The two-week Argonne Training Program for Extreme-Scale Computing (ATPESC) is described as a “can’t-miss opportunity” for the next generation of HPC scientists. The program is designed to provide intensive training on the key skills, approaches and tools needed to design, implement and execute computational science and engineering applications on current high-end computing systems and the leadership-class computing systems of the future. As a bridge to that future, it fills the gap that exists in the training computational scientists typically receive through formal education or other shorter courses.
With the challenges posed by the architecture and software environments of today’s most powerful supercomputers, and even greater complexity on the horizon from next-generation and exascale systems, there is a critical need for specialized, in-depth training for the computational scientists poised to facilitate breakthrough science and engineering using these amazing resources.
“Looking at the program overall, we have three primary goals. First, to provide the participants with in-depth knowledge on several of the topics, especially programming techniques and numerical algorithms that are effective in leading-edge HPC systems. Second, to make the participants aware of available software and techniques for all the topics, to ensure that, when their research requires a certain skill or software tools, they know where to look to find it instead of reinventing the tools or methodologies. And third, through exposure to the trends in HPC architectures and software, to indicate approaches that are likely to provide performance portability over the next decade and beyond,” Paul Messina, Director of Science for the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, explained.
- Read more: A Q&A with Paul Messina, Director of Science for the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility
The core of the program focuses on programming methodologies that are effective across a variety of supercomputers and are expected to be applicable to exascale systems. Additional topics include computer architectures, mathematical models and numerical algorithms, approaches to building community codes for HPC systems, and methodologies and tools relevant for big data applications.
“We believe that we are filling a gap from program offerings other institutions offer, which may cover fewer topics and typically are less in-depth. As an example, not many university graduate programs in the sciences cover software engineering or community codes. Ph.D. students in computer science and engineering (CS&E) are also understandably instructed to work mostly on their own in implementing the codes for their dissertation research. Yet, when they begin working in research laboratories or industry, they almost always will work as part of a team and on enhancing existing software,” Messina added.
With around 65 participants accepted each year, admission to ATPESC is highly competitive. Qualified applicants must have substantial experience in MPI and/or OpenMP programming, have used at least one HPC system for a reasonable complex application and plan to CS&E research on large-scale computers.
The two-week 2015 ATPESC program was held from August 2 to 14, 2015, at the Pheasant Run Resort in suburban Chicago.
- View the complete set of 78 videos from this year’s sessions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGj2a3KTwhRZR9yvRG2f3F7svgYYs2GSa&
Wrapping up its third year with a class of 65 researchers, the intensive curriculum filled many gaps that exist in the training computational scientists typically receive through formal education or shorter courses.
Next year, the 2016 ATPESC will be held July 31 to August 12, 2016. ATPESC is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.