Why do scientists, researchers and engineers – across the globe – flock to SC every year?

The answers are many, but most center on their quest for discovery, to learn about the latest and most innovative high-performance computing and next-generation networking technologies that are redefining the way we live and work.

And at SC22, that thirst for advanced technological solutions also applies to the conference’s customized wireless network, which will enable thousands of attendees and exhibitors to connect and communicate seamlessly with colleagues inside and outside the spacious Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.

Thanks to the contribution of millions of dollars in equipment and manpower by PIER Group, a 2022 SCinet Diamond contributor, the conference’s SCinet high-capacity network will – for the first time – feature Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz) technology. But don’t worry, it’s backwards compatible so your current electronics will connect.

According to PIER Group’s Director of Networking Shannon Champion, who is leading a 10-person team from the company that will install and oversee the network, Wi-Fi 6E is “unexplored territory” for most Wi-Fi network users in research, education or enterprises.

“This is new technology that very few have deployed at scale,” Shannon explains. “Wi-Fi 6E will give SC22 attendees a wired-like experience, just like being connected to a switch, anywhere in the conference area that is covered by wireless.”

Recently, PIER Group completed the largest deployment of Wi-Fi 6E technology to date for the entire University of Michigan campus. Serving more than 63,000 students with 16,000 access points across 225 buildings, the new network can accommodate up to 70,000 concurrent Wi-Fi connections at download speeds up to 750 megabits per second.

Of course, SCinet is no stranger to innovation. Since its birth in 1991, for the fourth SC event held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, SCinet is annually the most powerful and advanced network in the world for the duration of the conference. To learn about SCinet’s many networking milestones, visit the SCinet History page.

Every year, network experts who either volunteer or participate through sponsorships join together to design, build and administer the SCinet wireless and wired infrastructure. Leading the approximately 200-person team this year is SCinet Chair Matthew J. Zekauskas, senior researcher at Internet2.

While PIER Group has been a longtime SC exhibitor and SCinet participant, the company was asked to provide additional support last year. This was due to the need for additional wired and wireless capacity to accommodate the thousands of attendees who attended virtually due to the pandemic, and thus could only view presentations and events via streaming.

“The feedback we received was that a lot of the exhibitors didn’t need to plug into (wired network) switches because the wireless service was so good,” notes Shannon. “And we’re expanding beyond that this year.”

Beyond its ability to enable exhibitors and attendees to maintain connectivity, SCinet serves as the platform for demonstrating advanced computing resources by supporting a wide variety of bandwidth-driven supercomputing and cloud computing applications through workshops, demos and collaborations.

As always, the SCinet hub for SC this year will be in its show floor-based networking operating center (NOC), which also serves as a display area for the latest commercial equipment used to run this high-performance wired and wireless network.

Learn more about SCinet and discover how to become a SCinet volunteer or contributor. SCinet also includes opportunities for Student Volunteers and Women in IT Networking at SC (WINS) participants.

While pursuing her master’s degree in computational science, Verónica Melesse Vergara attended her first SC conference – SC10 in New Orleans – as a student volunteer. And that experience completely changed her career trajectory.

“It opened my eyes to the wide range of career possibilities in high performance computing,” says Verónica, who today is the System Acceptance & User Environment Group Leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). “The relationships I formed at SC10 have been invaluable, and the collaborations I established as a result have helped me grow as an HPC professional.”

“The relationships I formed at SC10 have been invaluable, and the collaborations I established as a result have helped me grow as an HPC professional.” — Verónica Melesse Vergara

Anthony Cabrera, a PhD student, discovered the SC conference through Twitter contacts. Anthony applied and was accepted to be a student volunteer at SC17 in Denver.

“My experience as an SC student volunteer was truly a game changer for me,” explains Anthony, a research scientist in the Architectures and Performance Group at ORNL. “All of my career opportunities have been through my involvement with SC.”

Verónica and Anthony are not alone. They are among countless HPC professionals who, as undergraduate or graduate students, have kickstarted their careers by participating in Students@SC.

“All of my career opportunities have been through my involvement with SC.” — Anthony Cabrera

Dozens of students will have an equally robust opportunity to learn, serve and network at this year’s event in Dallas. Three primary areas where students can benefit:

• Serving as a Lead Student Volunteer, which is limited to those who have previously served as SC student volunteers;
• Serving as a Student Volunteer, assisting in conference operations while also attending/participating in the Technical Program;
• Participating in the Student Cluster Competition, which involves teams of undergraduate students from around the world who put their skills to the test building, operating and tuning powerful cluster computers.

This is a program I’m passionate about, because I know Students@SC is important for finding and developing the next generation in HPC. The student program produces great future HPC leaders.

Besides volunteering and the Student Cluster Competition, students attending SC22 will also be able to attend a job fair, participate in a variety of mentoring programs, and become immersed in HPC through student-specific technical programs aimed at advancing the skills required to thrive in an HPC career.

But perhaps the greatest benefit is for students to take advantage of the ability to meet and interact with some of the world’s leading HPC proponents.

“The networking opportunities are unparalleled,” says Sally Ellingson, who works in computational biology and high performance computing as Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Kentucky and Markey Cancer Center. Like Verónica, she first participated in SC as a student volunteer at SC10. “I fell in love with the community at SC and knew immediately that I would be back.”

Learn more about the Students@SC program, including how to apply for selection as a student volunteer, cluster competition details, and many other valuable opportunities for students.

Students@SC