HPC Everywhere. Every day. Bill Gropp, SC13 General Chair
 As general chair of SC13, I'm excited to welcome you to the first of our monthly newsletters. Although we are still many months away from November, the conference team has already been working for over a year to ensure that this year's conference – the 25th anniversary – is the best ever.
As we head toward the conference week, 17-22 November, this newsletter will help keep you informed and up to date. Each month you can turn here for exciting information about the topics and newsmakers that make this conference _the_ leading international conference in supercomputing, and for the important information on logistics and deadlines that you'll need to make the most of your experience.
SC is a truly unique technical conference that reflects the unique value that our discipline brings to society. High performance computing and networking provide the foundations for discoveries in important fields like climate change, renewable energy, new medicines and therapies, and engineering. This research is essential to our Nation's economic prosperity, national security, industrial production, technology and scientific advancement. Look around you, and you'll find you are surrounded by products, services, and processes that are better, safer, and more effective because of supercomputing.
HPC is everywhere, every day.
If you are a part of the HPC community, SC is your conference. This is where the international supercomputing community comes to teach, innovate, learn, and connect to the most insightful people in our profession.
And what better place to celebrate our 25th anniversary year than in Denver, Colorado? Located near the center of the continental United States, at the convergence of mountain and prairie, where high-rise buildings greet open range and the earth touches the sky, Denver is a community boldly moving into the future.
Although SC has visited Denver before, this city of creation and innovation is constantly changing – if you haven't been recently, this is definitely not the Denver you remember. Mark your calendar and make your way to Denver. No city offers better views, and no conference offers a better opportunity to view the future of computing.
SC13 to Feature ACM Athena Lecturer Katherine Yelick
 The Association for Computing Machinery's Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W) has announced that Katherine Yelick of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is the 2013-2014 Athena Lecturer, and that Dr. Yelick will present her lecture at SC13 this November. The Athena award honors outstanding women researchers who have made fundamental contributions to computer science.
Among Dr. Yelick's substantial body of work is co-creation of Unified Parallel C (UPC) and core contributions to the theory and practice of performance analysis, modeling, and optimization for the field of high performance computing. "I am immensely pleased that Kathy Yelick has been selected the Athena Lecturer for 2013 for her work on parallel programming languages," remarked Vint Cerf, President of ACM and Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google. "She epitomizes what all of us at ACM wish for all our members: brilliance, productivity, leadership and inspiration."
The Athena award recognizes contributions to the entire field of computer science. That the ACM-W chose to recognize such an accomplished researcher from the field of HPC is also recognition of the growing importance of high performance and technical computing to computer science and to society as a whole.
HPC truly is everywhere, and advances in this discipline are felt in products and services around the world.
Learn more about Dr. Yelick here
Applications are now open for the Broader Engagement Program
The Broader Engagement (BE) Program at SC13 is designed to diversify the pool of talent in SC, by introducing, engaging and supporting students and professionals belonging to the underrepresented groups. Competitive grants are made available through the BE Program to support the travel to and participation in the technical program. Consideration is given to applicants from the groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in High Performance Computing (HPC).
Applications for the BE program are currently being accepted. Individuals from underrepresented groups in HPC and belonging to any computing-related disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applicants can either choose the On-Ramp track or the Superhighway track. While the On-Ramp track is intended for newcomers to SC, the Superhighway track is intended for the returning and/or advanced BE participants who are interested in accessing the tutorials with partial support from the conference. Detailed information about the BE program is available at: http://sc13.supercomputing.org/content/broader-engagement-1
Important Information:
Applications Open: April 1, 2013
Applications Close: June 19, 2013
Submission site: http://submissions.supercomputing.org
Questions: be@info.supercomputing.org
SCinet Call for Network Resources for SC13 due by June 8
For the duration of the SC13 conference, Denver will host of one of the most powerful and advanced networks in the world - SCinet. Created each year for the conference, SCinet brings to life a highly sophisticated, very high-capacity network that supports the revolutionary applications and experiments that are a hallmark of the SC Conference.
To provide the best experience possible network capabilities for the conference participants, exhibitors and network entities are being requested to share their advanced network resource needs in supporting their organization's presence and large-scale exhibit demonstrations at the conference.
SCinet will work with national research networks ESnet, Internet2, National LambdaRail (NLR) and other collaborating networking organizations to implement the required resources for SC13. If your organization will require network resources beyond a basic IPv4/IPv6 network service, please respond to this call with the details of your particular requirements. In particular please share what you are aware of regarding the following details:
- Network bandwidth required (e.g., GigE, 10GigE, Nx10GigE, 100GigE)
- Potential long haul network provider(s) to reach SPCC (e.g., ESnet, Internet2, NLR)
- Origination point(s) of network resources
- Will the network resources be dedicated to a single purpose or can they be shared with other SC13 participants?
- If the network resources can be shared, will you need Layer-2 (e.g., point-to-point Gigabit Ethernet) or Layer-3 (e.g., IPv4, IPv6) support?
Please send your connectivity requirements and questions to the SCinet WAN Team by June 8, 2013 to wan-team@scinet.supercomputing.org.
Get Involved and Support the Next Generation of the Supercomputing Community!
HPC Interconnections, formerly called SC Communities, is a structured program dedicated to helping students, early career professionals, educators, international attendees, and others make important connections to get the most out of their time at SC.
To extend the benefits of the HPC Interconnections program to even more attendees, we are asking organizations to make contributions that will provide scholarships and travel support to students and educators. Each contribution will go toward enhancing programs for students and educators, which include Broader Engagement, HPC Educators, Student Volunteers, Experiencing HPC for Undergraduates, Student Cluster Competition, and Doctoral Showcase. Your generous support will also benefit your organization by helping to develop a diverse next generation of the HPC workforce and by giving your organization greater exposure at SC13. Visit http://sc13.supercomputing.org/content/hpci-promotions for more information on promotional levels and benefits.
Student Job/Opportunity Fair
The HPC Interconnections program will host this year's Student Job/Opportunity Fair. This face-to-face event is open to all students participating in the SC13 conference and is an opportunity for those interested in graduate fellowships, internships, summer job, graduate school assistant positions or permanent employment to meet with potential employers. Participating organizations will have the opportunity to interact with the students in fields related to computer science, information systems, scientific computing and high performance computing. For more information on how to participate as a student or organization, visit http://sc13.supercomputing.org/content/student-jobopportunity-fair.
Housing is Open
Where will you hang your hat at SC13? You can make your hotel reservations on the SC13 hotel reservation site from now until October, but when it comes to reservations for your home away from home at SC, earlier is definitely better: reserve now for the best choice of rooms and hotels.
All SC13 hotels are located close to the Colorado Convention Center - more than half of them are within 3 blocks. Therefore, no bus transportation will be provided. A range of prices is available, and free internet access is included with all rooms booked through the SC13 website. Check individual hotel sites for details about on-site restaurants, fitness centers, and other amenities.
For complete information, and to book now, check out the SC13 website at http://sc13.supercomputing.org/content/hotels.
A look ahead: Denver
 Denver is a young, active city located at the base of the Rocky Mountains. With 300 days of annual sunshine, The Mile High City is a great year-round destination, combining urban excitement and western heritage with outdoor adventures, from a concert at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre or day trips to hike and mountain bike, to the best of American skiing.
The safe, walkable downtown features chef-owned restaurants serving farm-to-table cuisine, pubs, clubs, outstanding museums, theaters, galleries, shopping, seven professional sports teams and plenty of family attractions.
Of all the changes Denver has experienced in recent years, none rivals the influx of innovative, chef-owned restaurants that are opening up all over the city. From farm-to-table to comfort food, Denver's dining scene is booming. But food is just the beginning. The Mile High City's craft beer, spirits and wine worlds are experiencing rapid growth as well.
Of course, you'll want to do more than just eat and drink while you're in Denver. To explore everything else, from must-see attractions to can't-miss events, go to VISITDENVER.com. |
