Purdue student attends TEDAI 2024 conference with Women in HPC support
Purdue’s Women in High-Performance Computing (WHPC) group recently sponsored a student to attend TEDAI 2024, a conference about the impact and power of AI that took place in San Francisco last month.
Tanvi Kadari, a master’s student in engineering management and the recipient of this WHPC scholarship, had a great time attending the conference and exploring all that it had to offer.
“It was such an enriching experience to get an opportunity to learn from industry leaders and academics about the latest advancements in AI in fields from marine biology to theoretical physics and gain perspective on where the industry is heading,” says Kadari.
“It's not every day that you get to be in the same room as visionaries like the CEO of Perplexity AI, a co-author of the famous "Attention is All You Need" paper and the leader who built LinkedIn.”
The TEDAI 2024 conference, which featured 27 TED talks and more than a dozen panel discussions, not only broadened Kadari’s perspective on AI applications across diverse industries but also underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Coming from a data science background, Kadari was surprised at the extent of AI’s integration into areas like neuroscience, robotics, linguistics, and even drug discovery.
Support from WHPC enabled Kadari to attend the conference by covering the substantial travel and attendance expenses.
“Being part of a TEDx team before my master’s, I already knew the impact of TED events, but as a student, costs were a big hurdle,” says Kadari. “WHPC’s support allowed me to experience TEDAI 2024 without financial worries and take part in an experience that could greatly shape my career path.”
She emphasizes that the WHPC application process was smooth and accessible, and encourages more Purdue students to take advantage of this resource.
Purdue WHPC is part of a broader engagement initiative by the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) and 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.
Within the WHPC initiative, RCAC extends partial travel assistance to undergraduate and graduate students, empowering their participation in various national conferences aligning with WHPC’s objectives. Applicants are assessed on their demonstrated experience with advanced computation and must explain what they hope to gain from participating in the conference. To be eligible, an applicant must identify as a woman and be an undergrad or grad student maintaining good academic standing. For full eligibility requirements, and to apply for this scholarship, please visit the WHPC Scholarship page.
In addition to the personal and professional growth that came from attending TEDAI 2024, Kadari gained career direction from her interactions with attendees, many of whom worked on AI products in various capacities, from startups to large corporations.
“This conference deepened my understanding of potential paths in AI product management,” she says. “The insights and connections I made here have been invaluable.”
Kadari, who will complete her master’s in December, is grateful to WHPC for the support and opportunities it provides students pursuing advanced work in tech. The scholarship program continues to help Purdue students, particularly those in high-performance computing, gain hands-on experience in groundbreaking fields.
To learn more about Purdue Women in HPC or be added to the mailing list, contact whpc@purdue.edu.