AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 23 -- When the SC08 conference convenes Nov. 15-21 in the Austin Convention Center, the event will feature six days of technical sessions, three days of the most extensive exhibition in the history of the conference, and a number of events marking the 20th anniversary of the premier international conference of high performance computing, networking, analysis and storage.

Registration for the conference Technical Program, Tutorials and Exhibits is open. Details on all registration categories can be found at http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=registration.html.

To help attendees make the most of their time in Austin, SC08 has launched SC Your Way, a new Web site with information about the SC08 program, conference hotels, transportation, restaurants and more. Go to SC Your Way at http://scYourWay.nacse.org/ to create your own personal agenda for the week.

Here are highlights from this year's conference:

20th Anniversary: SC08 marks the 20th anniversary of Supercomputing '88 and a number of activities are planned to highlight the evolution of the conference, supercomputing and related technologies. From an anniversary DVD to history display in the Austin Convention Center lobby to a panel discussion titled "SC: The Conference" on Friday, Nov. 21, attendees will have plenty of opportunities to reflect on the past and envision the future.

Invited Speakers: Led by Michael Dell, founder of Dell Inc., five invited speakers will share their expertise in fields ranging from parallel programming to energy to medicine. Read more at http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=invited.html.

Two Days of Tutorials: The SC08 Tutorials Program offers 10 half-day and 15 full-day tutorials on Sunday and Monday, Nov. 16-17 covering a wide range of supercomputing educational opportunities for all attendees. Read more at http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=tutorials.html.

Three Days of Technical Papers: At the heart of the SC08 Technical Program are the Technical Papers sessions on Tuesday-Thursday, Nov. 18-20. After 277 submissions, and 1080 reviews, 59 papers were accepted to be presented in 20 sessions. Read more at: http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=papers.html.

Industry and Research Exhibits: Almost 350 industry and research exhibitors will fill the Austin Convention Center and showcase the latest technologies and applications in HPC. Read the list of exhibitors at http://iebms.heiexpo.com/iebms/oep/oep_p1_exhibitors.aspx?cc=sc08&oc=34.

IEEE Cray and Fernbach Awards: The Seymour Cray Computer Science and Engineering Award recognizes innovative contributions to high performance computing systems that best exemplify the creative spirit of Seymour Cray. The Sidney Fernbach Memorial Award honors innovative uses of high performance computing in problem solving. Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, the Cray and Fernbach winners will present special invited talks in a plenary session at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Masterworks Presentations: Sixteen Masterwork presentations will address real-world applications of HPC technologies in the arts, finance, transportation, medicine, energy and green computing. Read more at http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=masterworks.html.

Research Posters: The SC08 Posters track features 55 posters highlighting the most innovative, exciting, and thought-provoking research from over 150 submissions. Along with the regular posters mentioned above, SC08 is again proud to host a part of ACM's Student Research Competition (SRC) showcasing posters by individual students. This year, five student posters (3 from grad students and 2 from undergrads) were chosen from 19 submissions. Read more at http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=posters.html.

Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions: Although the SC conference is well-known as the place to catch up with colleagues for one-on-one conversations, sometimes you want to have an informal chat with a group of like-minded folks. Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions fill the bill, providing focused but informal venues. With 54 BoFs being held over the course of three days, there is sure to be a subject of interest for everyone. BoFs meet Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 18-19, at 12:15-1:15 p.m. and 5:30-7:00 p.m., and from 12:15-1:15 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20.

ThirteenWorkshops: For SC08, a series of 13 workshops were selected to provide attendees with independently planned full-, half-, or multi-day sessions that complement the SC08 Technical Program and extend its impact by providing greater depth of focus. Workshops will be held Sunday and Monday, Nov 16-17, and Friday, Nov. 21. Read more at http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=workshops.html.

Panel Discussions: Will electric utilities of the future give away supercomputers with the purchase of a power contract? Industry experts in high performance computing, communications and storage technologies will explore this question and others in a series of seven panel sessions that are expected to trigger lively, and even passionate, debate. Read more at http://sc08.supercomputing.org/?pg=panels.html.

About SC08

SC08, sponsored by the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Scalable Computing and the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Computer Architecture, will showcase how high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis lead to advances in research, education and commerce. This premiere international conference includes technical and education programs, workshops, tutorials, an exhibit area, demonstrations and hands-on learning. For more information, visit http://sc08.supercomputing.org/.

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Source: SC08