HPC Happenings
BioQUEST Study Regarding Undergraduate STEM Reform Initiatives
For the past 20 years, countless reports have called for innovation and reform of undergraduate education to improve student learning and success. Networking efforts have emerged as critical to creating innovation in higher education. Yet, we know very little about networks beyond that they are linked to facilitating change. This study is designed to examine how STEM reform networks can be most effectively designed to spread innovations among network members and ultimately on the campuses where they are employed. The knowledge gained from this study will provide information to inform the STEM community in terms of better network development, as well as provide needed information about created or non-organic networks and their ability to foster innovation and change. For more information, please email Dr. Adrianna Kezar, at kezar@usc.edu.
Supercomputing and eScience – How HPC Matters (video)
InsideHPC’s Video Sunday feature continues with this documentary on the impact of supercomputers, both in science and our daily lives. Produced by the Barcelona Supercomputer Center, this timely video is right in step with the SC14 theme of HPC Matters. To view the segment, please visit http://insidehpc.com/2014/02/02/video-supercomputing-escience-hpc-matters/?goback=.gde_4178444_member_5835826733189709824.
HPC Conference Calls for Participation
Call for Submissions - Extreme Scaling Workshop 2014
August 14-15, 2014- University of Colorado, Boulder
Submission Deadline - May 1, 2014
The National Science Foundation-funded Blue Waters and eXtreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) projects are hosting the 8th Extreme Scaling Workshop. The conference committee seeks submissions of excellent quality addressing the challenges of using, designing, deploying, or integrating infrastructure for both big data analysis and large-scale computation to facilitate scientific discovery. The Extreme Scaling Workshop 2014 will showcase the discoveries, innovations, and achievements of those who use, build, and/or support advanced architectures at extreme scales around the world. The workshop will also provide a forum among researchers, professional staff, students, HPC center staff, and representatives from funding agencies to explore and discuss current successes and challenges as well as future needs and plans. For more information, including submission topics, please visit https://www.xsede.org/web/xscale/xscale14.
Call for Papers - Understanding Interventions 2014 Conference
May 16-18, 3025 - Baltimore, Maryland
Abstract Submission Deadline – March 3, 2014
Besides providing a forum for interventions research dissemination and collegial exchange, there are several workshops that provide technical assistance in securing funding, managing effective programs, evaluation strategies, and the conduct of interventions research. You are invited to participate in these activities as well as suggest topics for exploration from which you and your colleagues might benefit, including areas in which you have demonstrated expertise. Please visit the conference website at http://understanding-interventions.org/.
Upcoming Conferences, Workshops and Webinars
Cyberinfrastructure for Non-Research-Intensive & EPSCoR Institutions
February 18-19 2014 - Kansas City, Missouri
Broadening the Reach: A Cyberinfrastructure Program for Non-Research-Intensive and EPSCoR Institutions is an NSF funded Internet2 project aimed at supporting the enhancement of campus network infrastructure and external connectivity of small colleges and universities and schools in EPSCoR states having notable research projects, even though the institution may not be primarily research-focused. The program will consist of three Broadening the Research Workshop and up to 30 tiger team campus visits. The workshop is aimed at campus IT professionals at small colleges and universities and schools in EPSCoR states who are responsible for the planning, design and implementation of the campus IT infrastructure in support of research and teaching activities, as well as at those on campus familiar with the research and teaching activities and priorities. For complete information on the program, location, hotel information and registration details, please visit http://www.broadeningthereach.net/
2014 UC San Diego Series of PACE Data Mining Boot Camps
February 26-27, 2014 – La Jolla, California
Each day, our society creates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data (that’s 2.5 followed by 18 zeros). Conventional statistical analysis and business intelligence software are not designed to capture, curate, manage and process large quantities of data generated by most enterprises. The PACE Boot Camps provide the Big Data community with conceptual and hands-on training. Learn the critical predictive data analytics techniques and tools that contribute to accurate, actionable and agile insights. For more information, please visit http://pace.sdsc.edu/boot-camps.
Rice University 2014 Oil & Gas HPC Workshop
March 6, 2014 – Houston, Texas
The Oil and Gas HPC Workshop, hosted annually at Rice University, is a premier meeting place for engaging in discussion focused on high performance computing and computational science and engineering for the oil and gas industry. The program committee is pleased to invite you to participate in the 7th annual workshop and encourages you to submit abstract(s) for consideration for the technical program. For more information, please visit http://rice2014.og-hpc.org/?utm_source=Oil+%26+Gas+HPC+Workshop+Community&utm_campaign=6928632946-Rice_2013_OG_HPC_Call4Abstracts&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_59170dce43-6928632946-31504533
NSF CISE CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop:
March 31, 2014 – Arlington, Virginia
A one-day workshop on CAREER Proposal Writing is planned by the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE). This workshop will be held at the Hilton, 950 N Stafford St, Arlington, VA, less than a block away from the National Science Foundation. The goal of this workshop is to introduce junior CAREER-eligible faculty to the NSF CAREER program, and help them prepare their CAREER proposals, if they plan to submit it in 2014 to programs within the CISE Directorate in NSF. Faculty members will have the opportunity to improve their skills in proposal writing, as well as interact with NSF program directors from different CISE divisions (ACI, CCF, CNS, and IIS) and recent NSF CAREER awardees. The major components of the workshop include presentations and discussions on proposal preparation, experience sharing, and a mock panel as well as meetings with CISE Program Directors. For more information, please visit http://cs.gmu.edu/events/nsfcisecareer2014/.
ACM HPDC 2014
June 23-27, 2014 - Vancouver, Canada
The ACM International Symposium on High-Performance Parallel and Distributed Computing (HPDC) is the premier annual conference for presenting the latest research on the design, implementation, evaluation, and the use of parallel and distributed systems for high-end computing. For more information, please visit http://www.hpdc.org/2014/.
Educator News and Opportunities
Computers Are The Future, But Does Everyone Need To Code?
Republicans and Democrats don't see eye-to-eye on much these days, but there is one aspect of the future that they can agree on: "Becoming literate in code is as essential to being literate in language and math," says House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican from Virginia. President Obama agrees: "Computers are going to be a big part of your future," he predicts. Computer programmers and software developers already make more money than the average American — and while many jobs aren't coming back, the job outlook for programmers is great. Cantor says that coding is "the necessary tool of this century." It's an interesting idea, but how true is it? Is coding really for everyone? To read further and listen to the NPR program feed, please visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/25/266162832/computers-are-the-future-but-does-everyone-need-to-code.
Polar Science and Engineering: A Model for NGSS Practices (webinar)
February 27, 2014
How do scientists and engineers work together? Find out during a web seminar featuring a scientist and an engineer involved with an ice core sampling project in Antarctica. The presenters will share background information on the project and show how teams in the real world can use the scientific and engineering practices in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to achieve their goals. Web seminar participants will discover how to implement a related activity and learn about educational resources from the U.S. Ice Drilling Program. Read more and register.
Visit the NSTA Learning Center to register for more web seminars and access more than 500 web seminar archives. For more information and to register, please visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/webseminars.aspx.
Girls Can Build
Curriculum designed specifically for girls to get them excited about building. The PCS Edventures BrickLab is used to promote hands-on learning and the development of fine motor skills. Girls in grades K-2 and 3-5 gain confidence in building and working with peers through participation in integrated STEM content along with language arts and social studies topics. For more information, please visit http://www.edventureslab.com/stem-education-outreach/girls-can-build.
Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching Progra
Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching Program, a CSTA sponsoring school, is accepting applications for the 2014-2015 pre-service program. Bard College's preservice teaching program offers a one-year, 63 credit Master of Arts in Teaching degree and NYS Initial Teaching Certification, grades 7-12 for math, biology, history, and English. Responding to a nationally recognized need for computer science curriculum in our public schools, the Bard MAT Program is offering a unique curriculum for math teachers with a commitment to teaching computer science in secondary public schools. The student dedicated to becoming a mathematics and computer science teacher values the Bard MAT Program’s commitment to the discipline with its substantive research projects in mathematics, computer science, and math/cs education. Students will work with exemplary computer science teachers in New York City middle and high schools, preparing for teaching careers in computer science. Please visit their website www.bard.edu/mat for more information
Student Engagement and Opportunities
Rutgers Summer Research Program, RiSE (Research in Science and Engineering)
Application Deadline – February 17, 2014
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is pleased to invite talented students to apply for our highly successful Summer Research Program, RiSE (Research in Science and Engineering). This opportunity is for sophomores, juniors, and first-semester seniors who have strong academic credentials, a passion for research, and an interest in future graduate study. Students should apply now. Rolling admissions is now in progress. Admission is very competitive, so apply early. For more information and to apply, please visit http://rise.rutgers.edu/index.php.
Computational Scientists Wanted for Summer Program at the Chicago Center for Systems Biology (REU)
Application Deadline – February 10, 2014
The Chicago Center for Systems Biology is offering its 6th REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program this summer. The Center seeks qualified undergraduates for 2014 REU fellowships. Stipends are $4,000 for ten-week projects. They will be awarded on a competitive basis based on academic excellence, motivation, scientific potential, compatibility of personal interests, and long-term career goals aligned with research programs of the CCSB (www.chicago-center-for-systems-biology.org). Applicants with computational science backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply. All participants must be U.S. citizens (or permanent residents) and be enrolled in (but not yet graduated from) an accredited undergraduate college degree program with a concentration in a biological science field. For more information, please visit http://www.chicago-center-for-systems-biology.org/downloads/REU.systems.2014.pdf.
23rd Annual University of Virginia Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP)
Application Deadline – February 21, 2014
The University of Virginia School of Medicine offers summer research internship opportunities to qualified college undergraduates considering a career in biomedical research. The program targets, but is not limited to, racially and ethnically diverse students in their junior and senior years. Interns receive $4,590 toward summer expenses. In addition, housing and travel to and from Charlottesville are provided.
The program’s goals are to expose undergraduates to laboratory research and to familiarize them with the opportunities that exist for careers in biomedical research. For more information and to apply, please visit http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/phd/gpo/srip/.
MAXIMA Summer REU in Interdisciplinary Mathematics
Application Deadline – February 27, 2014
The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) and the Macalester College Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science (MSCS) announce a six-week (June 9 - July 18, 2014) REU in applied mathematics. The program will be hosted at the IMA facilities at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota (UMN). Twelve students will work in teams of four on an open research problem in applied mathematics. Topics for summer 2014 are smartphone activity tracking, computer vision, and online communities. These problems have been posed by UMN researchers, and each team will be advised by a MSCS faculty member and will be mentored by an IMA postdoctoral fellow. Full details, including descriptions from three previous summers, can be found at: http://www.ima.umn.edu/reu.
Graduate Society of Women Engineers weSTEM Conference
April 19, 2014 - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
weSTEM (Women Empowered in STEM) will provide a forum through which current and future STEM leaders can motivate and inspire each other to excel at the frontier of scientific advancement and develop solutions for the next generation of technical challenges. Women engineers and scientists with advanced degrees will share experiences from their academic and professional career paths and provide insight into their personal successes in STEM. For more information, please visit http://westemillinois.com/.
Blue Waters Student Internship Program is accepting applications
Application Deadline – March 2, 2014
The Blue Waters Student Internship Program is a component of the Community Engagement designed to immerse undergraduate and graduate students within projects associated with the Blue Waters and/or XSEDE efforts. Faculty and students are actively being sought to participate in year-long student internship opportunities. Students in the program will gain experiences involving the application of high-performance computing to problems in science, mathematics or engineering. This program provides support for internship activities at any accredited degree granting institution in the United States. The internships awarded through this program may be for students working with a faculty member on their home campus, or at another campus. Graduate students are welcome to apply to attend the Petascale Institute. They are responsible for arranging their own research advisor and any stipend would be the responsibility of the research advisor. Interested students can apply at: bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu/internships or shodor.org/petascale/participation/internships .
Faculty Opportunities
Blue Waters Faculty Interested in Mentoring
Internship Description Deadline – April 1, 2014
Faculty who would like to mentor an undergraduate student can post descriptions of available positions. Positions can be intended for a particular applicant or opened to all qualified applicants. Undergraduate students should submit an application for consideration. Internship positions and applications can be submitted at: bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu/internships
or shodor.org/petascale/participation/internships .
