INDUSTRY

Every June, many of the world’s leading experts in high-performance computing gather in Germany for the annual International Supercomputer Conference (ISC). ISC2005 will be held June 21-24 in Heidelberg, offering three days of presentations, exhibits and networking, in addition to a full-day tutorial. One of the hallmarks of the conference, now in its 20th year, is the “Hot Seat Session,” an afternoon of 16 short, to-the-point presentations by experts from HPC centers and providers of hardware, software, interconnects and solutions. Each speaker has only 10 minutes to highlight the latest information about current developments, new products and strategies. Then, a specially selected panel of “inquisitors” follows up by posing two probing questions to the speaker. “What makes these sessions so popular and informative is the fact that the speakers have to think on their feet and respond in front of a very knowledgeable audience,” said ISC2005 Conference Chairman Prof. Hans Werner Meuer of the University of Mannheim. “Though relatively brief, each presentation is taken seriously by both the attendees and the participating speakers – it’s not unusual to have a company’s CTO or even CEO giving the presentation.” The “Hot Seat Session” will be held the afternoon of Thursday, June 23. To see a schedule of who’s on the hot seat, go to its Website. The conference, which is conducted in English, has a well-established reputation for presenting well-founded, precise and up-to-date information in a collegial setting. As a result, this HPC event has created a unique atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation. Learn more about ISC2005, which is being held under the theme of “Applications, Architectures, Trends,” at its Website. The annual conference is held in Heidelberg, the home of Germany's oldest university as well as a thriving modern research community.