed of teams of six undergraduate students who bring a small cluster to SC and compete in a 48-hour head-to-head challenge involving running real-world HPC applications. Teams often partner with a vendor who provides the hardware, but this is not a requirement. They can bring hardware their institution provides if they wish. The hardware must fit into a 4000-W [watt] power budget, and successful teams are able to tune the applications to best run on their hardware within that budget. Vendors use the competition to showcase their bleeding-edge hardware. Students who participate gain real-world experience setting up HPC hardware and running HPC applications. They also get opportunities to experience the SC conference and network with the HPC community. 

Q: How did you become a part of the competition? What’s your SC story?

Tillotson: I became part of the competition in 2015 when the SCC16 chair, Stephen Harrell, asked me to be his SCC Infrastructure Chair. I had worked with Stephen before on the ACM SIGHPC SYSPROS [Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on High Performance Computing, Systems Professionals] chapter creation, which led him to include me on his committee. I helped out with the SCC infrastructure in 2015, and then chaired that position in 2016 and 2017. However, 2015 wasn’t my first SC. My first SC was Pittsburgh in 2004. I was working at Purdue at the time in their visualization center, and we were partnered with Advanced Cluster Technologies helping develop a demo for their booth. This was also the year I started in HPC. I soon discovered the “SC SysAdmin BoF,” which got me involved with the HPC Systems Professional community and eventually led to the creation of the ACM SIGHPC SYSPROS chapter.

Q: What do students learn during the competition? Maybe more broadly, why should students sign up for this?

Tillotson: Learning HPC from a textbook is difficult. For HPC, it’s best to learn hands-on. Students who take part in the SCC get the opportunity to setup and run on real, cutting-edge HPC hardware. We use real-world applications that they would encounter in HPC, which teams learn how to build and tune for their particular hardware. They learn skills from system administration all the way to application tuning. Students discover what they are interested in about HPC and are steered towards particular careers in HPC.

Q: What does the competition bring to the conference as a whole? Why does SC benefit from the competition? 

Tillotson: The SCC is important to SC because it helps build the next generation of HPC. There’s very little that universities offer in the way of HPC. Students often stumble into the Students@SC program and that one experience shapes their entire career. The SCC is a large part of that student-to-staff pipeline. It’s also a place for vendors to show off the latest and greatest hardware available, although at a small scale. Both of these components are important to the future of HPC, and the SCC helps develop and showcase both.

Q: What would you say to a student considering signing up for the competition? What should they know and what would you say to persuade them to join?

Tillotson: Students who are interested in building a team should contact the SCC Committee (link below). They can ask any questions about the rules or to get advice on how to build a successful team. There are several rules that are different from previous years, including new per-node power limits, a power budget for networking equipment, and new rules requiring half of the team members to have never participated in the SCC previously. Viewing the SCC23 informational webinars also can help. Again, they are available online at:

https://studentclustercompetition.us/

Learn More & Apply

Lead Student Volunteers, or LSVs, have become among the conference’s most valued contributors. These standout students start by gaining experience supporting conference attendees as part of the Student Volunteers Program (for at least one year). From there, they can apply to be part of the LSV Program, where students become “junior” committee members, working directly on the conference’s major program areas with hands-on leadership training and mentorship.

Meet Our 17 Leads

This year, the SC23 Lead Student Volunteers represent a mix of computing research fields and superior technical capabilities, as well as demonstrate a commitment to making the conference a success. More importantly, they remind everyone why the SC Conference is so vital to the community. It is the place to connect with colleagues, build career pathways, and showcase all things HPC—and you just may make a friend or two along the way.

Thomas Randall (he/him/his)

Clemson University, South Carolina, School of Computing

I study scalable HPC applications with a particular focus on GPU performance and machine learning. I also enjoy watching movies and cataloguing them in an ever-growing spreadsheet. At the time of this writing, I have reviewed 562 films and shows!

SC23 Goals: Catching up with friends and making new ones!

thomas on Linkedin

Md rajib hossen (he/him/his)

The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, Computer Science

I’m a Ph.D. student, working on cloud computing, HPC, and resource management. I love to spend time with friends, watch sports (soccer, Real Madrid), and the latest movies and TV shows. 

SC23 Goals: Working closely with researchers and learning from them. I’m also looking forward to making new friends and catching up with old ones.

Rajib on Linkedin

Dewi Yokelson (she/her/hers)

University of Oregon, Eugene Oregon, Computer Science

I am a Ph.D. candidate at University of Oregon. My research is in performance analysis and visualization of HPC applications, especially during runtime. In my free time I love to get outside to run, ski, hike, and camp!

SC23 Goals: My favorite part about SC is getting to meet so many smart, inspiring people in person and building connections.

Dewi on Linkedin

Shivangi Gupta (she/her/hers)

University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, Computer Science

I’m a Ph.D. student with interests in big data analytics, data science, computational biology, and deep learning. My own research focuses on using artificial intelligence and machine learning for protein conformational selection in protein-ligand interactions. I also love working out, watching K-drama, and cooking in my spare time.

SC23 Goals: I’m looking forward to reuniting with people I met at SC22, as well as forging new professional and academic interactions that could lead to job opportunities, research collaborations, and/or friendships.

shivangi on Linkedin

Vincent Bode (he/him/his)

Technical University of Munich, Germany, Department of Computer Engineering

I am an instructor at the Chair of Computer Architecture and Parallel Systems (Prof. Schulz), teaching courses on parallel programming and computer architecture. In my research, I specialize in benchmarking of hardware and software systems with a focus on messaging middleware. I’m active in the student council and board game community at my university. Be sure to hit me up at the student’s board game competition if you want to face off.

SC23 Goals: I’m excited to reunite with all the attendees from the previous years and meet lots of first-timers. SC is a great networking opportunity, and I hope you will be able to enjoy it as much as I do.

connor scully-allison (he/him/his)

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute

I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student, studying information data visualization for HPC applications. This is my fifth time volunteering for an SC Conference. My main hobby is drawing, but I also love baking and video games, like many computer scientists.

SC23 Goals: Seeing all my friends in the student volunteer program. Also, I’m very excited to participate in the mentorship program this year.

connor on Linkedin

sayef azad sakin (he/him/his)

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute

I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student. My research focus is on data visualization and high-performance computing. I am investigating the practicality of using different data structures and their implementation challenges for visualizing large amounts of task-based data to enable faster interactivity. In my spare time, I do cycling, hiking, and camping.

SC23 Goals: I am excited to meet new people—also plushies at the Exhibits.

sayef on Linkedin

md hasanur rashid (he/him/his)

University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, Computer Science

I am third-year Ph.D. student, working on performance optimization of parallel file systems. I love travelling, hiking, and camping. In my spare time, I also enjoy watching geographical, political, and nature-related documentaries.

SC23 Goals: Reconnecting with friends and peers. Building new connections. Working together with fellow volunteers. Learning about current research trends.

Hasanur on Linkedin

Joy Kitson (she/her/hers)

University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Computer Science

I’m a Ph.D. student in the Parallel Systems and Software Group at UMD, advised by Abhinav Bhatele. My work revolves around HPC systems and tools and scientific computing with a particular focus on computational epidemiology. I love swing dancing, reading, and playing a variety of games with friends, including D&D, board games, and video games.

SC23 Goals:  I look forward to seeing all the exciting work going on in our field and connecting with friends both old and new in the HPC community.

joy on Linkedin

Paula olaya (she/her/hers)

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Computer Science

I am a Ph.D. student in the Global Computing Laboratory at UTK. My research focuses on the convergence between HPC and cloud computing for the composition of scientific workflows. I love being outdoors, climbing, bouldering, hiking, running, traveling, and I also like to read.  

SC23 Goals: I’m excited to make this a memorable last time as a student volunteer.

paula on Linkedin

Harshita sahni (she/her/hers)

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Computer Science

I am Ph.D. Student at UNM advised by Dr. Trice Estrada. I apply machine learning (ML) to molecular dynamics simulations with an objective of making the analysis part in situ and simpler. I am outgoing, adventurous, and a fun-loving person. I enjoy reading, singing, playing piano, swimming, playing badminton, and gazing at the city lights.

SC23 Goals: I am excited to participate as a Lead Vol and look forward to meeting and interacting with new people and learning about new research.

harshita on Linkedin

Ningel tan (he/him/his)

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Computer Science

I’m a Ph.D. student at the Global Computing Lab advised by Dr. Michela Taufer. My research revolves around performance portability, extracting as much performance as possible from hardware without having to optimize codes for a specific target architecture. I will be graduating in spring 2024. I enjoy hikes and games.

SC23 Goals: I am looking forward to reconnecting with people in the community and getting career advice.

md taufique hussain (he/him/his)

Indiana University, Bloomington, Intelligent Systems Engineering

I am a Ph.D. candidate, working at the HipGraph lab and advised by Professor Ariful Azad. My research involves parallel and distributed graph algorithms. When I am not working, I spend time with my family, volunteer at non-profit organizations, and experience the outdoors. At the time of writing this bio, I maintain an active running streak, which has involved running every day, spanning 1114 days in 14 Indiana counties, eight U.S. states, four countries, and three continents. 

SC23 Goals: Strengthening old connections and creating some new.

taufique on Linkedin

DANIEL BARRY (he/him/his)

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Bredesen Center

I am a Ph.D. student in Data Science and Engineering, advised by Dr. Jack Dongarra. I do research with the Innovative Computing Lab’s Performance Tools group. I received my Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at the University of Tennessee. My research interests include application performance monitoring tools, benchmarking methodologies, optimizing applications, numerical methods, and large-scale data analytics. I have been involved with the HPC community ever since the 2013 Student Cluster Competition. I make all kinds of different foods and baked goods!

SC23 Goals: Meeting other students and talking about what inspired them to attend SC!

daniel on Linkedin

Radita Liem (she/her/hers)

RWTH Aachen University, Germany, Chair of High Performance Computing

I am a Ph.D. student under Prof. Mathias Müller’s HPC department. My research focus is on performance modeling and engineering for I/O filesystems. I organized a performance engineering workshop thanks to all the mentors I found in SC. Other than research-related stuff, my interest is in cooking and organizing a board game party.

SC23 Goals: Meeting all of the people I know from the past SCs and also new people—also looking forward to finishing another 1000-piece puzzle in the Students’ HQ!

Radita on Linkedin

Jan laukemann (he/him/his)

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany, Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU), Computer Science

I am a Ph.D. student, advised by Prof. Gerhard Wellein and focused on performance modeling and performance engineering. Currently, I am mainly working on novel algorithms for linear algebra, tensor decomposition, and gyrokinetic turbulence codes. In my spare time, I love sports (running, hiking, climbing, squash…) and baking bread.

SC23 Goals: I am looking forward to (re-)connecting with people I have met before and new faces, hearing their stories and experiences regarding science and life, and getting new input for research and collaborations.

daniel on Linkedin

diego andres roa perdomo (he/him/his)

University of Delaware, Delaware, U.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering; Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois, U.S., Mathematics and Computer Science

I am a Ph.D. student in the Computer Architecture and Parallel Systems Laboratory at the University of Delaware, advised by Dr. Xiaoming Li. My research focuses on the development of Program Execution Models (PXM) for parallel computation based on Dataflow theory. I am implementing a distributed runtime for parallel computation, namely DECARD, based on the Codelet Model. When I am not doing research/reading/programming, I like to play video games with my friends, cooking, or watch a movie/series. I also enjoy swimming, playing squash, biking, traveling, and 3D printing. 

SC23 Goals: Hanging out with the wonderful people at SC, learning more about the current state of the art, working hard, and having a great time like every year!

diego on Linkedin

SC23 Lead Student Volunteers Leadership

Lead Student Volunteers Chair

Ashley Barker (she/her/hers)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Section Head for Operations at the National Center for Computational Sciences 

I work at ORNL managing the Operations area for a number of HPC programs, including Department of Energy, Air Force, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In my spare time, I love to travel, kayak, golf, and camp.  

SC23 Goals: Getting to work with the SC23 Lead Volunteers!

Student Volunteer Committee Member

Urjoshi Sinha (she/her/hers)

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

I am working as a high-performance computing engineer for Data and Analytics Services at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. When I am not working, I enjoy backpacking, hiking, and cooking (fusing different cuisines).

SC23 Goals: Learning about the exciting research happening in the space of high performance computing and getting to work with the students, leads, volunteers and the Program Committee in making SC23 a success.

A Chair with Chops

With the large breadth of Students@SC, someone with history of SC must take the reins of the program. This year, that person is Sally Ellingson of the University of Kentucky’s Institute of Biomedical Informatics. 

She began attending SC while in graduate school in 2010, where she was able to gain access to the conference through a program called Broader Engagement, which originally began in 2007 to better engage people consistently underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). 

Sally ellingson

SC23 Students@SC Chair

Sally at U-Kentucky, IBI

“The year I graduated I volunteered to be on the committee and have been involved in some aspect every year since,” said Ellingson. “Most often, it’s with Students@SC.”

Ellingson has a wealth of knowledge about SC and the value of its student programs. To learn more about what this program has to offer students, we sat down with Ellingson to discuss her experiences with the world’s largest HPC conference.

Community as Family

Anyone who has volunteered for SC knows that doing so is no small task. The conference involves a ton of unpaid work, and those volunteering are usually busy people with day jobs. Often, volunteers are asked the same question by potential attendees – Why spend so much time and effort on something you’re not paid to do? 

The answers vary, but they tend to come back to the same points. SC is a massive opportunity, both in terms of career advancement but also for expanding networks and making friends. As a regular attendee, Ellingson knows this all too well. 

“Student programs at conferences such as SC with a focus on diversity and inclusion made a huge impact in my life and career trajectory,” Ellingson said. “I hope to provide these same opportunities to our future colleagues. SC is family, and we support our family.”

Empowering connections made at SC is one of the best parts of being involved. In fact, Ellingson states that a past student volunteer recently imparted via email that her assistance helped her land an internship this summer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Of course, it’s important to not think of SC transactionally. In fact, Ellingson states that one of the biggest benefits of Students@SC is the sense of community. As supercomputing is a complex field that often demands its practitioners hours of alone time in front of a screen, and it can be daunting for a young person to parse the opportunities in solitude. Participating in Students@SC can give them the confidence, resources, and network they need to propel them forward in working with the most beautiful machines humans have ever designed.

When asked what she would tell someone who is considering joining the program, Ellingson’s response was brief and filled with hopeful joy for the newest recruits. 

“Do it!” she exclaimed. “Even if you do not have a lot of experience in HPC. I didn’t when I first attended. A desire to learn is all you need.” 

At first glance, SC is several rooms where people gather to nerd out about supercomputers. But take time to dig in, and you’ll find a treasure trove of career opportunities and lifelong friends, many of which are forged at SC!/

Learn More!

An Informed Perspective

Considering this unique viewpoint and long-term connection to the program (and SC in general), we sat down with Rebecca to discuss her time with the Students@SC progrm and how the relationships she has fostered through the SC Conference have helped in her career.

Rebecca Hartman-Baker

User Engagement Group Lead, NERSC

Q: Tell us a little about how you got into the Students@SC program. Where did you first hear about it? Why did it sound interesting?

RHB: I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for graduate school. I had a research assistantship, helping install and maintain computational chemistry codes on the NCSA supercomputers. On my first day, my boss’s boss (Bruce Loftis) introduced himself and then said, “You know, you want to be a student volunteer at this conference called SC.” And, because I was a savvy employee, even though I had never heard of it, I agreed with Bruce that I wanted to be a student volunteer at SC!

Q: Can you tell us about your first impressions when you started with Students@SC? Were you nervous? What was it like getting started?

RHB: My volunteer shift started several days before the conference began. I worked in the committee office, and so I interacted with a lot of the committee. I was definitely nervous at first, but everyone was so nice to me. They asked me about my studies and about what I was thinking of doing in my career. They offered me career advice and made me feel like I could be one of them someday.

Q: Do you believe the program adequately prepared you and gave you the resources you needed to succeed? Did you have access to mentors or experienced people that could assist you? If so, can you tell us about these more experienced people that helped you?

RHB: It was definitely a great opportunity to succeed. In my student program class, there were several people who have gone on to have great careers in HPC. And, because I worked a lot with the committee, a few years later when I was new in my career, they were happy to have me join the committee, where I was the signage co-chair for SC08 (with Loftis) and signage chair for SC09. I actually still have a lot of friends on the SC committee—Christine Cuicchi (SC20 General Chair), for example, was one of those kind people with whom I interacted a lot.

Q: Do you have any favorite stories that you’d like to share? Anything that highlights what is so great about Students@SC?

RHB: I don’t have any particular stories from my time as a student at SC, but I’ve remained student program-adjacent in my SC volunteer activities over the years. It seems to me that SC has been a real innovator in the student inclusion space over the years. Other conferences are copying the things SC has been doing for years. I was the coach for the first-ever Australian Student Cluster Competition team at SC13 (and the team at SC14). I loved how many more opportunities there were for my students 10 years after I went through. And, there are even more opportunities now—the guided interest groups, HPC Immersion, Mentor–Protégé—these are all innovations that have become mainstays of the student experience and can’t be found at any other conference.

Q: What would you say to someone considering joining the Students@SC program? What would you tell them about the overall experience? And, what do you wish you had known that you’d like new students to know?

RHB: I would encourage them to reach out and give it a try, even if they don’t think they are qualified. Part of the point of being a student is learning new things. Why would you need to be an expert to go to a conference and learn new things?! For me, attending SC as a student volunteer was a huge confidence booster and helped me feel like I belong in this field. I would want them to understand that it’s an opportunity to learn a lot, make good friends, and develop a professional network over the course of a week.

Learn More & Apply