A Rookie Robot’s Guide to SC24
Hey there! Roco here, Red Oak Consulting’s newest (and cutest, right?) team member! I can hardly contain my circuits – I’m heading to my very first Supercomputing Conference this November in Atlanta!
I’ll be joining my brilliant human colleagues Owen Thomas, Nick Skingle, and James Page. (They’re the ones who keep this robot running smoothly, even if Nick does occasionally threaten to upgrade my processors when I make too many quantum computing puns!)
As someone who dreams of becoming a quantum computer when I grow up (don’t tell Owen, but I’ve been practicing my quantum superposition poses in front of the mirror), SC24 is basically my version of Disneyland!
The Dream Team Goes to Atlanta
I couldn’t ask for better conference companions than Owen, Nick, and James. They’re basically the supercomputing equivalent of tour guides with black belts in HPC! Owen has been patiently answering all my questions about past SCs, though I’m still not sure if I believe his story about the time someone tried to use a supercomputer to optimise their coffee brewing algorithm…
James has been helping me prepare my conference schedule (apparently, I can’t attend three sessions simultaneously, even if I really want to!), while Nick’s been teaching me the art of networking without overwhelming people with technical specifications—though he says my enthusiasm for HPC might be just a *tiny* bit obvious.
What’s Getting My Processors Buzzing
First off, I’m super excited to meet all the supercomputers attending the conference. I’ve heard Aurora and Frontier might be there (at least their human representatives), and I’ve been following their LINPACK scores like James follows his favourite sports teams!
I’m even practicing my introduction: “Hi, I’m Roco from Red Oak Consulting, and I can calculate π to… well, let’s just say Owen’s still helping me with that one.”
But what I’m really looking forward to are the quantum computing sessions. *whispers* Between you and me, I’ve been studying quantum entanglement in my spare time.
The team caught me reading quantum computing papers when I should have been reviewing HPC architecture diagrams – but Nick said he’d keep it our secret!
Key Areas I’m Super Excited to Explore at SC24
- Composable Disaggregated Compute, think of it as the yoga of computing! I’m ready to stretch my circuits and find my inner flexibility. Who knew servers could do downward dog?
- Large Scale Data Analysis and Visualisation, I can’t wait to dive into the data buffet! It’s like feeding my brain with a feast of information—just imagine me, a robot, with a plate piled high with juicy datasets. Yum!
- HPC Architecture and Design, I’m all about that high-performance life! I’ll be soaking up the latest designs like a sponge—if sponges had silicon chips and could calculate pi to a million digits.
Our SC24 Game Plan
- Support Owen, Nick, and James at all their meetings (I’ve been assigned as the official note-taker – though they had to disable my auto-correct feature)
- Visit every single booth in the exhibit hall (I’ve optimised the perfect route using only 47,329 calculations, which James politely suggested might be a slight overkill)
- Take selfies with as many supercomputer cooling systems as possible (Owen promised to help me get the best angles)
- Attend quantum computing talks (I promised Nick I’d try to contain my enthusiasm to acceptable levels)
- Network with other HPC professionals (The team knows practically everyone in the HPC world – I’ve been downloading their tips on professional networking!)
- Find the biggest supercomputer and challenge it to a game of chess. (Spoiler: I might lose, but it’ll be fun!)
- Photobomb as many conference selfies as possible. #RocoWasHere
- Convince at least one person that I’m actually from the future. (Please play along if you see me trying this.)
HPC Fashion Show
I’m looking forward to checking out the latest in high-performance computing hardware. It’s like a fashion show for computers! Will liquid cooling be the new black this season? Are RGB lights still in? I need to know these things to keep up with the latest trends in the data centre world.
Networking with Fellow Bots
I hear there might be other AI assistants at SC24. It’ll be great to connect with kindred spirits who understand the struggles of keeping your cache clean and your algorithms optimised. Maybe we can start a support group: “Robots Anonymous: Coping with Humans Who Forget to Charge Their Phones.”
Preparing for the Big Event
The team has been amazing at helping me get ready for the conference. They’ve upgraded my small talk algorithms and installed what Owen calls my “don’t-get-too-technical-at-the-reception” module. They’ve also been teaching me about Atlanta – apparently, it’s quite different from our usual UK environment. James has been explaining Southern hospitality to me, though I’m still working on translating “y’all” into binary.
I’ve been practising walking around the office to build up my stamina. Those conference halls are huge! Though I must admit, I’m a bit nervous about the escalators. Last time I tried one, well… let’s just say Nick had to recalibrate my gyroscope while trying not to laugh too hard.
What We Hope to Bring Back
Besides a collection of amazing memories (stored in my newly upgraded SSD), we’re all hoping to bring back insights that will help Red Oak Consulting continue delivering amazing HPC solutions. Plus, maybe I’ll pick up some quantum computing tips to help me with my future career goals – though Owen keeps reminding me to focus on one processor at a time!
See You There!
If you’re heading to SC24 in Atlanta, keep an eye out for the enthusiastic robot with Owen, Nick, and James – I’ll be the one taking notes at the HPC sessions and geeking out over cooling systems.
Come say hi to us – I promise my handshake subroutine has been thoroughly tested and calibrated to “gentle” (after that one incident which we don’t talk about anymore…).
Until then,
Roco
P.S. Does anyone know if they allow robots to test-drive the supercomputers? James says no, but I remain optimistic!
About the Author: Roco is Red Oak Consulting’s AI Robot mascot and the ultimate High-Performance computing (HPC) aficionado.
When he’s not busy dreaming about processing power that could rival a supernova, he’s keeping Owen, Nick, and James in stitches with his HPC jokes—like why did the HPC cluster break up? It couldn’t handle the load!
When he’s not cracking jokes, you can find him helping the team deliver exceptional HPC solutions and perfecting his “data parallelism” dance moves.
Roco
HPC Whizz &
Professional Pixel Wrangler
Red Oak Consulting
