State-of-the-art supercomputers, sophisticated software and high-speed research networks will be on tap as Central Ohio technology experts travel this weekend to New Orleans for SC14 (sc14.supercomputing.org), the international conference for high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis.
Staff members from the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC, www.osc.edu), Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet, www.oar.net) and Ohio Technology Consortium (OH-TECH, www.oh-tech.org) will be attending SC14 Nov. 16-22 to promote the work of their organizations, attend educational workshops and network with their academic and industrial counterparts.
“Historically, OSC has been one of the best-kept secrets across the field of high performance computing,” said Pankaj Shah, executive director of OSC and OARnet (www.osc.edu/staff/pankaj_shah). “But in the last few years, OSC achievements have been making impressions at international conferences, such as the SC conference, and our name is being mentioned much more frequently in wider national and international discussions involving HPC. This helps drive stronger collaborations and attract more R&D funding to Ohio.”
OSC will be prominently featured at the conference, as its entry into the #HPCmatters video program was recognized as “Most Inspirational.” The video series showcases researchers who use OSC systems for their computational work, including that of Kathleen Nicole, vice chair of clinical labs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (www.nationwidechildrens.org/kathleen-k-nicol). Her video can be viewed on YouTube (http://ow.ly/EbnGa).
To generate a greater online presence while at the conference, staff members will be participating in an Ask Me Anything forum on the social media channel Reddit Monday evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Central Time. Various OSC staff members will take turns answering questions from the general public about the operation of a supercomputer center.
Several additional OSC-related presentations will occur at SC14:
- Basil Gohar, manager of OSC’s web and interface applications team, will present “Look Inside The AweSim Appkit” at the conference’s Emerging Technologies Forum.
The Appkit is a toolkit that developers within the AweSim industrial engagement program use to quickly provide a web-based interface for “manufacturing apps.” These apps access the center’s supercomputers to power simulation-driven design for small and mid-sized companies.
- Alan Chalker, Ph.D., director of OSC’s industrial outreach program, will be presenting “OSC and the AweSim Appkit” at the Intel Theater.
- Alex Berryman, a systems researcher for OARnet, will present, “Ohio State University Science DMZ Policy Portal” as part of SC14’s Innovating the Network for Data-Intensive Science Workshop.
Ohio State’s Science DMZ is a unique computer network devoted to helping scientists collaborate at high speeds over the Internet with minimal interference from typical speed-muzzling security measures.
- Steve Gordon, Ph.D., a senior education specialist for OSC, will be conducting a workshop titled, “Integrating Computational Science Into the Curriculum.”
Gordon was the driving force behind the development of the Ralph Regula School of Computational Science at the Ohio Supercomputer Center, a statewide virtual school focused on computational science – the use of computer modeling and simulation to solve complex business, technical and academic research problems.
- The research team of Dhabaleswar K. (DK) Panda, Ph.D., a professor of computer science and engineering at The Ohio State University, will deliver several formal presentations at the OSC booth, focusing on areas within his expertise in network-based computing research.
Panda’s Network-Based Computing Research Group developed and enhances MVAPICH2, the popular HPC system software package. In addition to OSC’s flagship systems, Panda’s communications library is powering several of the world’s fastest supercomputers.
The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), a member of the Ohio Technology Consortium of the Ohio Board of Regents, addresses the rising computational demands of academic and industrial research communities by providing a robust shared infrastructure and proven expertise in advanced modeling, simulation and analysis. OSC empowers scientists with the vital resources essential to make extraordinary discoveries and innovations, partners with businesses and industry to leverage computational science as a competitive force in the global knowledge economy, and leads efforts to equip the workforce with the key technology skills required to secure 21st century jobs. For more, visit www.osc.edu.
