From: technews <technews@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu'" <it-fyi@lists.ou.edu>
Subject: it-fyi: High Performance Networking and Computing Conference, SC9
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 09:53:25 -0500
***SC99 Research Exhibits Highlight Science and Technology***
PORTLAND, OR, October 14, 1999 -- From Maui to Alaska and from Tokyo to
Glasgow, more than 60 research institutions will converge on the Oregon
Convention Center in November to participate in the SC99 research exhibits.
SC99, the annual high performance networking and computing conference, will
be held Nov. 13-19 at the convention center. The Exhibit Hall Gala Opening
is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 15, from 7-9 p.m. and will feature about 140
exhibitors from both research institutions and private industry. The Exhibit
Hall will be open Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 16 and 17, from 10 a.m.- 6
p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
The 64 research exhibits at SC99 will represent national laboratories,
universities from around the world, supercomputing centers, government
programs, and international research institutes. Some of the larger research
exhibits include Argonne, Berkeley and Brookhaven national laboratories; the
Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Office; the
Department of Energy Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative; NASA; and
the two partnerships of the National Science Foundation's Partnerships for
Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI) program.
"The research exhibits are where we get a glimpse of things to come in the
world of high performance computing and high speed networking," said Sally
Haerer, a member of the SC99 coordinating committee and chair of SC99
exhibits. "We see how researchers are using high performance networks and
computers, and we see how high performance computing and communications are
a factor in cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from
telemedicine to real-time weather forecasting to the exploration of space."
Research exhibits also offer a glimpse into the future of the world's
computational and information infrastructure. This infrastructure is rapidly
evolving from high performance networks--such as the NSF's very high
performance Backbone Network Service (vBNS)--into distributed
infrastructures, or technology grids, that link computers, storage systems,
research tools, and other resources through multiple high speed networks.
Technology grids have the potential to bring high performance computing,
visualization, virtual collaboration, and a range of research tools and
resources to audiences worldwide, regardless of physical location.
SC99's networking infrastructure, SCinet99, will support the entire
conference, including the research exhibits, with three overlapping yet
independent networks: a commodity Internet network, a production network,
and a bleeding-edge network formally known as Xnet. Xnet showcases gear and
technologies that may not yet be formally supported by vendors such as
10-gigabit Ethernet. Network organizers are hoping to demonstrate 10-gigabit
Ethernet at the conference.
The SC99 research floor will also feature a number of international
exhibits. The Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering,
part of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, will demonstrate
Seamless Thinking Aid software, which supports a distributed, parallel,
metacomputing environment. The European Union High Performance Computing
Technology Transfer Node will demonstrate a virtual-reality prototype system
that simulates car crashes on computers.
Several research exhibitors will participate in SC99's HPC Games. During
this onsite competition, teams will solve a problem that ranges from solid
state physics to the state of the universe. Teams will be judged on speed,
distance, and style.
For more information on SC99 or to register for the conference, see
http://www.sc99.org/