Watch a quick overview of how SciViz aids researchers featuring highlights from last year’s SciViz Showcase finalists.

HPC accelerates scientific and engineering discoveries. In the process, it often creates overwhelming amounts of data. To better understand their data, researchers frequently turn to scientific visualization, also known as SciViz, to graphically represent their data. This is not making bar-charts and graphs like you would for a presentation slide, however.

As a science, SciViz is concerned with the (often interactive) display and analysis of data. This involves research in computer graphics, image processing, HPC, and other areas. Basic visualization techniques include surface rendering, volume rendering, and animation — software designed especially for scientific visualization. The resulting images can usually be manipulated by the researcher, allowing them to gain new insights into what they are studying.

But scientific visualization isn’t limited to visualizing data output. Data analytics is the science of analyzing raw data to make conclusions about that information, and often researchers would like the ability to do real-time analysis and visualization of data from any source. There are existing software packages, with many more being researched and developed, that incorporate scientific or engineering visualization with computational steering or multivariate analysis. These capabilities involve research in computer graphics, image processing, HPC, and other areas.

We should note that SciViz isn’t just used by researchers. Blockbuster Hollywood movies like Interstellar and The Tree of Life incorporated astrophysics visualizations into the films. And you’ll regularly see SciViz in educational programs and IMAX theaters. You’ll even occasionally see a scientific visualization on a news site if it helps explain information.

About the SciViz Showcase

The Scientific Visualization & Data Analytics Showcase (SciViz) provides a forum for the year’s most instrumental videos in HPC.

Each submission has two main components: a video and a manuscript. There are two categories of submissions: explanatory and exploratory visualizations.

Explanatory submissions aim to convey a science story in a manner accessible by a broad audience. Exploratory visualizations illuminate research discoveries in a format targeted towards science domain experts. While an exploratory submission may not have the same level of professional polish as an explanatory submission, its impact stems from the scientific insights gleaned or the scale of the visualization achieved.

You can view last year’s SciViz Showcase winners playlist on the SC Conference Series YouTube channel to fully appreciate the artistry, computer science, and domain science knowledge required to be a successful visualization expert.

For those considering submitting to this year’s SciViz Showcase, the videos may also spark some ideas for your submission. Deadline for submitting is August 5. Videos are judged by overall quality, how they illuminate science, and for creative innovations in the production process. Submissions are peer-reviewed by the SciViz Committee.

SciViz Submission Details

View the SciViz Showcase in Dallas

Six finalists will compete for the Best Scientific Visualization & Data Analytics Showcase Award. There will be a live display of their submissions on high resolution monitors for the duration of the conference so that attendees can experience and enjoy the latest in science and engineering HPC results expressed through state-of-the-art visualization technologies.

Each finalist will present the work behind their submission in a 15-minute presentation in a special session of the Technical Program on Wednesday, November 16. Presenters will also participate in the Posters Reception on Tuesday, November 15, to answer attendees’ questions. We hope to see you there!

Videos will also have representation in the Digital Experience.

On March 14, 2022, the SC22 Reproducibility Initiative Committee will kick-off a webinar series to provide potential authors with key information on using several technologies and platforms to help them prepare the Artifact Description and Artifact Evaluation (AD/AE) appendix for paper submissions.

The series will include webinars on the Extreme-scale Scientific Software Stack (E4S), Chameleon Cloud, Jetstream among others. To access Zoom information for each event, please register at the links provided below.

The first webinar will take place on March 14, 2022.

Information on this and future webinars can be found on the Reproducibility Initiative page. Please do not hesitate to contact the Reproducibility Initiative Committee and the AD/AE Appendices Co-Chairs if you have questions.

Planning for SC22 began in early 2020 after I accepted the position as General Chair. The first tasks were to create a vision for the conference, choose a conference theme (HPC Accelerates) and establish an executive committee (EC) – the chairs responsible for organizing the individual aspects of the conference.

Each member of the EC leads a subcommittee to organize and execute their tasks; they’ve been hard at work for more than a year now. The job of the planning committee is to attend to all the large and small details that go into making an enjoyable conference experience so that you can focus on getting the most out of your time in Dallas.

Meeting Our Community’s Needs

While we don’t have a crystal ball to tell us what’s going to happen this year with COVID-19, we do know that SC21 showed our HPC community can safely gather in person and experience the knowledge and the excitement from being together. And that’s what we’re planning for this year – bringing our community together for an amazing in-person experience. We’re also planning a digital experience for those unable to travel to Dallas; details for that will be announced in advance of registration opening in July.

Encouraging In-Person Presentations

SC is built by our community, for our community. Our goal this year is to continue to strengthen that ethos by offering the in-person presentation guidance for the content types listed below. After reviewing last year’s conference experience and studying the results from the attendee survey, this guidance is an effort to bring our community together in an annual meeting that is both powerful and meaningful. Should you have questions, please reach out to the Technical Program Committee.

Note 1: For an accepted paper to be included in the proceedings, the author has to either present the paper at the conference (in-person or via live stream), or submit a pre-recorded video by the Final Materials Due deadline (September 30, 2022).

Note 2: It is encouraged that all workshop content (e.g., papers, panels) follow the same in-person guidance listed above.

Why Attend In-Person

SC is best experienced by attending the conference in person.

Being in Dallas means walking the exhibit hall, examining the latest technology and experiencing something akin to that new car tingle. Being in Dallas means easy access to experts to discuss your technical challenges and discover answers. Being in Dallas means connecting with old friends and making new ones. Many attendees report they make lifetime connections while at SC and dream up new research proposals that are jotted down on a cocktail napkin. It’s these connections and the knowledge you gain at SC that build your self-confidence and advance your career.

Updates to Come

Watch this space for more information about SC22; we’ll keep you apprised as various aspects of the conference are finalized. We’re planning a conference you won’t want to miss!