Apr302024

Women in HPC (WHPC) Leads Diversity and Inclusion Events at ISC24

WHPC Presents a Comprehensive Program to Enhance Diversity and Inclusion in High Performance Computing (HPC) at ISC24.

Women in HPC (WHPC) is poised to lead discussions on diversity and inclusion with the HPC community at this year’s ISC High Performance conference (ISC), Europe’s premier annual HPC event. As a globally influential organisation advocating for workforce equality, WHPC has established an official collaboration partnership with ISC for 2024 to curate a series of events and activities aimed at promoting diversity and inclusivity in the HPC sector.

Our mission is clear: “To promote, build and leverage a diverse and inclusive HPC workforce by enabling and energising those in the HPC community to increase the participation of women and highlight their contribution to the success of supercomputing. To ensure that women are treated fairly and have equal opportunities to succeed in their chosen HPC career. To ensure everyone understands the benefits of promoting and achieving inclusivity.”

Kick-off your week at ISC by visiting WHPC’s partner booths during the Exhibitor Gala on May 13th to obtain exclusive WHPC swag. Or why not visit our ice cream kiosk, made possible thanks to the ISC24 team and our Supporters, located in the Foyer next to the Exhibition Hall during conference hours!

We are also excited to announce dedicated conference activities for ISC24. Here’s what we have planned:

Monday, May 13th

6:45 pm – 8:30 pm: Solutions Forum Takeover 

Our 2nd Annual Solutions Forum Takeover returns to the Exhibition Floor.  Throughout the evening, a blend of invited and lightning talks will explore technical, career, and social sustainability within our community.  Find us at the Solutions Forum to hear our members, friends, and allies speak about how they are ‘reinventing HPC’s potential.’  Exhibition and Conference Passholders welcome!

Our 2024 swag is available from May 13th at the Exhibition Gala from:

  • Do It Now (K32)
  • Google Cloud (D19)
  • Alces Flight (G12)
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise (C10)
  • BeeGFS (L40)
  • Microsoft (F30)
  • EPCC (A10)

Tuesday, May 14th

Diversity Day 2024

WHPC continues to champion the strides made towards greater equity within the HPC community. We encourage attendees to wear WHPC swag from this or previous years, or to demonstrate support for increasing the visibility of women and other underrepresented groups in their own way!

9:00 am to 10:00 am: Panel – Women in Data Science

This panel celebrates women’s role in advancing High-Performance Computing (HPC) and data science, focusing on the accelerants and the challenges that brought them to their leadership positions. Our speakers will explore the impact of women in science and technology overall, and how HPC and data science helped them push the boundaries of innovation in their respective fields.  We are delighted to have:

  • Michela Taufer: University of Tennessee, ISC 2024 Program Chair, ACM Distinguished Scientist
  • Kathy Yelick: University of California at Berkeley, Vice Chancellor for Research
  • Carla Osthoff: National Laboratory for Scientific Computing in Brazil, Researcher
  • Anja Gerbes: HPC Center at TU Dresden, PhD Student

This panel is being moderated by Silvina Grad-Freilich of MathWorks.  Join us in Hall Z – 3rd floor!

Early Career Posters + Networking Reception

  • Lighting Talks: 2:15 PM to 2:30 PM – Hall G, Third Floor
  • Poster Reception: 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM – Foyer D-G

WHPC is delighted to continue the Early Career Poster series, now integrated into the ISC24 conference series. This year, posters will be displayed alongside all ISC authors in the Congress Center Hamburg (CCH), Foyer D-G. Our poster authors are officially part of the ISC Poster Lightning Talk Series. To see our speakers, as well as the rest of ISC24’s poster authors, head to Hall G1, 2nd Floor between 2:15 PM and 2:30 PM.

The Networking Reception provides an excellent opportunity to meet our talented authors, reconnect with colleagues, and expand your network. This event is part of our Diversity Day celebrations, so be sure to pick up your WHPC shirt from the Exhibitor Gala to show your support.

Wednesday, May 15th

9:00 am – 10:00 am: Birds of Feather – Mentoring in HPC

Mentoring is a time-tested process for helping individuals develop skills and confidence to succeed in their careers and lives. Our session focuses on understanding what each participant brings and cultivates the skills and knowledge necessary for success in either role. The session begins with a brief overview presentation followed by group activities designed to initiate and sustain mentoring relationships from both perspectives.

We wish to thank our volunteer committee members Eleanor Broadway, Ayesha Afzal, Jay Lofstead, Cristin Merritt and Dominik Wojtak for their contributions in organising these events.  If you have any questions please email us at info@womeninhpc.org.  We look forward to seeing you in Hamburg!

About Women in HPC (WHPC)

Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC) was founded with the vision of encouraging women and minority groups to actively participate in the HPC community by providing fellowship, education, and support to both minorities and the organisations that employ them.