Purdue student attends GHC 25 with WHPC Scholarship
Purdue’s Women in High-Performance Computing (WHPC) group offers scholarships to support students who wish to travel to major computing conferences. Last fall, the group sponsored a graduate student to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) 2025, held in Chicago, Illinois.
Yanran Wu is 
a third-year PhD student in Computer Science at Purdue University. Wu attended GHC 25 with assistance from a WHPC scholarship. GHC, eponymously named after pioneering computer scientist Grace Hopper, is the world’s largest gathering of women in tech, bringing together thousands of women from across the globe to learn, network, and celebrate their achievements. We sat down with Wu afterwards to discuss the conference and learn about her experiences whilst there:
Can you describe your overall experience at the conference?
I had a very exciting and inspiring experience at the Grace Hopper Celebration. GHC is very different from academic conferences, and it felt like a truly unique event where women from across the tech industry come together. Everyone was very willing to share helpful information and their life experiences, which created a warm and supportive community. The conference made me feel motivated to push my research forward in ways that connect with real industry needs, and it also encouraged me to support other women in tech in the future.
What was your biggest takeaway from the conference?
My biggest takeaway on research and technology is that there are still clear gaps between current AI applications and what industry teams actually need. Through conversations with engineers, I learned that some engineers hope to develop custom AI agents that work with their internal data, but they face challenges such as low inference efficiency and the high cost of fine-tuning. These discussions helped me think more about how my research can contribute to solving these problems.
On a personal level, I learned a great deal from senior professionals who shared how they made important career choices and navigated different transitions in their lives. Their experiences showed me that each person follows a path that fits their own goals and circumstances. It encouraged me to focus on my long-term development instead of feeling pressure from external expectations.
How did support from Purdue WHPC make this experience possible for you, and how do you feel about receiving the support?
The support from Purdue WHPC made it possible for me to attend the conference, since I would not have been able to cover the travel costs on my own. It allowed me to participate fully and focus on learning, networking, and exploring new opportunities. I feel very grateful for this support, and I also see it as recognition that encourages me to stay involved in the WHPC community and continue growing as a researcher.
Would you recommend the WHPC scholarship program to other Purdue students and why?
Yes, I would definitely recommend the WHPC scholarship program to other Purdue students. It provides valuable support that makes it possible to attend important conferences and gain experiences that can shape both academic and career goals.
Did you have any prior involvement with Research Computing or WHPC?
I first became involved with Research Computing through the Gautschi Early User Program and have continued to use the Gautschi cluster since then. The advanced H100 GPUs on Gautschi allowed me to scale up my experiments and conduct detailed profiling and benchmarking for my research on sustainable AI systems and large language model serving. I am very grateful for the timely help from the RCAC staff, including Ryan [DeRue] and Haniye [Kashgarani], who supported several technical needs for my research project and made it possible for us to run our studies smoothly.
Purdue Women in High-Performance Computing Program
Purdue Women in HPC 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 dedicated 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 provides partial travel assistance to undergraduate and graduate students, empowering their participation in various national conferences that align with WHPC’s objectives. The WHPC travel scholarship sends students to numerous conferences each year, most recently including the Grace Hopper Celebration, Society of Women Engineers, and Game Developers Conference (GDC) Festival of Gaming.
For full eligibility requirements, and to apply for this scholarship, please visit the WHPC Scholarship page.
In addition to the scholarship program, Purdue WHPC organizes a range of activities, including 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.
If you would like to attend and/or are interested in future participation, please contact us at whpc@purdue.edu. You may also subscribe to our WHPC List Serve.
Written by: Jonathan Poole, poole43@purdue.edu