NEW ORLEANS — (BUSINESS WIRE) — October 29, 2014 — From November 16th-21st, New Orleans will host the annual Supercomputing Conference (SC14) and feature two Invited Plenary Talks focused on how high performance computing (HPC) will continue to play a pivotal role in both the healthcare and entertainment industries.
Supercomputers are the world's largest and fastest computers that have 10,000 times the processing capability of a home computer and are capable of performing quadrillions of calculations per second. Listed below are descriptions of these talks:
The Transformative Impact of Parallel Computing for Real-Time Animation
Lincoln Wallen, DreamWorks Animation
Over the course of 20 years, DreamWorks Animation has been a leader in producing award winning computer-generated (CG) animated movies such as Shrek, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon 2. In order to scale numerous simulations such as explosions or hundreds of animated characters in a scene, the studio requires a high-performance-computing environment capable of delivering tens of millions of render hours and managing millions of files for one film. Five years ago, the studio made a decision to re-architect key tools for animation and rendering from the ground up. Through the extensive use of parallel computing the studio has solved the fundamental need to maximize artist productivity and work at the speed of creativity. DreamWorks Animation demonstrates the fully transformative impact ubiquitous parallel computing will have on the complex and varied workflows in Animation.
Meeting the Computational Challenges Associated with Human Health
Philip Bourne, National Institutes of Health
By the end of this decade healthcare will be a predominantly digital enterprise and for the first time (surprising to say perhaps) patient centric. Such a shift from analog research and diagnosis and a provider centric healthcare system to an open digital system is a major change with opportunities and challenges across all areas of computation. I will describe some of these challenges and opportunities and indicate how the NIH is meeting them and how we need your help.
During conference week, 10 additional Invited Talks will feature leaders in the areas of high-performance computing, networking and storage. Invited Talks will typically concern innovative technical contributions and their applications to address the critical challenges of the day.
Additionally, these talks will often concern the development of a major area through a series of important contributions and provide insights within a broader context and from a longer-term perspective. Attendees will hear about pioneering technical achievements, the latest innovations in supercomputing and data analytics, and broad efforts to answer some of the most complex questions of our time.
To view a full list of Invited Talks go to: http://sc14.supercomputing.org/program/invited-talks
About SC14
SC14, sponsored by IEEE Computer Society and ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) offers a complete technical education program and exhibition to showcase the many ways high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis lead to advances in scientific discovery, research, education and commerce. This premier international conference includes a globally attended technical program, workshops, tutorials, a world class exhibit area, demonstrations and opportunities for hands-on learning. For more information on SC14, please visit: http://sc14.supercomputing.org.
Contact:
SC14
Brian Ban, 773-454-7423