Discovering Your Parallel Universe at SC'13
Reflecting on SC '13
At SC'13, the 25th anniversary of the Supercomputing Conference, Intel asked attendees to take a journey with us to discover their parallel universe. We used the theme "Discover Your Parallel Universe" to emphasize the importance of modernizing codes and algorithms to take advantage of modern processors (think lots of cores and threads and wide vector units found in Intel® Xeon® processors and Intel® Xeon Phi™ coprocessors. Or simply put, "going parallel", as we like to call it. (Side note: Intel has a fantastic publication called Parallel Universe Magazine for more on the software and hardware side of going parallel).
We also used our theme as an inspiration for the researchers, scientists, and engineers that are changing the world every day. We asked them to envision the universe we'll live in if the supercomputing community goes parallel. A few examples:
- In a parallel universe there is a cure
- In a parallel universe natural disasters are predicted
- In a parallel universe ideas become reality
While these may seem lofty, they are also inevitable. We will find a 100% cure to all forms of cancer according to the National Cancer Institute. We will be able to predict the weather 28-days in advance according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. And everyone will eventually use computing to turn their ideas into products.
There are challenges to reaching these goals including requiring 1000x more compute (Exascale) than we have today to predict the weather 28-days in advance, and the cost and learning curve of technical computing will need to continue to drop before everyone has access.
To overcome these challenges we must come together as a community and we need to go parallel. We, also, must drive more performance at lower cost to give people more compute. The more compute, the better cancer researchers will understand the disease. From there we can pull-in the timeline for developing a cure for cancer. We'll solve the challenges to reaching Exascale levels of compute which will make weather forecast more accurate.
The choices we all make will decide which of the possible universes we occupy and when. Will we choose to go parallel and realize these lofty dreams? Intel will. And we need partners like you to join us. Keep reading below for how we demonstrated it at SC'13.
Parallel Universe Computing Challenge: A $25,000 Grand Prize
At SC'13 Intel introduced the Parallel Universe Computing Challenge. The Challenge was an 8-team single elimination tournament designed to raise awareness of the importance of parallelization in improving the performance of technical computing applications. The competition was highly entertaining with teams competing on stage, in a high-pressure environment for the grand prize – a charitable donation of $25,000 USD. The Gaussian Elimination Squad from Germany took home the Grand Prize and donated $25,000 to the Red Cross for hurricane relief in the Philippines.
Elimination Bracket
The Gaussian Elimination Squad with the Grand Prize $25,000 donation to the Red Cross.
Intel® Cluster Ready Partner Awards
The annual, Intel Cluster Ready Partner Awards Reception has once again showcased all the incredible work that has been done in the past year by our partners who are delivering simpler, more affordable and more powerful HPC solutions.
Pathfinder Award
The Pathfinder Award acknowledges those who were able to blaze a new trail, taking the Intel® Cluster Ready Program into new markets — markets that were previously unexplored. The below recipients are those companies that not only uncovered new opportunity, they also created it.
Pathfinder Award Winners: Fujitsu, Quanta, Acer, CDAC, RSC Group, IBM
Voyager Award
The Voyager Award recognizes those organizations that have contributed to Intel Cluster Ready advancement and helped grow the middle market.
Voyager Award Winners: SGI, Colfax, Altair, ESI, COMSOL
Explorer Award
The Explorer Award recognizes those who have continued to explore new ways to implement and advance Intel Cluster Ready.
Explorer Award Winner: E4 Computer Engineering, Atipa
I Can Run with Intel® Cluster Ready—5K Run/Walk
On a sunny, brisk (read: freezing), Denver morning 70+ people participated in our first I Can Run with Intel® Cluster Ready 5k run/walk on the Cherry Creek Trail. It was the perfect way to get outside the box—literally-and share some fun with colleagues and friends. It was also a wonderful way to see Denver, passing through beautiful scenery in the heart of downtown, under bridges, past landmarks, and even past an amusement park. Some chose to use the opportunity to go for a stroll while others chose to take on the competition with our fastest man and woman turning in times of 22:00 and 28:29, respectively. The highlight of the run for many was that the top 2 men and top 2 women finishers were able to direct contributions totaling $3,000 to charitable organizations.
It's never too early to start training for SC'14, so strap on those running shoes and start your preparations now! We hope to see all of you participate in New Orleans!
For complete race results visit: http://www.hallucinationsports.com/event/show/60205327
Participants ready to run!
Runners and walkers on the Cherry Creek Trail for I Can Run with Intel® Cluster Ready 5k
Conference Keynote
Dr. Genevieve Bell, Intel
SC'13 officially opened with a keynote by Intel cultural anthropologist and Intel fellow Genevieve Bell. Dr. Bell's talk "The Secret Life of Data" discussed how we've been dealing with big data for millennia and that approaching big data problems with the right frame of reference is the key addressing many of the problems we face today. You can watch the Dr. Bell's SC'13 keynote here.
Demos and a Supercomputer in the Intel Booth
Intel partnered with 9 organizations to bring 9 compelling demos into the Intel booth at SC'13. The demonstrations showed how researchers, scientists, and engineers are using compute to compete. They featured several high-fidelity visualizations that are helping the medical researchers, weather forecasters, and mechanical engineers advance their research to solve mankind's grand challenges. We also featured demonstrations of how engineers are using compute-based design and simulation to improve the products and services we use in everyday life.
For our marquee demo we demonstrated the potential of going parallel by having the #400 supercomputer on the TOP500 list, Cherry Creek, live on the show floor running high-fidelity visualizations of cellular membranes from the Texas Advanced Computing Center. This is helping them advance cancer research.
Many thanks to all of our partner organizations who helped make the demos at SC'13 a reality, including: Altair, IBM, Colfax, SGI, University of Oklahoma, FOVIA, Intel Labs, COMSOL, and Texas Advanced Computing Center.
Intel's Cherry Creek Supercomputer in the booth at SC'13.
Intel Theater Presentations
Did you miss one of the 60+ 15-minute presentations from Intel fellow travelers throughout the show? Or is there a presentation you'd like to revisit? You can access slides from all of the Intel theater presentations here.
Fellow travelers who presented include:
Aeon, AIC Inc, Allinea, Altair, AMAX, Atipa, Bull, Colfax, Colorado School of Mines, CoolIT, COSMOS, Cray, DataDirect Networks, EMC, Fortissimo, HP, IBM, MathWorks, National Renewable Energies Lab, NCMS, Nei, Netapp, Numerical Algorithms Group, Ohio Supercomputing Center, ParaView, Penguin Computing, RSC, San Diego Supercomputing Center, SGI, Texas Advanced Computing Center, Tyan, University of Vienna, Xyratex, AccelerEyes, Ingram, NASA-Goddard, Petrobras, STAC Research, and more.
Gergana Slavova from the Intel® Software and Services Group presenting in the Intel Theater during SC'13.