XSEDE Happenings.
Petascale Day is Coming on October 15, 2012
"Petascale" refers to computing and data in the quadrillions, like the more than 11 quadrillion calculations Blue Waters will be able to perform and the more than 380 quadrillion bytes that will be available in NCSA's new tape archive. In scientific notation, 1 quadrillion is 10 to the 15th (1015). So on 10.15 (October 15) NCSA will celebrate PETASCALE DAY! We're planning a variety of informative and fun activities, and we hope our science and engineering partners, other campus units, and other computing centers will be inspired to create their own celebrations. Stay tuned to petascale.ncsa.illinois.edu for updates. For more information, please visit http://petascale.ncsa.illinois.edu/.
Visit XSEDE in Booth 2031 at SC12
November 12-16, 2012 – Salt Lake City, Utah
Visit the XSEDE booth at SC12 and meet some of the nation’s top computational researchers and technical staff as they share their knowledge and expertise. Learn more about XSEDE and take away some great giveaways for the whole family. For more information, please visit http://sc12.supercomputing.org/.
Upcoming Conferences and Workshops
HUBbub 2012: The HUBzero Conference
September 24-25, 2012 – Indianapolis, Indiana
HUBzero is a platform for creating web sites that support scientific research, education, and collaboration. Released as open source during HUBbub 2010 and a new version being released this year at HUBbub 2011, the HUBzero Platform is the basis of nanoHUB.org and 25 other sites, delivering hundreds of scientific tools and seminars to more than 450,000 visitors each year. HUBzero is supported by a consortium of universities including Purdue, Indiana, Clemson, and Wisconsin. See how the unique HUBzero solution has empowered a wide spectrum of projects in nanotechnology, healthcare research, and other areas of engineering and science. Learn through hands-on tutorials how to set up your own hub using HUBzero's open source software, how to create and publish scientific tools on your hub, how to connect the tools to computing clusters and other Grid resources, and how to add new capabilities to the platform For more information and to register, go to: http://hubzero.org/hubbub.
The Second IEEE Conference on Healthcare Informatics, Imaging and
Systems Biology (HISB)
September 27-28, 2012 – La Jolla, California
Computation in healthcare, imaging, and systems biology has evolved independently in the past decades, developing into disciplines and scientific communities that have not yet fully explored synergies and collaborations. As biomedical sciences and these independent computational fields advanced, science and data became “big”, leading to an increasing realization that it is important to connect the dots and offer opportunities for experts in these disciplines to understand what their counterparts are doing, how each other’s developments can benefit one’s research agenda, avoid duplication, and develop means for collaboration that directly address challenges related to biomedicine. For more information and to register, please visit http://hisb2012.org/index.php.
8th IEEE International Conference on eScience
October 8-12, 2012 – Chicago, Illinois
Researchers in all disciplines are increasingly adopting digital tools, techniques and practices, often in communities and projects that span disciplines, laboratories, organizations, and national boundaries. The eScience 2012 conference is designed to bring together leading international and interdisciplinary research communities, developers, and users of eScience applications and enabling IT technologies. The conference serves as a forum to present the results of the latest applications research and product/tool developments and to highlight related activities from around the world. Also, we are now entering the second decade of eScience and the 2012 conference gives an opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved so far and look forward to the challenges and opportunities the next decade will bring. A special emphasis of the 2012 conference is on advances in the application of technology in a particular discipline. Accordingly, significant advances in applications science and technology will be considered as important as the development of new technologies themselves. Further, we welcome contributions in educational activities under any of these disciplines. For more information, please visit http://www.ci.uchicago.edu/escience2012/
SACNAS
October 11-14, 2012 - Seattle, Washington
Registration Deadline – September 12, 2012
The 2012 SACNAS National Conference "Science, Technology, and Diversity for a Healthy World" will take place in Seattle, Washington. Join over 3,500 attendees for four days of scientific research presentations, professional development, networking, exhibits, culture, and community. One of the largest annual gatherings of minority scientists in the country, the interdisciplinary, inclusive, and interactive SACNAS National Conference motivates and inspires. For more information and to register, please visit https://sacnas.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=42.
EDUCAUSE
November 6-9, 2012 - Denver, Colorado
The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference is the premiere gathering for higher education IT professionals. It provides content and exploration of today's toughest technology issues facing campuses around the world, and convenes some of the brightest minds in the community. When colleagues from around the world converge with some of the most innovative corporate solution providers, you have an event that creates invaluable networking opportunities and professional development. For more information, please visit http://www.educause.edu/annual-conference.
SC12
November 10-16, 2012 - Salt Lake City, Utah
Exhibition - November 12-15, 2012
For 24 years, SC has been at the forefront in gathering the best and brightest minds in supercomputing together, with our unparalleled technical papers, tutorials, posters and speakers. SC12 will take a major step forward not only in supercomputing, but in super-conferencing, with everything designed to make the 2012 conference the most ‘you' friendly conference in the world. We're streamlining conference information and moving to a virtually real-time method of determining technical program thrusts. No more pre-determined technical themes picked far in advance. Through social media, data mining, and active polling, we'll see which technical interests and issues emerge throughout the year, and focus on the ones that interest you the most. For more information and to register, please visit http://sc12.supercomputing.org/content/exhibitor-prospectus.
XSEDE Training at a Glance.
XSEDE Training: Introduction to Scientific Visualization on Longhorn 9/6
September 6, 2012 – 9:00am- 5:00pm CDT in person workshop
For more information, please visit https://www.xsede.org/web/xup/course-calendar/-/training/class/50.
International Conference on Parallel Processing
September 10-13, 2012 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
For more information, please visit http://psc.edu/index.php/component/jevents/icalrepeat.detail/2012/09/10/28/53|55/international-conference-on-parallel-processing.
Extending High-Performance Computing Beyond its Traditional User Communities
October 8-9, 2012 – Chicago, Illinois
For more information, please visit http://psc.edu/index.php/component/jevents/icalrepeat.detail/2012/10/08/20/53|55/extending-high-performance-computing-beyond-its-traditional-user-communities-.
For a complete list of past and future XSEDE training opportunities, please visit https://www.xsede.org/web/xup/course-calendar.
Research Features from Across XSEDE and Campus Champion Partners
NCAR Researchers Discover that Reducing Traffic at 2008 Olympics Yielded Large Cut in CO2 Emissions
China’s Olympian attempt to improve air quality during the 2008 summer games did more than provide a healthier atmosphere for the athletes. It also demonstrated that widespread changes in transportation patterns could greatly reduce the threat of climate change. New research by an international team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) indicates that China’s restrictions on motor vehicles had the side benefit of dramatically cutting emissions of carbon dioxide by 24,000 to 96,000 metric tons (about 26,500 to 106,000 U.S. tons) per day during the event. To put this in perspective, the authors note that this reduction by a single city represents more than one-quarter of 1 percent of the emissions cut that would be necessary worldwide, on a sustained basis, to prevent the planet from heating up by more than about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of this century. That is the amount of heating generally considered to lead to major societal impacts. To read further, please visit https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/7535/reducing-traffic-2008-olympics-yielded-large-cut-co2.
Campus Champion Site, Stanford University, Robotic Racecar Hits the Track
Stanford University and Volkswagen Electronics Research Lab researchers recently tested a self-driving Audi TTS named Shelley. The autonomous racecar was able to reach speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. Shelley utilizes specialized software that tells the car when to brake, how tight to take turns, and when to accelerate. The research could lead to fully autonomous cars that safely drive passengers from one point to another on public roads. In this most recent test, the researchers studied how to get the car stabilized when it is in a crisis. "If we can figure out how to get Shelley out of trouble on a race track, we can get out of trouble on ice," says Stanford professor Chris Gerdes. However, despite the advanced algorithms and technology, the very best human drivers are still faster than Shelley, if only by a few seconds. To read further, please visit http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/august/shelley-autonomous-car-081312.html.
Google Raises Ante for Next Chrome Hacking Contest to $2M
Google announced that it will pay up to $2 million for the discovery of major vulnerabilities in the Chrome browser at the Pwnium hacking contest, which will take place at the Hack in the Box security conference on Oct. 10 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The upcoming challenge will pit researchers against the current version of Chrome, and those who demonstrate exploits of previously unknown bugs will be eligible for awards of up to $60,000 for each flaw. Google also added a new class of awards for incomplete exploits. "We want to reward people who get 'part way' as we could definitely learn from this work," says Google Chrome software engineer Chris Evans. To claim any award except in the "incomplete" category, researchers must pinpoint the vulnerability and provide Google with working exploit code. Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard's TippingPoint will run a mobile-only version of its annual Pwn2Own contest Sept. 19-20 at the EUSecWest security conference, where hackers will try to crack Apple, Nokia, RIM, and Samsung smartphones. To read further, please visit http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230338/Google_raises_ante_for_next_Chrome_hacking_contest_to_2M?taxonomyId=82.
Digital Doppelgangers: The NSF is Building an Army of You
The National Science Foundation researchers have developed a smart, animated, digital double that can interact with other people via a screen when the user is not present. These autonomous identities are not duplicates of human beings, but rather simple and potentially useful personas that could take on difficult tasks, and perhaps even modify people's behavior. The digital double is one of several new autonomous avatar technologies that are currently being developed. For example, the Web site rep.licants.org enables users to create a social media self, which can take over Facebook and Twitter accounts when required. Meanwhile, MyCyberTwin enables users to create copies of themselves that can engage visitors in a text conversation, accompanied by a photo or cartoon representation. Northeastern University researchers are developing animated avatars of doctors and other health-care providers, because tests show that 70 percent of patients prefer talking to a virtual version of a nurse instead of a real one. To read further, please visit http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528771.200-digital-doppelgangers-building-an-army-of-you.html?full=true.
Student Engagement Opportunities and Information
The USC Viterbi School of Engineering REACH (Recruitment of Engineering Achievers) PhD Preview Event
October 25-26, 2012 – Los Angeles, California
Application Deadline- September 14, 2012
REACH brings to USC’s campus talented students from all over the U.S. who plan on, or are seriously considering, pursuing a Ph.D. in an engineering field. This event is particularly geared toward students historically underrepresented in the field of engineering: African-American, Latino and Native American. Travel expenses, hotel and meals are all paid for by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. If you are seriously considering a Ph.D. in engineering and are entering your junior or senior year or are a recent graduate in an engineering, computer science, applied mathematics or applied physical science major, you are invited to apply to participate in REACH. For additional information and to apply, please http://viterbi.usc.edu/reach.
2012 Fall Visit NC State Program
October 28-30, 2012 - Raleigh, North Carolina
Application Deadline - October 1, 2012
Admittance Notification: October 8, 2012
The Visit NC State Program is an innovative and progressive recruitment strategy committed to extending educational opportunities for talented students interested in pursuing a graduate degree. The two-day event includes opportunities for participants to:
- Interact with world-class faculty in your interested discipline and research interest
- Visit several state-of-the-art research facilities and laboratories
- Be exposed to research opportunities
- Network with current graduate students and other prospective students
- Meet academic administrators
All associated cost (air and ground transportation, lodging, meals, and program materials for all accepted participants) will be covered by the Graduate School at North Carolina State University. For more information, please visit http://go.ncsu.edu/visitncstate. For additional questions, contact Brett Locklear, Director of Graduate Recruitment, at balockle@ncsu.edu.
News at 11:00: XSEDE Partners and Staff in the News
IU Bloomington's School of Informatics and Computing Announces Record Year of Research Funding
This is wonderful news to share at the start of a new school year," Informatics Dean Bobby Schnabel said. "Research funding has many benefits: It gives our faculty the resources needed to conduct their research; it supports graduate students; it helps attract high-caliber faculty and students; and it helps our reputation."mThe school also recorded the second-highest total ever for research expenditures at $13.4 million, falling short of last year's record $14.8 million and surpassing the $12 million spent on research during fiscal year 2010. To read further, please visit http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/22999.html.
Last But Not Least – Computational News of Interest
Harvard Researchers Write Book Using DNA
Harvard Medical School researchers have encoded an entire book in DNA. The book includes more than 50,000 words, 11 images, and one computer program totaling about 0.7 megabytes of data. The researchers say DNA has unique advantages for data storage, such as improved data density and durability. They also note that DNA can survive for millennia undamaged, and the tools and technologies required for reading out the information will be available in future generations. The researchers divided the information in the book into pieces, and then synthesized each of the pieces into short DNA fragments of about 160 nucleotides. Each fragment carries part of the book, information about its position, as well as the parts necessary for reading and replicating the piece. To read further, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/researchers-write-book-using-dna/2012/08/19/9a84903c-e95b-11e1-a3d2-2a05679928ef_story.html.
Foreign Scientists and U.S. Policy Makers Seek Ways Around Visa Stalemate
In June, 90 university presidents signed a letter to the White House and Congress about the economic costs of preventing highly skilled foreign scientists from residing in the United States. The letter noted a study showing that foreign-born inventors were contributors to more than 75 percent of the patents issued in 2011 to the U.S.'s top 10 patent-producing universities. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently unveiled a new program called Entrepreneurs in Residence, which features a team of experts advising the agency on ways it can change policies and practices to boost entrepreneurship. Two of its recommendations, developing a new Web portal and forming a team of specialized immigration officers dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, are slated to be implemented. But the program is designed only for temporary visas, and its changes cannot affect Congress' limits on immigration. To read further, please visit http://chronicle.com/article/Foreign-ScientistsUS/133533/.
New Free Software to Radically Change City Planning Worldwide
Researchers at Ciencia Viva's National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture have developed software that can classify any region in the world according to its pattern of development into one of five types, each with specific characteristics and predictable behaviors that require different policy measures. The researchers say their work represents a major step toward a new type of city planning that is independent of personal visions, interests, and changing politics. "What this means is that now we finally can have a unified characterization of urban areas worldwide that pave the way for city planners all over the world to collaborate, whether comparing urban policies or forecasting typical future scenarios and procedures to deal with them," says researcher Jorge M. Pacheco. The researchers used the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (MAL), which includes the city, its suburbs, and a ring of rural regions, as a case study for the software. To read further, please visit http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=123261&CultureCode=en.
Recreating a Slice of the Universe
Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) have developed Arepo, software that can accurately follow the birth and evolution of thousands of galaxies over billions of years. "We've created the full variety of galaxies we see in the local universe," says CfA's Mark Vogelsberger. Arepo generates a full simulation of the universe, taking as input only the observed afterglow of the Big Bang and evolving forward in time for 14 billion years. "We took all the advantages of previous codes and removed the disadvantages," says HITS researcher Volker Springel. Arepo utilizes a grid that flexes and moves in space to match the motions of the underlying gas, stars, dark matter, and dark energy. To read further, please visit
