CI Barn Raising: The Human Factor in Supercomputing Access

DeStefano, Lizanne; Miles, Tonya; Wernert, Julie; Andrews, Elisabeth

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120596 Copy

Description

Title

CI Barn Raising: The Human Factor in Supercomputing Access

Author(s)

• DeStefano, Lizanne
• Miles, Tonya
• Wernert, Julie
• Andrews, Elisabeth

Issue Date

2023-09-07

Keyword(s)

XSEDE; NSF; evaluation; high-performance computing; HPC; community of practice; research computing; cyberinfrastructure; Cyberinfrastructure Resource Integration; XCRI

Abstract

Expanding access to high-performance computing (HPC) may appear to be a matter of hardware, yet the most successful efforts to increase participation of under-resourced institutions give primary importance to creating a welcoming community of practice. Trust, goodwill, and a commitment to cooperation can create an atmosphere in which newcomers feel comfortable. Creating this cross-institutional environment is particularly vital for research supercomputing professionals, as universities in the early stages of expanding cyberinfrastructure are unlikely to house senior specialists who can serve as mentors. Experiences within the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) illustrate this principle. Focusing on the intersection between XSEDE’s Cyberinfrastructure Resource Integration unit (XCRI) and the OneOklahoma Cyberinfrastructure Initiative (OneOCII), this article offers a case study of collaborative “barn-raising” efforts in a distributed, virtual HPC community.

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

NSF OAC 15-48562

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