HPCRSE@RSECon24 Birds of a Feather
Taking place at RSECon24, Newcastle on Thursday, Septemeber 5th, 09:30 - 12:30
Session description
This event brings together the community of RSEs working in High Performance Computing (HPC). The community covers a range of RSE roles from development of research software to support of HPC facilities, providing support to researchers. Our objectives are to provide peer support across the RSE HPC community, share experience and best practice, foster an open, self-sustaining community and collaborate with other, associated communities and organisations.
The aims of the event are to share knowledge about the current “state-of-the-nation” in HPC, discuss topics of interest in the community, understand community priorities and needs, create a forum for network building and provide peer support to HPC RSEs: particularly those new to the HPC area and those working without support from a large RSE group.
The event is split into two sessions: technical and training/community, with a break in between where HPC service providers can display small posters with updates on their services. Each session starts with two short presentations for setting the scene, followed by a panel discussion. In the technical session, HPC centres are invited to give lightning updates to support their poster submissions. Based on discussions in previous events, we have identified the some topics of particular interest, but the discussion will be driven by the attendees on the day (both online and in person). Proposed technical topics: technological developments (e.g. new accelerator technology, exascale, new service), parallel programming approaches, AI/ML. Proposed training/community topics: training for RSEs, HPC RSE career progression/skills, community organisation and sustainability.
Prerequisites
No prior knowledge is required to engage with the BoF. The topics of the BoF are of broad interest across HPC and related disciplines so should be applicable to attendees from academia, industry, the public and third sectors.
Outcomes
Outcomes for BoF attendees: to understand the current state of play in the field of HPC, particularly in the UK; to gain current information on the state of HPC services and any plans for the future; to better understand the topics of interest across the HPC community and the wider community’s opinions on these topics; to build personal and professional networks; to gain better access to peer support, especially for RSEs new to HPC. Outcomes from the BoF: blog article describing the BoF and discussions that took place; online versions of presentation slides from the BoF; online versions of HPC service update posters from the BoF; concrete plans for future HPC RSE events; additional volunteers to help organise and guide the community and plan future events; timeline to establish the HPC RSE community as an official SIG within the Society of Research Software Engineering.
Draft schedule
| Timing | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0930-0935 (5 min) | Welcome | |
| 0935-1005 (30 min) | Technical presentations | Modernisation of xRAGE (Charles Ferembaugh, LANL); mdb parallel debugger (Tom Meltzer, University of Cambridge) |
| 1005-1035 (30 min) | Technical panel | Nick Brown (EPCC/ExCALIBUR), Charles Ferembaugh, (LANL), Miren Radia (DiRAC/University of Cambridge), Tom Meltzer (University of Cambridge) |
| 1035-1045 (10 min) | HPC Service lightning updates | Single slide, 2 min presentations ahead of poster session during break |
| Break | Posters | Small (A3) posters displayed with updates on HPC services |
| 1100-1130 (30 min) | Community/training presentations | PyProfQueue (Marcus Keil, UCL), Advanced Training Needs for RSEs (Samantha Ahern, UCL) |
| 1130-1200 (30 min) | Community/training panel | Samantha Ahern (UCL), Juan Herrera (ARCHER2/EPCC), Marcus Keil (UCL), Eirini Zormpa (Imperial College) |
| 1200-1230 (30 min) | Wrap up | Includes summary of plans/activities for next 12 months |
Submit presentation proposals
Submission deadline: 1600 BST, Tue 16 July 2024 Outcome notification: Thu 1 Aug 2024
Submission deadline has now passed
There are two sessions within the BoF: technical/exascale and training/community but we welcome submissions on any topic of interest to the HPC RSE community. Please select the most appropriate session in the submission form.
Presenters can present in person or online. If presenting in person, you must be registered for in-person attendence at RSECon24. If presenting online, you must be registered for online attendance at RSECon24.
Submissions will be assessed by the organising committee on the quality of the abstract and the broadness of the appeal to the HPC RSE community.
Personal details collected through the submission form will only be used for the purposes of organising this event. For unsuccessful proposals, personal details will be deleted after decision notifications have been sent out. For successful proposals, contact details will be deleted after the event has taken place.
If you have any questions about the event or submission process, please contact Andy Turner (a.turner@epcc.ed.ac.uk) and Marion Weinzierl (mw925@cam.ac.uk).