Author: Swabir Silayi

Please join us to support Virginia Women in High Performance’s (VA-WHPC) February Event!

Topic: Real Stories about Using HPC in Research

When

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm February 25th, 2025

What

This month, three graduate students will share their experiences using High-Performance Computing (HPC) in their research. Each speaker will give a 10-minute presentation on how they use HPC, the challenges they’ve faced, and how they developed the necessary skills to effectively utilize these resources. After each presentation, there will be time for questions and discussion. We look forward to seeing you there!

Register for this event here!

Link: https://virginia.zoom.us/meeting/register/yTjiPkdjRfKo3QRM-U_ZTQ

Moderator – Eric Walter – Director of Research Computing – William & Mary

Presenters:

• Mahshid Ahmadian is a Ph.D. candidate in System Modeling and Analysis, with a specialization in Statistics and Data Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a Virginia Sea Grant graduate fellow, where she integrates the fields of statistics, ecology, and fisheries science. Her research focuses on developing spatiotemporal models designed to analyze fish movement data. She has experience using high-performance computing (HPC) to process large-scale spatial data and implement computationally intensive statistical models.
Website: https://mahshidahmadian.weebly.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahshidahmadian

• James Giroux is a PhD candidate working at the intersection of Nuclear Physics and Data Science at William and Mary. His research is focused primarily on applications of generative AI, Computer Vision, and Bayesian Deep Learning for physics event reconstruction.

• Karolina Naranjo-Velasco is a PhD candidate in Data Science at the University of Virginia and MSDS ’22 graduate. She brings a unique perspective as a Latina attorney specializing in constitutional law. Her research focuses on developing automations using HPC and AI tools for parsing legal documents and training language models to analyze texts. Beyond her technical contributions, she strengthens diversity in data science through conference leadership and mentorship of underrepresented STEM professionals.
Website: https://datascience.virginia.edu/people/karolina-naranjo-velasco

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karolinaranjo/

X: https://x.com/karolinaranjo

For more information please visit: https://va-whpc.org/event/save-the-date-real-stories-a-using-hpc-in-research/

This virtual event is jointly hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, University of Richmond, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, and the University of Virginia.

Topic: Student Lightning Talks III

What

On November 12th from 1-2 pm EST, VA-WHPC will be hosting 8-10 students as they give lightning talks on their research to members of the HPC community from across Virginia. Interested in giving a lightning talk? You’ll get 3 minutes and 1-2 slides to tell us all about your research. Don’t miss this chance to practice your presentation skills and share your research with a diverse audience! We are also asking for volunteers from the community to act as mentors for the presenters. Sign up to be a presenter or a mentor by October 24th!

A helpful guide on how to give a successful lightning talk is available here. 

Thank you for your participation, if you have more questions about this particular event, please feel to contact Haley Michel at [email protected]

Hosted by: Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, University of Richmond, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, and the University of Virginia

Topic: Women in Cybersecurity and Related Roles

What

Join us for our October meeting to hear from female leaders in roles in and related to Cybersecurity.  Three speakers will discuss their aspects of their career and experiences in computing and security issues and will have time for questions about their roles.  Please join us for an interesting series of presentations.

When

Tuesday, October 8th 2024

1:00pm – 2:00pm 

Register Here 

Speakers:

• Sarvani Chadalapaka  – Director, Cyberinfrastructure and Research Computing (CIRT), Office of Information Technology – UC Merced 

Sarvani Chadalapaka is the Director of Cyberinfrastructure and Research Technologies at the University of California, Merced, where she leads the strategy and development of research computing infrastructure to support diverse research initiatives. She is a speaker and committee member at conferences such as SuperComputing (SC), PEARC, Internet2 TechEx, Educause, and the Women in HPC (WHPC) Summit. Sarvani has held leadership roles, including Director of the WHPC Mentoring Program and an elected member of the Campus Champion Leadership Team. She has also served on the Internet2 Inclusivity (I2I) Steering Committee, UC Women in Tech (WIT), and currently serves on the Educause Research Computing and Data (RCD) Steering Committee. Her work in diversity and inclusion has been recognized with the Internet2 Inclusivity (I2I) award and the UC Tech DEI Leadership Silver Award.   

• Iria Giuffrida – Assistant Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Professor of the Practice of Law – W&M 

Iria Giuffrida is a Professor of the Practice of Law at William & Mary Law School and serves as the Assistant Dean for Academic & Faculty Affairs. Professor Giuffrida’s research focuses on the legal issues arising from the increasing use of artificial intelligence, the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), and related emerging technologies.  She is involved in grant-funded experiential projects aimed at creating a diverse talent pipeline for the cybersecurity industry and participates in other grant-funded projects such as those funded by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. 

• Wendy Wilde – Information Security Officer & GLBA Program Officer – CNU 

Wendy L. Wilde is the Information Security Officer at Christopher Newport University.  She holds a Master of Science degree in Information Technology and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), ISC² and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) from ISACA.  She has over twenty years experience in the field of Cybersecurity ranging from DOD operations to Higher Education. 

Moderator – Eric Walter – Director of Research Computing – William & Mary

This virtual event is jointly hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, University of Richmond, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, and the University of Virginia.

Virginia Women in HPC – Enriching Research Computing and Data(RCD) Careers: Opportunities, Trends, and Defining Job Families for Professional Advancement

What 

Join us at 1 PM EST on July 16, 2024, for an enriching session with Dr.Scott Yockel, Harvard University’s Research Computing Officer. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a leading advocate of advancements in RCD professions.

When

Tuesday, July 16^th 2024  

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Register Now! 

Speaker:

Dr. Scott Yockel, is the University Research Computing Officer at Harvard. In this role, Scott works with researchers across campus to develop and champion a university-wide research computing strategy in support of Harvard’s research mission. Scott is focused on identifying emerging needs, engaging with faculty, school, and university leadership to articulate those needs, and identifying possible solutions and funding mechanisms. He is spearheading the implementation of these initiatives and articulating their success with concrete measures, as well as developing plans for the long-term sustainability of research computing at Harvard. Over the last several years, Scott has been deeply involved in national and regional efforts such as CaRCC and MGHPCC. In this newly expanded role, he will be more deeply engaged in these efforts that increasingly involve national-level cyberinfrastructure resources and the development and professionalization of research computing staff. For example, he is PI/co-PI on a number of externally funded projects, including the New England Research Cloud, Northeast Storage Exchange, and the NSF Center of Excellence, RCD-Nexus..

Moderator:

VA-WHPC Committee 

This virtual event is jointly hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, University of Richmond, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, and the University of Virginia.

Advancing Research with Deep Learning and High-Performance Computing:
Join Our Spring Meeting

What 

Discover how two leading professors leverage GPUs and HPC to address vital research questions. Don’t miss the chance to explore exciting HPC research and unique workflows shaping its global impact. Engage in the discussion and interact with speakers during the Q&A session. Be part of the dialogue at this exceptional opportunity.

When

Tuesday, February 6^th 2024  

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Register Now!     

Speakers:

Dr. Daniel Runfola – Associate Professor and Graduate Director of Applied Science and Data Science at William & Mary

Title: Large Scope Analysis of Satellite Data in HPC Environments

Dan Runfola is an Associate Professor and Graduate Director of Applied Science and Data Science at William & Mary. His core expertise is in the applied use of machine learning to analyze satellite data to better understand the relationships between societies and the environment at a global scale. In addition to over 40 peer reviewed academic publications in high profile outlets including Nature, Dan has published numerous reports with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, UN FAO, Global Environment Facility, and as a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.   He has received over 5 million dollars in research funding from a wide range of organizations, including the National Science Foundation, Department of Homeland Security, Gates Foundation, Cloudera Foundation, Global Environment Facility, and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative.  In addition to his Ph.D. and postdoctoral group, Dan also runs one of the largest undergraduate research groups on campus in the geoLab.

Dr. Priscilla Erickson – Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Richmond

Title: Studying evolution in real time with an invasive fruit fly

Priscilla began her studies in biology at Kenyon College in Ohio, where she studied the effect of stress on life history traits in birds. She did her PhD work in Craig Miller’s lab at UC Berkeley, studying the genetic and developmental basis of skeletal evolution in threespine stickleback fish. For her postdoc, she studied the evolution of fruit flies over seasonal timescales with Alan Bergland at the University of Virginia. After a brief stint as a visiting faculty member, she joined the Biology department at the University of Richmond full time in Fall 2021. Outside of work, Priscilla loves swimming, hiking, rock climbing, working on her native plant gardens, and hanging out with her dog, Mindy (who also enjoys helping out with fly maintenance).

Moderator:

Eric Walter – Executive Director, Research Computing, William & Mary

This virtual event is jointly hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, University of Richmond, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, and the University of Virginia.

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URL https://va-whpc.org/