Purdue University

The Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) is excited to host its third annual Cyberinfrastructure Symposium in Fowler Hall on Oct. 22, which will spotlight the role of high-performance computing (HPC), AI and semiconductors in scientific advancements, and feature a keynote address from Michela Taufer, an AAAS Fellow and ACM distinguished scientist. The campus community is invited to attend and engage with leaders from both academia and industry.

Taufer’s keynote presentation “On the Need for Solutions to Address Scientists’ Pain Points,” will start at 11 a.m., addressing the significant challenges scientists face across various domains, institutions, and generations in managing and utilizing large-scale data from experimental facilities, remote sensing, and simulations at major national laboratories. She will also cover the difficulties researchers encounter when accessing and effectively using data crucial for scientific discovery. The presentation will spotlight solutions and success stories, demonstrating how a shared and accessible data fabric can support scientists in overcoming these challenges.

Featured examples include managing vast datasets from the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), materials science data from national laboratory experiments, terrain data from private and public clouds, and large-scale ocean data from NASA. These case studies underscore the transformative impact of a unified data fabric in democratizing data access and fostering equitable scientific discovery.

Taufer holds the Jack Dongarra Professorship in HPC at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. She earned her B.S. in Computer Engineering (University of Padova, Italy) and Ph.D. in Computer Science (ETH Zurich, Switzerland). A former postdoctoral fellow at UCSD and TSRI, Dr. Taufer is dedicated to multidisciplinary research, connecting computational and experimental sciences. Her work focuses on designing HPC, cloud, and volunteer computing solutions, applying AI/ML to scientific applications, and advancing algorithms and workflows with a solid commitment to reproducibility and transparency in research.

The symposium will also feature presentations from various speakers, including:

• Preston Smith, executive director, RCAC;
• M. Rizki Oktavian, Blue Wave AI Labs;
• David Ryglicki from MyRadar.com
• Karen Plaut, Executive Vice President for Research at Purdue;
• Matteo Ruggeri and Carlo Scalo, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue
• Erica Carlson, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue;
• Jeff Terstriep, NCSA;
• Eamon Duede, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, joint appointment Argonne National Laboratory;
• Nathaniel Husted, Chief Scientist for Cyber and Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) technologies at NSWC Crane;
• Carol Song, Chief Scientist, RCAC; and
• Nathaniel Husted, Chief Scientist for Cyber and Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) technologies at NSWC Crane.

A poster session for students will also take place at lunchtime in room B001 (the Envision Center), where students will highlight and present posters about their research.

To conclude the symposium, a networking reception will take place on the East Terrace of the Purdue Memorial Union (PMU) from 4:00-5:30 p.m.

To learn more about the symposium and for other questions, contact rcac-help@purdue.edu.