HPC In the News

 

Open Access to the Universe
Symmetry

A small team of astrophysicists and computer scientists have created some of the highest-resolution snapshots yet of a cyber version of our own cosmos. Called the Dark Sky Simulations, they’re among a handful of recent simulations that use more than 1 trillion virtual particles as stand-ins for all the dark matter that scientists think our universe contains. They’re also the first trillion-particle simulations to be made publicly available, not only to other astrophysicists and cosmologists to use for their own research, but to everyone. The Dark Sky Simulations can now be accessed through a visualization program in coLaboratory, a newly announced tool created by Google and Project Jupyter that allows multiple people to analyze data at the same time. To read further, please visit http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/august-2014/open-access-to-the-universe.

21st Century Data Highway
Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center

In the era of “Big Data,” the challenge of moving the vastly expanded data volumes created and needed by today’s researchers has become central. The old network—the equivalent of an overcrowded two-lane road—is giving way to a more flexible, software-defined network that manages itself and talks with users to help them work smarter. PSC has contributed to expanding and managing the hardware “lanes” and “merges” so that large-scale users can avoid the traffic jams—and just as importantly, avoid creating them. The Web10G collaboration between PSC and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications won an NSF grant to create a “dashboard” for networking users. Employing network data extracted by earlier Web10G work, the tool will allow nontechnical users to spot network slowdowns and report them to system administrators for repair. To read further, please visit http://www.psc.edu/index.php/88-biannual-report-and-science-book/biannual-report/934-building-a-21st-centry-data-highway.

New Device Improves Skin Cancer Detection
The University of Texas at Austin

Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have designed an optical device that may reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies by offering a fast, comprehensive, noninvasive and lower-cost solution to detect melanoma and other skin cancer lesions. The new device may detect cancerous skin lesions early on, leading to better treatment outcomes and ultimately saving lives. To read further, please visit http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/08/05/tunnell-cancer-detection-device/.  

New Tool Makes a Single Picture Worth Far More Than a Thousand Words
University of California, Berkeley

New software developed by UC Berkeley computer scientists seeks to tame the vast amount of visual data in the world by generating a single photo that can represent massive clusters of images. This tool can give users the photographic gist of a kid on Santa's lap, housecats, or brides and grooms at their weddings. It works by generating an image that literally averages the key features of the other photos. Users can also give extra weight to specific features to create subcategories and quickly sort the image results. In this way, blue-winged butterflies or orange tabby cats might rise to the top of photo collections. The research, led by Alexei Efros, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, was presented August 14 at the International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, or SIGGRAPH, in Vancouver, Canada. To read further, please visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140814192354.htm.  

 

HPC Call for Participation

 

SDNFlex 2015 : Workshop on Software-Defined Networking and Network Function Virtualization for Flexible Network Management
March 12 – 15, 2015 in Cottbus, Germany
Submission Deadline – September 26, 2014

Network management currently undergoes changes towards more flexible network management. This trend is stimulated by Network Virtualization and Software Defined Networks (SDN) that emerged in recent years. These technologies allow networks to be run in a more flexible and cost efficient manner, e.g., by increasing network resource utilization and by decreasing operational costs. As an emerging topic, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) allows even further flexibility  by migrating network functions (e.g., DHCP, PPPoE) from dedicated hardware to virtual machines running on commodity hardware. For more information, please visit http://www.wikicfp.com/cfp/servlet/event.showcfp?eventid=39262&copyownerid=67454.

HPSC Hanoi 2015: 6th International Conference on High Performance Scientific Computing
March 16 – 20, 2015 in Hanoi, Vietnam
Submission Deadline - September 29, 2014

The conference is jointly organized by Heidelberg Institute of Theoretical Studies (HITS), Institute of Mathematics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), University of Heidelberg, and Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics. Topics include mathematical modeling, numerical simulation, methods for optimization and control, parallel computing (architectures, algorithms, tools and environments), software development applications of scientific For more information, please visit http://www.wikicfp.com/cfp/servlet/event.showcfp?eventid=38932&copyownerid=14667.

Airport Cooperative Research Program University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs (2014-2015 Academic Year)
Submissions Deadline - April 30, 2015

The Competition challenges both individuals and  teams of undergraduate and graduate students working under the guidance of a faculty advisor to address issues currently facing airports and the National Airspace System.  The Competition offers open-ended, real-world issues in four broad challenge areas:  Airport Operation and Maintenance; Runway Safety, Runway Incursions and Runway Excursions; Airport Environmental Interactions, and Airport Management and Planning.  Student winners earn cash prizes and, for first place design submissions,  the opportunity to present at professional venues. To read further about the guidelines, please visit http://vsgc.odu.edu/ACRPDesignCompetition/.

 

Upcoming Workshops, Conferences and Webinars

 

HPC Monthly Workshop - Big Data Programming with Hadoop and Spark
September 2, 2014 - Multiple Supercomputers and Universities
11:00AM – 1:00PM Eastern Time

This session will give an overview of programming big data applications focusing on Hadoop and Spark.

I. Hadoop System Overview


This section will cover the basics of the Hadoop Environment. We will discuss the Map Reduce daemons, the scheduling and monitoring environment, and interacting with the distributed file system (HDFS). To read further, please visit https://www.xsede.org/news/-/news/item/6847 and register at https://portal.xsede.org/web/xup/course-calendar.

4th International Workshop on Climate Informatics
September 25-26, 2014 - Boulder, Colorado

The amount of observational and model-simulated data within the climate sciences has grown at an accelerating rate since the early 1980s. The increasing amount of available data creates many opportunities for researchers in machine learning and statistics to partner with climate scientists in the development of new methods for interdisciplinary knowledge discovery. Climate informatics broadly refers to any research combining climate science with approaches from statistics, machine learning and data mining. The Climate Informatics workshop series, now in its third year, seeks to bring together researchers from all of these areas. We aim to stimulate the discussion of new ideas, foster new collaborations, grow the climate informatics community, and thus accelerate discovery across disciplinary boundaries. The format of the workshop seeks to overcome cross-disciplinary language barriers and to emphasize communication between participants by featuring tutorials, invited talks, panel discussions, posters and break-out sessions. For more information,  please visit https://www2.image.ucar.edu/event/ci2014.

IEEE BigData 2014
October 27-30, 2014 - Washington DC

In recent years, The Program Committees of the 2014 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (IEEE BigData 2014) invite proposals for Workshops. Selected workshops will hold a central position within the larger conference, which will bring together top academic and industrial researchers from all over the world to exchange cutting edge research ideas in Big Data research, development and practice. Within these fields, workshops at BigData form crucial focal points for emerging communities and forums for the examination of new ideas. The IEEE Big Data conference is emerging as the premier venues for publications on "big data" in all its various aspects. In IEEE Big Data 2013 (http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/bigdata/bigdata2013/index.htm), it received 259 paper submissions for the main conference and 32 paper submissions for the industry and government program. Of those, 44 regular papers and 53 short papers were accepted, which translates into a selectivity that is on-par with top tier conferences. Also, there were 14 workshops associated with IEEE Big Data 2013 covering various important topics related to various aspects of Big Data research, development and applications. For more information, please visit http://cci.drexel.edu/bigdata/bigdata2014/callforworkshop.htm.

SC'14
November 16 – 21, 2014 - New Orleans, LA

HPC is helping to solve our hardest problems in the world. For more than two decades, the SC Conference has been the place to build and share the innovations that are making life-changing discoveries possible. Register and join the community in November to share our collective accomplishments and to engage in these important conversations. Register by October 15, 2014 at http://sc14.supercomputing.org/register. To read further, please visit http://sc14.supercomputing.org/.

 

Research News From Around the World

 

SLASH2 Download Now Available
Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center

SLASH2 is an open source wide area network friendly distributed file system featuring multi residency at the file chunk level, system-managed data transfer, inline checksum verification, and much more. Several needs arise concerning the management of large data sets:

• geographical replication for access locality
• replicas for valuable data
• the continuing emergence of cloud computing and the need for universal interfaces
• research collaboration
• data set migration

In solving these issues, often the burden is placed upon users themselves. This requires all researchers needing access to data sets to learn tools and deal with environments to manage data transfers on their own. Replication is often done manually instead of being handled by the system according to policy. To read further and download SLASH2,  please visit http://quipu.psc.teragrid.org/slash2/.

Cavity Protection Effect Helps to Conserve quantum information
Vienna University of Technology

Coupling atomic spins in diamonds to microwave resonators could lead to new quantum technologies. Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) have now managed to dramatically prolong the time these systems can store information. The electronics we use for our computers only knows two different states: zero or one. Quantum systems on the other hand can be in different states at once, they can store a superposition of "zero" and "one." This phenomenon could be used to build ultrafast quantum computers, but there are several technological obstacles that have to be overcome first. The biggest problem is that quantum states are quickly destroyed due to interactions with the environment. At TU Wien (Vienna), scientists have now succeeded in using a protection effect to enhance the stability of a particularly promising quantum system. To read further, please visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140817220025.htm.

Wireless Sensors and Flying Robots: A Way to Monitor Deteriorating Bridges
Tufts University

As a recent report from the Obama administration warns that one in four bridges in the United States needs significant repair or cannot handle automobile traffic, Tufts University engineers are employing wireless sensors and flying robots that could have the potential to help authorities monitor the condition of bridges in real time. Today, bridges are inspected visually by teams of engineers who dangle beneath the bridge on cables or look up at the bridge from an elevated work platform. It is a slow, dangerous, expensive process and even the most experienced engineers can overlook cracks in the structure or other critical deficiencies. To read further, please visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140815102037.htm.

Carnegie Mellon Combines Hundreds of Videos to Reconstruct 3D Motion Without Use of Markers
Carnegie Mellon News

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers have developed methods for combining the views of 480 video cameras to perform large-scale three-dimensional (3D) motion reconstruction. CMU professor Yaser Sheikh says the techniques could one day be applied to large-scale reconstructions of sporting events or performances captured by hundreds of cameras wielded by spectators. The new method estimates visibility using motion as a cue. For example, if a point on a person's chest is being tracked and most cameras show that point is moving to the right, a camera that picks up motion in the opposite direction is probably seeing a person or object that is in between the target and the camera. To read further, please visit http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2014/july/july17_reconstructing3Dmotion.html.

 

Educator News and Opportunities

 

Tours of High-Performance Computing Facility for UT Faculty and Students
August 29, 2014 - The University of Tennessee Knoxville

The National Institute for Computational Sciences (NICS) would like to offer tours of our High Performance Computing (HPC) resources located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. NICS is one of the leading HPC centers for excellence in the United States. NICS is co-located on the campus of UT as well as at ORNL, hosting the world's most powerful computing complex. The center's mission is to expand the boundaries of human understanding while ensuring the United States' continued leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. NICS strives to accomplish this mission by facilitating transformational scientific discoveries, and by providing scientists and researchers from around the world with leadership-class HPC resources, facilities, and support. To read further and RSVP, please visit  http://www.utk.edu/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=56294.

Computer Science Education Week - An Hour of Code
December 8-14, 2014

Any teacher and teach an Hour of Code. Check out this website http://code.org/educate/hoc for more details about teaching programming. Watch the walkthrough at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfZrX5YDltU. There's a lot of exciting news about coding that can be taught to students! Be sure to visit http://csedweek.org/ for more information and don't forget the date!

Computer Science Teaching Jobs Are Programmed To See An Increase In Los Angeles
CBS

California remains one of the top states in the nation that puts to work the largest number of computer science teachers, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In greater Los Angeles, post-secondary educators earn an average annual salary of more than $90,000. As enrollment levels at colleges, universities and business schools continue to rise, forecasters predict the number of vocational positions to spike by as much as 19 percent in coming years.  “Each passing year sees intensification in the importance of software, thereby making computer science educators increasingly vital,” said Dr. Russ Abbott, a professor of computer science at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). “Computer scientists and computer science educators are well positioned to participate in that growth.” To read further, please visit http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/08/11/computer-science-teaching-jobs-are-programmed-to-see-an-increase-in-la/.

Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program
Application Deadline – November 20, 2014

The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena. Fellows spend 11 months working in a Federal agency or U.S. Congressional office, bringing their extensive classroom knowledge and experience to STEM education program and/or education policy efforts. For more information about the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program, including eligibility requirements, program benefits, application requirements, and access to the online application system can be found at http://science.energy.gov/wdts/einstein/. 

Thirteen New Projects to Promote CyberGIS Education
CyberGIS Center for Advance Digital and Spatial Studies

The National Science Foundation-supported CyberGIS Project has selected 13 projects led by researchers across the United States for funding through its CyberGIS Fellows program, which supports the development of cyberGIS education materials and curricula. The CyberGIS Fellows will hold visiting appointments at the CyberGIS Center for Advanced Digital and Spatial Studies and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and will have opportunities to develop collaborations with these two interdisciplinary programs. CyberGIS—geographic information science and systems (GIS) based on advanced cyberinfrastructure—has emerged during the past several years as a vibrant interdisciplinary field impacting a broad swath of scientific domains and research areas. Due to the field’s rapid development, most of the related curricula and education materials do not systematically teach concepts and principles underlying cyberGIS and cover problem-solving skills revolving around cyberGIS. The CyberGIS Fellows will address this gap. To read further, please visit http://cybergis.illinois.edu/news/140818_fellows.html.

 

Student Engagement and Opportunities
 

Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program
Application Deadline - October 7, 2014

The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a two-year fellowship program for outstanding PhD students nominated by their universities. To be eligible for this fellowship, you must apply during your second or third year of PhD studies. Fellowships are granted by Microsoft Research at the discretion of Microsoft. Applicants for the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program must be nominated by their universities, and their nominations must be confirmed by the office of the chair of the eligible department. Direct applications from students are not accepted. Student must attend a United States or Canadian university and be enrolled in the Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics department (if your department is within the scope of these areas, but is titled differently, you are eligible). For more information, please visit http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/awards/apply-us.aspx.

NICS Intern Spotlight—Vijay Koju
The National Institute for Computational Science

Vijay Koju, a PhD student in computational science at Middle Tennessee State University and originally from Nepal, simulated the behavior of visible light during his summer 2014 internship at the National Institute for Computational Sciences (NICS) this summer. His mentor was Dwayne John of the NICS high-performance computing User Assistance group. John and Koju collaborated with Dr. Justin Baba, who is a joint faculty associate professor in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering (MABE) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The project investigated visible light as it backscatters when passed through a medium. Visible light has the potential to be used in the early detection of diseases such as skin cancer. To read further, please visit http://www.nics.tennessee.edu/intern2014-koju and watch his interview on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw6K5K4Lkm0.

Robo Expo 2014
September 6, 2014 - Balboa Park, San Diego, California
9a.m. – 1 p.m.

Begin the new school year by turning your students minds on to the excitement of robotics. Robo Expo always offers a great and varied display of industrial applied robotics, student robotics showcases and representation from programming/robotics schools and robotic challenges. For more information, please visit http://sdsa.org/resources/science-alliance-e-news/2014/july/robo-expo-2014.

Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship
Apply Deadline - December 15, 2014

The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion. Students pursuing degrees related to the following are encouraged to apply:  To read more, please visit http://smart.asee.org/about and apply at http://smart.asee.org/apply_/application_instructions .

Hertz Foundation Fellowship
Application Deadline - October 31, 2014

The annual competition for Graduate Fellowships begins with the application period which opens each year in August at which time a deadline consistent with those of NSF and other fellowship granting organizations will be posted. Only those applications which are complete, with all supporting materials and documents provided (including Reference Reports) by the posted deadline will be assured of full consideration by the Foundation. Each year's competition concludes at the end of the following March, at which time the Foundation's Board of Directors determines the most highly qualified Fellowship applicants and the number of new Fellowships which available resources will be able to support. To read further, please visit http://www.hertzfoundation.org/dx/fellowships/application.aspx.

 

Other Computational News of Interest

 

A Self-Organizing Thousand-Robot Swarm
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

The first thousand-robot flash mob has assembled at Harvard University. "Form a sea star shape," directs a computer scientist, sending the command to 1,024 little bots simultaneously via an infrared light. The robots begin to blink at one another and then gradually arrange themselves into a five-pointed star. "Now form the letter K." The 'K' stands for Kilobots, the name given to these extremely simple robots, each just a few centimeters across, standing on three pin-like legs. Instead of one highly-complex robot, a "kilo" of robots collaborate, providing a simple platform for the enactment of complex behaviors. Just as trillions of individual cells can assemble into an intelligent organism, or a thousand starlings can form a great flowing murmuration across the sky, the Kilobots demonstrate how complexity can arise from very simple behaviors performed en masse. To computer scientists, they also represent a significant milestone in the development of collective artificial intelligence (AI). To read more, please visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140814191818.htm.

People in Leadership Positions May Sacrifice Privacy for Security
Penn State News

Pennsylvania State University (PSU) researchers performed experiments examining how people with high-status job assignments assessed security and privacy and how impulsive or patient they were in making decisions. The results showed that participants who were randomly placed in charge of a project tended to become more concerned with security. In a follow-up experiment, those appointed as supervisors also exhibited a more patient, long-term approach to decision-making. "Hopefully, by calling attention to these tendencies, decision-makers can rebalance their priorities on security and privacy," says PSU professor Jens Grossklags. In the first experiment, the researchers randomly assigned 146 participants roles as either a supervisor or a worker to determine how those assignments changed the way leaders approached security or privacy during a task. Those appointed supervisors displayed a significant increase in their concern for security, while those who were assigned a worker-level status expressed higher concern for privacy. To read further, please visit http://news.psu.edu/story/320757/2014/07/16/research/people-leadership-positions-may-sacrifice-privacy-security.