Taking the Lead with SC23’s Lead Student Volunteers

Kevin Jackson — Thu, 11 May 2023 01:08:43 +0000

Volunteers are the driving force that underpins the SC Conference. From the General Chair to the new undergraduates who just signed on for their first “Supercomputing” experience, the SC Conference is fueled by volunteers who devote a year (and more) of their talent, time, and energy to make the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis the biggest and best event in its field.

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.

Lead Student Volunteer Applications Open December 5, 2022

Charity Plata — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 17:59:30 +0000

Each year, SC seeks to elevate the overall experience for its many volunteers, especially among its students. SC student volunteers are prized for the key roles they play in supporting the conference, from assisting presenters to staffing assorted SC-related events, and many things in between. Former student volunteers who want to continue building their SC experience are encouraged to join the Lead Student Volunteer program. By working directly on a specific conference committee, lead student volunteers become junior SC committee members, allowing them to build professional relationships and create a lasting connection in the HPC community. The Lead Student Volunteer program also provides leadership, training, and mentoring opportunities.

From One Leader to Future Leaders

To get a real take about what it means to be a lead student volunteer we spoke with Anja Gerbes, a scientist with the Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH) in Dresden, Germany. Gerbes has been an active part of SC since 2016, starting as a student volunteer. She moved to the SCinet team as a student volunteer for SC17 and has continued to expand her conference expertise. Gerbes served as the SC22 SCinet lead student volunteer and will return to SC23 as a Tutorial Vice Chair.

Anja Gerbes

Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH)

Q: What is your history with the Lead Student Volunteer project?

Gerbes: SC22 was my second year as a lead student volunteer and my first year as a SCinet lead, which was such a great experience. I was well integrated into the SCinet team, where I was volunteering and beyond. All SCinet members welcomed me very warmly. Working for SCinet is an honorable task. You work hands on with managers, engineers, university members and industry partners. Although I was only a student, the SCinet family treated me as an equal. We were all the same and had the same goal: making SC and SCinet a success!

Q: What did you gain from this experience?

Gerbes: Since my first SCinet in 2017, where Bernd Mohr from Jülich was the SC General Chair, I felt the fabulous atmosphere where all of us, coming from all around the world, worked as a team. I loved this teamwork, and that’s why I applied each upcoming year to be a SCinet student volunteer again.

Q: What is the value in getting involved with SCinet for students?

Gerbes: You have the great opportunity to work with industry partners, managers, and engineers from amazing universities. If you are searching for a position after your university degree, being involved with SCinet will open up a new world for you. You can be offered a job by managers because they see valuable skills in you that they want to boost – to become better. Participating makes it very easy to get in touch with your favorite industry partner or university – places where you would like to work or do your Ph.D. Adding your SC experience levels up your CV significantly.

Q: What kinds of skills are required for the person volunteering for the Lead Student Volunteer program?

Gerbes: If you have passion in your soul and love what you do in HPC, you are definitely a good fit for SC. Being able to work as part of a team is a very important skill. Volunteering helps you see the whole picture, and makes you happy to be part of this amazing community!

Q: What would you say to someone who is considering volunteering for the Lead Student Volunteer program?

Gerbes: Wonderful decision! Go for it! You will have the opportunity to work with volunteers from all around the world. It will broaden your horizon in so many ways. Be open-minded and look beyond your horizon!

Learn More & Apply

Elevate your experience! Applications for the Lead Student Volunteer program open December 5, 2022.

Lead student volunteers

If you have questions about Lead Student Volunteer applications, please contact the program committee.

Lead Student Volunteers Archives • SC23