People of XSEDE: Nitin Sukhija  

Let me know what your story is regarding XSEDE - how did you hear about it?   My story of XSEDE is the story of my research in the area of parallel and distributed computing. I heard about XSEDE in San Diego from one of the professors of my MS classes. I did my MBA at San Diego State University and was working full-time but I always wanted to do Doctorate in CS. However, getting into a PhD program required MS in computer science; therefore I was attending evening classes at National University where, in my first lecture of my first class, I heard about XSEDE (which was called NSF TeraGrid at the time). Those words got in my brain and I thought, "I am going on right track." I think destiny and stars favored me, as the professor who was teaching this class called me after 5 months and said he had a project involving SDSC and XSEDE. I said yes and I got scholarship in return. So my tuition was waived, which helped to save money for my Doctoral program. Then I got an admit at Mississippi State University and moved to MS.  Even though I moved I still wanted to work on the same project. One fine afternoon I called the same professor who was the Campus Champion at National University and discussed with him that I was willing to work voluntarily on the project which we were working in San Diego.    The professor said yes and then I wrote my first paper for XSEDE12. However, we were not able to submit in XSEDE12. We did submit a poster at XSEDE12, which got accepted. However, I was also concerned about who would fund me to go. I went on the XSEDE website and saw that I could also get student travel funding. I applied and I got it! So my first poster and first travel funding and my first conference where I went in my PhD program was XSEDE12. I was happy but got scared since I had very little knowledge about the HPC area (it was my second semester in my PhD). I thought, "I will not do good." This turned out to be wrong; when I landed in Chicago, XSEDE staff gave every student very special attention. The tutorials and presentations were excellent. I met many people from the HPC world, including vendors and researchers. XSEDE12 gave me confidence that I did right thing by getting into the PhD program. My journey started from XSEDE12 and then I became very active. I also went to SC12 (which I heard one of the XSEDE sessions) after XSEDE12 where I met everybody from XSEDE and they made the experience so comfortable.  

What made you want to get involved?   At XSEDE12, I was told that there were no Student Campus Champions. I met Kay Hunt and mentioned to her that I wanted to contribute and expand the horizon of XSEDE to not only my campus but other campuses.  I was encouraged by XSEDE staff-this is excellent quality. This gave me the push to formulate a Student Campus Champion program which took really hard work. Finally, the SCC charter was initiated in XSEDE13 in San Diego (what a coincidence, as I originally heard about XSEDE in San Diego). Then I got more involved in activities where I introduced XSEDE in classes of Material Science and other areas. Then after this, I moved up and became the part of XSEDE Campus Champion leadership team at XSEDE14. So, in nutshell I saw myself not only growing in terms of good PhD research but also in XSEDE. XSEDE support with respect to trainings, mentoring, personal attention to students and-not to forget funding-opportunities help a student like me (who did not have any funding) to step up and reach new horizons in their research area. Also, I was the first Student Campus Champion of XSEDE. Now more and more are joining.   I always wanted to be part of a community, like the United Nations, where I can help others and contribute to the betterment of the society. This is the reason why I wanted to earn a PhD. Furthermore, I guess I joined XSEDE for the same reason, as I share vision with XSEDE in that we both want to have an impact on diverse research domains, and help and contribute in every research community by uniting them on one virtual platform of learning, where people can share, communicate and make discoveries.  

What value do you see in XSEDE? XSEDE is multi-valued organization. I see XSEDE as a platform of constant learning and dynamism where your research and other professional dreams will come true. It's a family to me now and this is very important for a student who will have to change many jobs and universities but XSEDE will stay on our side and move along with us always. This is confidence booster which every PhD or research requires. Any questions pertaining to any research are answered within minutes if posted on the Campus Champion mailing list. It's a virtual organization where everybody staying, not only in the USA, but also abroad, are connected and (many) are working voluntarily! At XSEDE you can not only demonstrate your research but also you can get personal attention and directions (hardware, software, trainings) to excel in achieving your research goals.  

Have you seen XSEDE help others?  Yes, XSEDE is  all about help. If you need this or that for your research, you get help or direction from XSEDE. I have seen students, faculty and other professional staff getting help all the time.  

Why would you recommend using XSEDE?   I am student Campus Champion and also member of leadership team; I did this to become a formal proctor for XSEDE. I will do the same as my professor did 4 years ago. He introduced me this wonderful world which changed my life. I hope and am trying to do the same for others. XSEDE has everything which a novel research domain needs to flourish and grow, therefore, XSEDE is recommended to make a larger impact on the community. XSEDE gave me many  directions for a better life and I want to continue this effort by recommending XSEDE to more and more individuals who are looking for motivation.