HPC Happenings
Virtual School Offers Two Summer Computational Science Courses
Graduate students, post-docs and professionals from academia, government, and industry are invited to sign up now for two summer school courses offered by the Virtual School of Computational Science and Engineering. These Virtual School courses will be delivered to sites nationwide using high-definition videoconferencing technologies, allowing students to participate at a number of convenient locations where they will be able to work with a cohort of fellow computational scientists, have access to local experts, and interact in real time with course instructors. Registration fees for each course are $100, with some sites waiving the fees. To register, first visit the user portal for the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE): https://portal.xsede.org/. If this is your first use of the XSEDE portal, follow the guidelines to create a free portal account. Once you have an XSEDE portal account, you may sign up for the Virtual School courses through the XSEDE course calendar: https://portal.xsede.org/course-calendar. For more information about the Virtual School, go to http://www.vscse.org/. Questions about the summer school can be sent to info@vscse.org.
SDSC 2013 Summer Institute: Discover Big Data
August 5-9, 2013 – La Jolla, California
Discover Big Data is the theme of SDSC’s Summer Institute in 2013, reflecting the pressing need for high performance solutions for exploring and analyzing the large volumes of data that science and business applications are now able to generate with ease. The 5-day summer institute will cover topics in HPC and big data including, data management, data analytics and visualization, and parallel programming models, via discussion of specific use cases and hands-on exercises. Attendees will be introduced to SDSC’s NSF-funded Gordon data-intensive supercomputer as well as other computational resources at SDSC. They will also receive an overview of the NSF XSEDE program a national-scale cyberinfrastructure for high performance computing. SDSC’s Gordon is a unique resource in XSEDE, given Gordon’s pioneering architecture, which is in concert with SDSC’s vision for supporting data-intensive and big data applications. Further information and registration: http://www.sdsc.edu/Events/summerinstitute/index.html.
Seeking a Change in Career?
Don’t forget that there will be a job fair at XSEDE13 where you can both look for a position or advertise a position -- a great opportunity to make a connection! Please see https://www.xsede.org/web/xsede13/job-fair
HPC Conference Call for Participation
4th Workshop on Scientific Cloud Computing (ScienceCloud) 2013 - Call for Participation -Co-located with ACM HPDC 2013|June 17, 2013 - New York City, New York
The 4th workshop on Scientific Cloud Computing (ScienceCloud) will provide the
scientific community a dedicated forum for discussing new research, development,
and deployment efforts in running scientific computing workloads on Cloud
Computing infrastructures. The ScienceCloud workshop will focus on the
use of cloud-based technologies to meet new compute-intensive and data-
intensive scientific challenges that are not well served by the current
supercomputers, grids and HPC clusters. For more information and submission guidelines, please visit http://datasys.cs.iit.edu/events/ScienceCloud2013/program.html.
Upcoming Conferences and Workshops
SSTiC 2013
July 22-26, 2013 - Tarragona, Spain
SSTiC 2013 will be an open forum for the convergence of top class well recognized computer scientists and people at the beginning of their research career (typically PhD students) as well as consolidated researchers. SSTiC 2013 will cover the whole spectrum of computer science by means of 67 six-hour courses dealing with hot topics at the frontiers of the field. By actively participating, lecturers and attendees will share the idea of scientific excellence as the main motto of their research work. For more information and to register, please visit http://grammars.grlmc.com/SSTiC2013/.
2013 SACNAS National Conference
October 3–6, 2013 - San Antonio, Texas
SACNAS is a way for you to expose your students to incredible resources and the validating and inspiring environment of SACNAS where they have the unique opportunity to engage with science, culture, and community. The SACNAS National Conference also provides an important place for you to recharge as a professional, as you connect with peers, build your own networks, and recruit new students. For complete conference information, please visit http://sacnas.org/events/national-conf?.
SC13
November 17 - 22, 2013 - Denver, Colorado
SC13, the premier annual international conference on high-performance computing, networking, and storage, will be held in Denver, Colorado. The Technical Papers Program at SC is the leading venue for presenting the highest-quality original research, from the foundations of HPC to its emerging frontiers. The conference committee solicits submissions of excellent scientific merit that introduce new ideas to the field and stimulate future trends on topics such as applications, systems, parallel algorithms, and performance modeling. For more information, please visit http://sc13.supercomputing.org/content/papers.
Research Features From Across the Country and Around the World
“No Exascale for You!” : An Interview With Berkeley Lab's Horst Simon
HPCwire
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Horst Simon says in an interview that he doubts exascale computing will be reached by 2020 because "the methods we have been using to predict when we cross certain thresholds, like teraflop/s and petaflop/s no longer apply." Simon notes that it remains unclear what architecture will bring computing to the exascale level, and he says straight line extrapolation thinking is flawed and heading for a major disruption due to a fundamental technology transition. Simon says exascale architecture development is following three branches: a multicore path centered around high-end central processing units; a Manycore/embedded approach that employs simpler, low power cores from embedded systems, and the graphical processing unit (GPU)/accelerator approach using specialized processors from the gaming/graphics market sector. To read further, please visit http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2013-05-15/no_exascale_for_you_an_interview_with_nersc_s_horst_simon.html.
NICE! The Brain as a Model for Future Supercomputers
Sandia National Laboratories
Finding ways to tap the brain's ability to transmit signals along massively parallel channels, with multiple convergences at downstream nodes, to accommodate rapidly changing, high-volume data is the purpose of the Sandia National Laboratories-sponsored Neuro-Inspired Computational Elements (NICE) workshop. NICE is envisioned as a way to continue the advancement of computing power once the barrier for shrinking circuits is reached. Workshop participants proposed isolating brain tissues that govern aspects of behavior, analyzing the shape and behavior of the neurons sending the signals, and copying that configuration using conventional hardware and software or, most likely, a new solid-state substrate. To read further, please visit https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/brain_supercomputers/.
Engineers Use Brain Cells to Power Smart Grid
National Science Foundation
Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy, director of Clemson University's Real-Time Power and Intelligent Systems Laboratory, is leading a team of engineers and neuroscientists using neurons cultured in a dish to control simulated power grids in the hope that the work will inform new methods for U.S. power grid management. "In order to get the most out of the different types of renewable energy sources, we need an intelligent grid that can perform real-time dispatch and manage optimally available energy storage systems," Venayagamoorthy says. He notes that a brain-like control system is vital for such a grid, as it gives it the ability to monitor, predict, plan, learn, and make decisions. To read further, please visit http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127605&org=NSF.
Exascale Advocates Stand on Nuclear Stockpiles
HPCwire
According to a group of leading voices in high performance computing who gathered before yesterday’s U.S. Subcommittee on Energy, all of these national commodities are at stake without sustained investment in exascale systems. While exascale funding hearings are nothing new, yesterday’s appeal struck a different chord, harmonizing with the urgency of ensuring U.S. nuclear capabilities—a note that has been resonating in headlines lately. Instead of pitching the “big science” projects that lack a direct call to action, the threat of encroaching dominance from China and others, internal security, continued economic viability, and even the ability to predict tornado paths (a top news item during yesterday’s hearings following a devastating F5 in Oklahoma) took center stage, pushing exascale into the light of a requirement versus another expensive scientific endeavor. To read further, please visit http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2013-05-23/exascale_stands_on_nuclear_stockpiles.html?featured=top.
PSC is Building a Better Carbon Trap
In the aftermath of the infamous "Climategate" leak of scientists' emails, it’s becoming clear that the climate science never really was in question. Human generation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses is altering the global climate. Which leaves us with a difficult question. Today’s world is very dependent on carbon-dioxide-generating fossil fuels. How do we make our economy “carbon neutral” while still having an economy? No one can say yet what technologies we’ll need to solve the climate change dilemma. But capturing carbon dioxide from smokestacks and other waste streams is attractive. This is because it would allow us to continue using fossil fuels, at least for a while. To read further, please visit http://www.psc.edu/index.php/newscenter/92-features/808-blacklight-helps-researchers-develop-better-materials-for-carbon-capture.
Building Supercomputers with Raspberries
HPCwire
At some point in the not-too-distant future, building powerful, miniature computing systems will be considered a hobby for high schoolers, just as robotics or even Lego-building are today. That could be made possible through recent advancements made with the Raspberry Pi computers. These Linux-based computers are as small as a credit card and only cost about 25 to 35 dollars. Last year, the University of Southampton’s Simon Cox coupled 64 of these little systems together to form his own miniature supercomputer. “As soon as we were able to source sufficient Raspberry Pi computers we wanted to see if it was possible to link them together into a supercomputer,” said Cox on how he created a small but powerful supercomputer on Raspberry Pi’s. “We installed and built all of the necessary software on the Pi starting from a standard Debian Wheezy system image and we have published a guide so you can build your own supercomputer.” To read further, please visit http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2013-05-22/building_supercomputers_with_raspberries.html.
Educator Opportunities and Information
Modeling Workshop for High School Educators
June 17-28, 2013 - San Luis Obispo, California
Registration Deadline – June 1, 2013
This workshop I for high school physics and physical science teachers interested in creating student-based, active-inquiry classrooms. Registration priority is given to teachers in Northern California. For more information, please visit http://www.ptec.org/pd/detail.cfm?ID=5099.
Giving Students Credit for Programming Classes
New York Times
Washington recently became the latest state to pass a law granting academic course credit in math or science to students who take advanced placement computer science classes. Technology companies and nonprofit groups were pushing hard for the law because they see stimulating student interest in computer science as the main long-term solution to a shortage of engineers in the technology industry. Now the groups are likely to focus on other states, such as California, that still treat computer science as an elective. "In California, it’s in the same bucket as horseshoe-making,” notes Code.org founder Hadi Partovi. "You can get as many credits for learning to put shoes on hooves as for making iPhone apps." To read further, please visit http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/giving-students-credit-for-programming-classes/.
Alice Symposium
June 19, 2013 - Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Registration Deadline – May 29, 2013
It is a week of Alice activities! Papers, posters, contest, and workshops! The Third Alice Symposium will be held on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at Duke University in Durham, NC. There will be two-day Alice workshops (Alice 2.3 and Alice 3.1) and related workshops both before and after the Symposium on June 17-18 and June 20-21, 2013. The Third Alice Symposium will have several paper tracks including using Alice in middle school, using Alice in high school, and using Alice in Community College and University. New this time will be a poster session and teachers will be able to enter student worlds in an Alice contest. For more information, please visit http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/aliceSymposium2013/index.php.
Student Engagement and Information .
Scholarship For Underrepresented Undergraduates in Engineering, Geology, Physics
Application Deadline - May 31, 2013
Did you know that Shell offers scholarships for under-represented undergraduate students at selected universities?
Participating Universities: Colorado School of Mines, Cornell, Florida A&M, Georgia Tech, SITY-Baton Rouge, MIT, Michigan State, North Carolina A & T, Ohio State-Columbus, Penn State, Prairie View A&M, Purdue, Rice, Stanford, Texas A&M-College Station, University of CO-Boulder, UH, U Michigan-Ann Arbor, U of Oklahoma-Norman, UTEP, UT-Austin, U of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
Information on Sid: Shell Oil Company offers $5,000 annual scholarships through its Shell Incentive Fund Scholarship program to under-represented students pursuing an undergraduate degree in a specific technical field of study at certain colleges. The scholarship can be used to pay for tuition and/or school expenses. For more information and to apply, please visit http://www.shell.us/aboutshell/careers-tpkg/students-and-graduates/scholarships.html.
SC13 BE Program Travel Grants Announcement
The SC13 Broader Engagement (BE) Program’s goal is to increase the participation of individuals from groups that have been traditionally under-represented in HPC. In 2013, they are enhancing the program activities to strengthen our intent for BE to be an “On Ramp” for the Technical Program. Consistent with these ideas, two funding tracks: On-Ramp (formerly known as the "standard" track) and Superhighway (formerly known as the "advanced track"). Competitive grants will be awarded to participants in both tracks. The majority of funded On-Ramp participants will be new to HPC, to participate fully in BE, and to stay through at least the end of Thursday to experience the Technical Program. The majority of funded Superhighway participants will have HPC experience, to participate in the SC13 Tutorials, and to at least partially fund themselves. Both groups will benefit from a diverse line-up of top-flight speakers from industry, academia, and government laboratories. For more information, please visit http://sc13.supercomputing.org/content/broader-engagement-1.
Career Opportunities
Future Technologies Computational Science Postdoctoral Fellow
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Req # 75939
The Future Technologies Group (FTG) has an immediate opening for a postdoctoral researcher to work on research in energy efficient graph analysis and data mining. This project will explore methods to increase the energy efficiency of parallel graph algorithms and data mining tasks. A new family of algorithms will be developed to drastically reduce the energy footprint and running time of the graph and sparse matrix computations that form the basis of various data mining techniques. This appointee will be part of an experienced research team and will be supported through a long-term DOE research grant. Deliverables will include prototype software implementations and publications targeted at top-tier research conferences and journals. For more information and to apply, please visit h
https://lbl.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=75939.
Systems Architect in Computational Data Analytics
Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Knoxville, Tennessee Area
The Computational Data Analytics (CDA) Group of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a Systems Architect with a computational science background and interest in transformational applied research projects. The CDA Group conducts innovative basic and applied computer science research on challenges of national interest. The research focus is in the areas of intelligent agents, emergent behavior, pervasive computing, machine learning, information retrieval, and knowledge discovery. The group has an outstanding research portfolio of papers and patents, has developed collaboration with renowned experts, produces high-quality results, and develops industry marketable technology. We hire and retain the top researchers and engineers in the field. For more information and to apply, please visit http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=5764807&trk=eml-anet_dig-b_premjb-ttl-cn&ut=2Y828Ev_zAdRM1.
XSEDE Scientific Workflow Application Support Specialist
The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) is seeking an individual with a proven track record as a Scientific Workflow Application Support Specialist for a one-year appointment (renewable) to the Extended Collaborative Support Service (ECSS) of the XSEDE project funded by the National Science Foundation. ECSS teams members of the XSEDE user community with expert staff members for an extended period to work together to solve challenging research and education problems through the application of cyberinfrastructure. The position can be filled via a consulting contract or on a sub-award basis, depending on an applicant's particular circumstance, and compensation will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. For more information and to apply, please visit https://www.xsede.org/job-posting.
On the Lighter Side - Computational News of Interest
Google Has 'Lapped Siri' With Sci-Fi-Like Search
Computerworld
Google subscribes to a vision of the future that has users searching for information by communicating with their computers conversationally. The company has outlined a plan for search's future in which the search engine answers user queries as well as holds conversations with users and offers information before they even request it. Google has developed a voice-facilitated digital personal assistant similar to Apple's Siri with this goal in mind. However, analysts say Google's technology is more advanced than Siri and can be deployed on desktop systems. To read further, please visit http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9239271/Google_has_lapped_Siri_with_sci_fi_like_search_.
Age and Gender? Dutch Develop Analyzer for Twitter
Agence France-Presse
Twenty University researchers have developed an online program that can determine the age and gender of Twitter users based on the content they post on the social network. The program uses a list of words and sequences corresponding with different ages and specific genders based on data from nearly 3,000 Twitter users. When a username is entered, the program compares the last 200 tweets with the words and phrases in its database to determine the age and gender. To read further, please visit http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g_1gEKTrO_ICEvG5qMBzvxGnMcwA?docId=CNG.4fc5a8673a97b1b22bdda604c5336793.601.
