HPCwire Awards Honors 4 PSC Projects

A promising new avenue for treating Parkinson's disease, an amazing genetic commonality among very different species that learn how to vocalize (including humans), a simulation that partners AI with humans to train the next generation of water treatment engineers, and the National AI Research Resource collaboration (NAIRR) underlie four annual HPCwire Awards won by PSC this year. Marking the 15th time PSC has been recognized among and by its peers in the high performance computing (HPC) community, the awards were presented at the 2024 International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC24), in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 18, 2024.

The list of winners was revealed at the SC24 HPCwire booth, as well as on the HPCwire website: https://www.hpcwire.com/2024-hpcwire-awardsreaders-editors-choice.

"These awards exemplify the capabilities and dedication of the PSC team in supporting a diversity of workloads on Bridges-2 and, including our Neocortex system, in artificial intelligence," said Barr von Oehsen, Ph.D., director of PSC. "It is gratifying to see that their expertise, knowledge and commitment to supporting research and education across the country is being recognized."

The coveted annual HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards are determined through a nomination and voting process with the global HPCwire community, as well as selections from the HPCwire editors. The awards are an annual feature of the publication and constitute prestigious recognition from the HPC community. They are revealed each year to kick off the annual supercomputing conference, which showcases high performance computing, networking, storage and data analysis.

This year PSC won four awards:

• Editors' Choice: Best Use Of AI Methods for Augmenting HPC Applications
  Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and the University of British Columbia used AI and HPC to identify potential inhibitors for LRRK2, the primary genetic cause of familial Parkinson's disease. Using computing resources at PSC and the San Diego Supercomputer Center, their method narrowed 4.5 billion molecules to 14 promising candidates, potentially accelerating drug discovery for the disease affecting over 500,000 Americans. See https://www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-events/2024/0212_team-wins-cache-drug-discovery-challenge.html
• Readers' Choice Award: Best Use of AI Methods for Augmenting HPC Applications
  A multi-institutional team from the University of California Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University, used machine learning on PSC's flagship, NSF-funded Bridges-2 supercomputer, allocated via U.S. NSF's ACCESS program, to identify 50 gene regulatory elements in the brains of humans, bats, whales, and seals associated with vocal learning across mammals. This research revealed parallel genetic evolutionary paths for vocalization and a potential link to autism spectrum disorder in humans. See https://www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-events/2024/0229_psc-vocal-learning-genes.html
• Editors' Choice Award: Best Use of HPC in Industry (Automotive, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Chemical, etc.)
  Carnegie Mellon researchers used Bridges-2 to create a virtual water treatment plant, enabling AI to learn from veteran engineers' responses to simulated breakdowns. This human-AI knowledge sharing aims to train new engineers and address potential staff shortages in water treatment facilities. See https://www.psc.edu/human-ai-knowhow-share-for-h2o-treatment/
• Readers' Choice Award: Best HPC Collaboration
  As one of the nation's many contributors to the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot, including academic institutions such as Indiana University, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Purdue, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Texas Advanced Computing Center, and more, PSC makes available to the national science community AI research resources including PSC's flagship Bridges-2 system and the unique Neocortex AI research computer. See https://www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-events/2024/0125_psc-neocortex-ai.html

"This year, as we celebrate HPCwire's 35th anniversary covering HPC and SC, and as we are at the advent of an HPC-led AI transformation, the 2024 Readers' and Editors' Choice Awards certainly reflect these exciting events," said Tom Tabor, CEO of Tabor Communications, publishers of HPCwire. "Throughout the world, we see grand challenge problems that can only be explored and solved because of HPC, now aided by AI. Rarely do these accomplishments come to light, much less are they recognized for their contribution to society. Between our worldwide readership of HPC experts and the most renowned panel of editors in the industry, the Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Awards represent resounding recognition of the many deep and varied HPC accomplishments throughout the world. Our sincerest gratitude and hearty congratulations go out to all of the winners."

More information on these awards can be found at the HPCwire website (www.HPCwire.com) or on X through the hashtag #HPCwireRCA24.