Purdue co-hosts “Building and Maintaining Supportive Communities for Women in HPC” event
Purdue’s Women in High-Performance Computing (WHPC) group, which is part of a broader engagement initiative by the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC), co-hosted a workshop on Sept. 3 organized by the Virginia WHPC chapter about current challenges and opportunities for fostering a more diverse and inclusive HPC community.
The event began with introductions to the Virginia, Purdue and Northeast WHPC chapters, which jointly co-hosted the event. Laura Theademan, director of center operations and visualization for RCAC, introduced the Purdue chapter.
After that, the group split into breakout rooms to discuss specific issues facing women in HPC including:
- The role of mentors and engaging allies;
- Topics/types of events to be covering within chapters;
- Gaps in programming efforts or outreach activities and how they can be filled going forward;
- What participants would like to see from other WHPC chapters; and
- Current challenges in gender diversity and inclusivity in HPC.
“I attended the WHPC event because I was eager to learn more about Women in HPC at Purdue and to engage with the community,” says Akshita Kamsali, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering. “As a woman in computing, I felt it was a great opportunity to gain insights and connect with others who share similar experiences,” she adds.
“The meeting was informative and has strengthened my enthusiasm to continue participating in Women in HPC. In fact, after speaking with one of the representatives, we are working on organizing an event to introduce ECE graduate students to HPC.”
Purdue WHPC is led by women staffers affiliated with RCAC. WHPC is a diverse community encompassing undergraduate, graduate, staff and faculty men and women who are interested in exposing women to high-performance computing and encouraging their pursuit of research and careers in HPC and other technology fields.
Purdue WHPC organizes a range of activities including a scholarship program that supports travel for women students to industry conferences, regular meetings to discuss technical HPC-related issues of interest, opportunities to network with the WHPC community, a mentorship program, workshops, and exposure to external resources and opportunities.
To learn more about Purdue Women in HPC or be added to the mailing list, contact whpc@purdue.edu.