SC20 is pleased to announce that our Keynote speaker is Prof. Bjorn Stevens of the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology. Prof. Stevens will discuss how exascale computing is impacting two opportunities that are changing the face of climate science. One arises from what exascale will enable; the other from what it will not.

“Much like the Large Hadron Collider broke an energy barrier to bring us the Higgs boson, exaFLOPS will break a scale barrier, bringing about a fundamentally new way of computing the climate system,” commented Stevens. “Computing with exaFLOPS has such profound implications for climate modelling and Earth information systems. Beyond exascale, the game changes completely.”

According to Stevens, this change is rooted in the absence of further attainable critical scales, which shifts the focus from deep computation to deep interaction. This shift in focus has the potential to unravel mysteries that have remained unexplained up until now.

The SC conference aspires to bring in thought-provoking experts to challenge our attendees to focus on new perspectives and concepts that they otherwise may not have considered,” said SC20 General Chair Christine E. Cuicchi. “As our world is facing mounting climate and weather issues, Dr. Stevens’ talk will help us to better understand the impact we have on the world around us – after all, HPC is everywhere we are.”

Professor Stevens’ main field of interest is in the way atmospheric water – particularly in the form of clouds – shapes climate. His contributions to understanding how turbulent mixing and cloud-microphysical processes influence cloud amount have been instrumental in helping to understand how clouds respond to warming, and how radiative forcing responds to aerosol perturbations, both of which are fundamental to the present comprehension of climate change.

His measurements have identified new forms of clouds that arise in response to precipitation, provided the first quantification of cloud top mixing, and illustrated and quantified the vertical structure of large-scale vertical motion fields in the tropics and sub-tropics.

Prof. Bjorn Stevens

Stevens was one of the architects of the sixth phase of the coupled model intercomparison project (CMIP6), and he co-conceived and co-led the first ever intercomparison of global storm resolving models. Through these efforts, and his initiation and leadership of the German national project, “High Definition Clouds and Precipitation for Climate Prediction”, he has helped outline the development pathway for a new generation of climate models. Prof. Stevens has contributed more than 240 refereed publications to scientific literature.

He serves on a number of international advisory boards, has served as editor of leading journals in his field, and has been honored by a number of lectureships and awards, including the Clarence Leroy Meisinger Award of the American Meteorological Society, as well as fellowships from the Advanced Study Program of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the Alexander von Humboldt Society.

The SC20 Keynote will take place on Monday, November 16, kicking off a full day of plenary talks and panels at the virtual conference. For more information about the SC20 Keynote or other SC20 program details or speaker interviews, contact:

SC20 Communications
Brian Ban
(773) 454-7423

Centennial Olympic Park

Centennial Olympic Park was created as a 21-acre gathering spot for visitors and residents to enjoy during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. It’s estimated $75 million in development costs came entirely from private-sector donations. Following the Olympic Games, a large portion of the park was closed and redesigned for daily public use. Today the park performs a dual mission. It serves as Georgia’s lasting legacy of the Centennial Olympic Games and it anchors efforts to revitalize residential and commercial development in Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta.

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Atlanta Here We Come

SC20 marks the first time that SC will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, a vibrant city that – home to the busiest airport in the world – will be an easily reached destination for many of our national and international attendees and exhibitors.

Each month, we’ll feature an extraordinary aspect of this city with southern charm and world-class sophistication. By the time November rolls around you’ll be in love with our beautiful host city, if you aren’t already.

More host city features

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Brian Ban
SC20 Communications Team

Delta Flight Museum

The Delta Flight Museum is a 68,000 square-foot facility at the airline’s world headquarters in Atlanta. Housed in the airline’s two original maintenance hangars dating from the 1940s, the museum traces Delta’s history and the development of commercial aviation. The museum contains exhibits filled with hundreds of items – many of which have never been on public display – chronicling more than eight decades of Delta history. The museum houses five historic aircraft including The Spirit of Delta, a Boeing 767 purchased for the company by employees in 1982. Also on display is a DC-3, Ship 41, that flew for Delta and was restored by Delta employees and volunteers. Visitors can try the ultimate aviation experience and pilot a Boeing 737-200 full-motion simulator, the only one open to the public in the U.S. 

Learn more about this attraction

Atlanta Here We Come

SC20 marks the first time that SC will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, a vibrant city that – home to the busiest airport in the world – will be an easily reached destination for many of our national and international attendees and exhibitors.

Each month, we’ll feature an extraordinary aspect of this city with southern charm and world-class sophistication. By the time November rolls around you’ll be in love with our beautiful host city, if you aren’t already.

More host city features

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Brian Ban
SC20 Communications Team

Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta inspires value and preservation of wildlife through a unique mix of education and outdoor family fun. From well-known native wildlife to critically endangered species on the brink of extinction, the zoo offers memorable close encounters with more than 1,000 animals from around the world. The zoo’s highlights include one of the largest populations of great apes in the U.S. and a global center of excellence for the care and study of vanishing reptiles and amphibians. Zoo Atlanta is also proud to be one of only four zoos in the U.S. that giant pandas call home. Eat, shop, and play at Zoo Atlanta! Kids and families will love the Zoo Train, a handcrafted replica of an 1863 locomotive!

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Don’t miss the Panda Cam

Atlanta Here We Come

SC20 marks the first time that SC will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, a vibrant city that – home to the busiest airport in the world – will be an easily reached destination for many of our national and international attendees and exhibitors.

Each month, we’ll feature an extraordinary aspect of this city with southern charm and world-class sophistication. By the time November rolls around you’ll be in love with our beautiful host city, if you aren’t already.

More host city features

—

Brian Ban
SC20 Communications Team

SC20 marks the first time that SC will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, a vibrant city that – home to the busiest airport in the world – will be an easily reached destination for many of our national and international attendees and exhibitors.

Each month, we’ll feature an extraordinary aspect of this city with southern charm and world-class sophistication. By the time November rolls around you’ll be in love with our beautiful host city, if you aren’t already.

More host city features

Atlanta History Center

Founded in 1926, the Atlanta History Center is an all-inclusive 33-acre destination featuring the Atlanta History Museum, one of the Southeast’s largest history museums; two historic houses, the 1928 Swan House and the Tullie Smith Farm; the Centennial Olympic Games Museum; the Kenan Research Center; the Grand Overlook event space; and acres of historic gardens and trails. In addition, the History Center operates the Margaret Mitchell House. Located in Midtown Atlanta, the two-acre campus features tours of the house and apartment/movie exhibit where Margaret Mitchell wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Gone with the Wind”.

Learn more about this attraction

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Brian Ban
SC20 Communications Team

SC20 marks the first time that SC will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, a vibrant city that – home to the busiest airport in the world – will be an easily reached destination for many of our national and international attendees and exhibitors.

Each month, we’ll feature an extraordinary aspect of this city with southern charm and world-class sophistication. By the time November rolls around you’ll be in love with our beautiful host city, if you aren’t already.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park

Walk in the footsteps of a civil rights icon – visit the birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and see where he preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Explore his legacy at The King Center and his final resting place. Then stand in the footprints of change-makers and civil rights leaders on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park.

Learn more about the park

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Brian Ban
SC20 Communications Team