High Performance Computing enthusiasts should mark their calendars now for the 2016 Intel® HPC Developer Conference, scheduled for November 12-13 in Salt Lake City, Utah—just prior to SC ‘16. Supercomputing architecture experts and developers from around the world will converge at the Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel to see how to gain the maximum utility and performance from the latest advances in supercomputing. The free event provides the opportunity to gain technical and hands-on knowledge, develop a network of peers, learn from case studies and real world examples from Intel and HPC community experts, and gain insights about future HPC-related technologies from industry leaders.

As in past years, Intel has taken feedback from the developer community in order to plan and prioritize the most relevant topics shared at the conference. The input from developers led to a packed agenda of keynotes, technical sessions and hands-on labs which will offer attendees the opportunity to engage with HPC experts at many levels of technical depth. Those wishing to learn more about the latest trends in supercomputing will enjoy keynote sessions discussing the future of HPC. At the same time, developers wishing to discuss today’s supercomputing challenges — and further their own practical knowledge — will appreciate the opportunity for detailed technical discussion and interaction with senior Intel architects and HPC experts from leading companies and research institutions around the globe.

For 2016, learning sessions and hands-on labs planned for the conference will cover an array of topics such as machine learning, deep learning, accelerating data analytics, software defined visualization and tools, optimization of Intel® Xeon Phi™ processors and Intel® Omni-Path architecture, and much more. While every supercomputing developer has interests of his or her own, a few cutting edge topics deserve special note.

First, as the field of supercomputing advances, open source initiatives like Software Defined Visualization (SDVis), led by Intel and other industry pioneers, is a topic of increasing importance. Developers seeking more hands-on knowledge will have the opportunity to learn more about OSPRey, Embree, and other aspects of visualization, vectorization, and ray tracing solutions from Intel teammates and other experts in the field.

Another growing trend in supercomputing is the evolution of artificial intelligence, and the technologies which pave the way toward future possibilities. Attendees will have the chance to see how other experts in the field are utilizing HPC to overcome barriers with machine learning, and cutting edge deep learning, which seemed insurmountable only a few years ago. Additionally, presenters will offer insights into their own solution-oriented approaches using Python, in tandem with frameworks like Caffe, in order to tackle unique HPC development challenges in parallel programming.

Of course, many advancements in supercomputing are tied to the hardware that powers it. With the release of the latest Intel Xeon Phi processors and other Intel Scalable System Framework technologies, developers have at their fingertips powerful HPC system building blocks. Members of the Intel Xeon Phi processor users group (IXPUG) will be onsite at the conference, sharing details about their real-world experiences with these new technologies, and offering tips for getting the most from them.  Also in attendance, Intel experts will share their own insights for maximizing HPC performance.

With such a compelling lineup of industry experts sharing their expertise with attendees this year, Intel expects a full house in Salt Lake City! To learn more about the 2016 HPC Developer Conference, and plan ahead to get the most from their time at the event, attendees should visit Intel’s conference website which offers a complete listing of the conference’s technical sessions. Be sure to register today to save a seat, and then prepare to fasten your seatbelt! This is the HPC conference you don’t want to miss.