Kelly Gaither
SC20 Inclusivity Chair

What does SC do to address inclusivity and diversity at the conference?

When the Inclusivity Committee became an official component of the SC Planning Committee for SC17, there was significant footwork to do. Toni Collis was the first Inclusivity Chair. She brought structure, awareness, and information to the committee and the SC community at large. We started with a call-to-action brought by John West when he was SC16 General Chair – to simply do the math to know our diversity numbers in all aspects of the conference. That initial call-to-action was followed by recognition that diversity and inclusion have many dimensions.

To be successful we had to understand, appreciate, and welcome all of the differences that make each and every one of us unique. Under Toni’s leadership, we worked on issues related to diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and providing a welcoming conference for all current and future members of our community. It was her leadership that brought inclusivity to the forefront and made it a part of the SC fabric. Because of that leadership, today, we have the opportunity to purposefully move the needle, ensuring that all members of the SC community embrace the notion that we truly are stronger together. Today, we not only continue the efforts started by Toni, we also look at innovative ways to make a difference, and provide a more inclusive conference experience.

Has SC moved the needle on participation from underrepresented groups?

You have to be willing to ‘play the long game’ to move the needle in a manner that sticks over time. In 2016, SC embraced the first instantiation of Computing4Change–then called Advanced Computing for Social Change. That program, and other versions of it, have introduced hundreds of undergraduates to SC and to supercomputing more broadly. It happened one cohort at a time, with purpose and dedication from a team of people intent on moving the needle. Roughly half of those undergraduates were women, and some of the most diverse group of students I have seen come through programs like these.

The Students@SC program has done a tremendous job bringing in diverse students from all walks of life, ensuring that their experience with SC is transformative. Women in HPC holds a workshop every year dedicated to inclusivity and fostering diversity in attendees, many of them young and just beginning their careers. The technical program chairs choose their committees intentionally, balancing diversity across a number of dimensions. The committee chairs also look at how to bring new people in to the committee to build an inclusive and diverse conference organization.

Have we moved the needle? It’s too early to pat ourselves on the back and call it a day. We still have so much yet to accomplish to ensure that it will last beyond any one of us. And, with everything that is happening in our world today, it is painfully clear that we have a mountain of work ahead of us if we are going to make a difference. We have to be willing to have tough and potentially uncomfortable conversations, listen to, and engage our entire community if we are to truly be inclusive.

What is the most important new Inclusivity initiative for this year?

One new initiative this year is HPC in the City. SC has always left a large footprint in each and every city we visit. SCinet ensures that we often leave the local fiber networking in a far superior condition than we find it. But our footprint isn’t limited to just technology. Expanding the concept of Computing4Change, not only can we engage the citizens of our host cities to participate in a series of events that expose them to supercomputing and how prevalent these technologies are in their everyday lives, but we can also work side-by-side with them to tackle problems relevant to their communities for which supercomputing technologies are beneficial.

Prior to the conference, we will be hosting hackathons with attendees from the Atlanta area to work on problems relevant to the city and the surrounding communities. It is our hope that this inaugural year for HPC in the City will be just the beginning, leaving a lasting footprint in each city we have the privilege to visit, one that adds greater dimension to our committed pursuit to move the needle and engage all bright minds.

Learn more about inclusivity at SC.

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Kelly Gaither
SC20 Inclusivity Chair

Residents of big “convention cities” are used to it. For one week in November, thousands of researchers, scientists, industry and computing center staff members, journalists, and students descend for the SC conference. We take over the convention center, hotels, and restaurants—and then we leave, taking our technical expertise, knowledge, and skills with us. What if we tried to change that?

The purpose of the HPC in the City program, launched by the SC20 Inclusivity Committee, is to engage the community in the SC host city, bringing together a diverse group of residents, students, and local businesses to share in the experiences of the SC conference.

In Atlanta, the committee had high hopes of engaging with the many universities, the local technical colleges, and state and local government agencies. Planning was underway to get local students involved in SCinet, have SC-related speakers offer local presentations, and host a hackathon, which would address local challenges using local data resources.

When SC pivoted to a virtual conference, most of these plans faded away. But Je’aime Powell, Senior Systems Administrator in Data Management and Collections at TACC and HPC in the City liaison, along with his fellow volunteer organizers at HackHPC, wasn’t about to cancel it. “There are so many opportunities available in our computing centers,” he said, “and we need a broad range of skills and students to fill them.”

Powell is an expert at hackathons. He’s held them with local students at TACC in Austin with professors and researchers as a part of PT2050, and at conferences including SC18,  SC19, and PEARC18–20. Each time, he’s learned something about how to better engage the students; when to order refreshments (chicken and waffles at 2 am); how to negotiate with industry partners; and what makes the best prizes for the winning teams (LEGO kits were very popular). “It is a true tribe effort with our partners from Omnibond, Intel, and SGCI. We have become a family over the years with the primary goal of sharing this experience with as many students as we can” says Je’aime.

In 2020, the HPC in the City hackathon will be held the week before the SC conference (November 5–9). This gives the students a chance to learn about the technologies and applications that are crucial for HPC before they participate in any of the SC conference elements, which Je’aime hopes will make the experience a little less overwhelming.

Atlanta has seen its share of hackathons, including Georgia Tech’s HackGT, the largest student-led hackathon in the country. Je’aime was eager to adopt some of the lessons learned from the HackGT student organizers. He has also reached out to city officials to discuss some potential local issues (and data sources) that could be addressed by HPC in the City, including COVID-19, Atlanta traffic, or social justice issues.

HPC in the City is also an opportunity for industry partners, preparing students with skills and technical knowledge for future internships or careers in HPC, data analytics, or visualization. Powell is also pleased that the vendor partners have allowed employees to act as team mentors, giving them direct interactions with participants. “We have heard that several internships have been offered to students, and one participant was offered a job based on the hard and soft skills the vendor witnessed during the event.” At SC20, the students will be trained and have access to Omnibond’s CloudyCluster software, coupled with Google’s on-demand Cloud Computing platform, and compute credits that will last beyond the end of the competition. This allows them to use those credits in school projects later in the year, and makes their research projects that much more powerful.

The students who participate in HPC in the City will be well prepared for whatever the future brings, and they will be setting a precedent for future SC cities, like St. Louis, Denver, and Dallas. “I chose the field of HPC both because of my deep love of anything computer-related and the wide range of opportunities available in this field,” says Powell. “I hope this program plants seeds which will grow roots to support the students and mentors as they progress, and also leaves a lasting positive impact on the cities we have the honor with which to work.”

Learn more about the HPC in the City hackathon and sign up today!

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Melyssa Fratkin, SC20 Communications Chair

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.

Like you, I am passionate about all aspects of HPC: the operation of supercomputers themselves, the education of students and future leaders about the opportunities available to them in the field of HPC, and the transformation of algorithms, mathematics, programs, and computational power into once-impossible scientific discoveries.

By bringing that passion to my role as SC20 General Chair, my goal is to ensure that SC focuses on the entire world of HPC: applications, systems, storage, networks, and the people who bring it all to life.

As a community we broaden the impact of HPC by increasingly collaborating with researchers, scientists, and influencers who have a major impact on our industry, but who are not operating directly in the HPC sphere. Together, we’re more than HPC.

SC20 Focus

SC attendees interpret the annual conference tagline each year according to their own experiences in the world. Here’s what “More Than HPC” means to me, as we continue to prepare for next year’s conference.

“More Than HPC” is meant to evoke our view of the expanding impact of HPC on our daily lives, and the increasing degree to which scientific advances are the result of deep partnerships between HPC providers and science teams. From targeting disease mechanisms leading to more effective treatment, to creating the neural networks for driverless cars, to refining the vehicles that will take the general public into space, our impact is growing daily.

It’s “More Than HPC” when we use machine learning and data analytics to improve the forecasting and tracking of natural disasters, bringing together previously unrelated disciplines to help keep natural disasters from becoming humanitarian catastrophes.

It’s “More Than HPC” when we target disease mechanisms for more effective treatment by blending molecular dynamics, the latest advances in microbiology, and new approaches to scientific software.

When we apply artificial intelligence to address socially relevant issues like poverty and homelessness, and learn how to grow more crops in a smaller space with less resources, we’re employing “More Than HPC” to find those answers.

The Details

HPC Immersion

I’m especially excited about the tremendous potential of our new HPC Immersion program. Designed to create a pathway to conference engagement and HPC community involvement for undergraduate students traditionally underrepresented in HPC and HPC-related fields, the program will specifically target students majoring in electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science.

Participants will be fully involved in the existing Students@SC program, and will be guided by experienced HPC leaders and mentors through technical program sessions, including post-session discussions to further illuminate the session topics and how the participants can become involved in those specialties.

State of the Practice

SC20 also features a renewed focus on the state of the practice. Those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to design, install, house, secure, network, and operate supercomputers and the supporting infrastructure have a wealth of knowledge to share, but few opportunities to reach fellow practitioners directly and relate their experiences.

To bridge that gap, SC20 will feature three full days of dedicated State of the Practice Talks as a venue to deliver practical, up-to-the-minute improvements in all areas of interest to SC attendees. Presentations will cover best practices across a broad range of topics at the forefront of HPC including system management, networking, education, and data management.

HPC in the City

We are also launching HPC in the City, an initiative to engage leaders, decision-makers, educators, and students in the greater Atlanta area to work together and combine our collective talents to address problems that are both relevant to the local community and suitable for HPC. One notable such issue is environmental justice, which aims to address complex issues such as adequate access to healthy food, clean air and water, transportation, and safe living areas.

HPC in the City will also tackle health disparities to provide potential solutions to eliminate preventable differences in the burdens of disease, injury, violence, and access to care, offering all people the ability to achieve optimal health. We hope this collaborative experience will engage all voices to bring the power of HPC to make a lasting impact in these issues.

Technical Program & More

And as always, SC20 will feature an extensive Technical Program featuring those who know HPC best – you. Add to that a dynamic Students@SC program and Exhibits featuring the freshest technologies and capabilities developed all over the world, and you’ll find just about everything you need to enhance your HPC involvement.

Spread the Word

In his SC15 keynote address in Austin, Alan Alda – author and six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner – asked us to try harder to communicate our scientific discoveries clearly with the public. Our community thrives when we bring people together and share what we’re learning, and when we work together to change the world.

I encourage you to watch for exciting developments about the conference throughout the year as we prepare to help you get the best out of Atlanta, SC20, and everything about HPC. Get involved – sign up to receive the SC20 newsletter and read articles in the blog, consider submitting a paper, speaking, or volunteering. It will be a rewarding experience no matter how you choose to engage.

Bring your passion and energy for HPC to Atlanta, where together we can be more than HPC.

Watch the preview video

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Christine E. Cuicchi, SC20 General Chair