The University of Tulsa College of Engineering and Natural Sciences hosted its third annual Oklahoma High-Performance Computing Competition for supercomputing students in April. Participants from Oklahoma universities, colleges, technical schools and high schools were invited to learn and demonstrate their skills in high-performance computing.
Also known as supercomputing, high-performance computing is applied to many disciplines such as physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics and biology. Students with high-performance skills and the ability to operate supercomputers solve multidisciplinary topics and are instrumental engineers skilled in computer programming, hardware and web domains. Examples of high-performance computing include modeling quantum mechanics or searching large medical data sets to determine which protein structures are effective in fighting disease.
In addition to hosting the Oklahoma High-Performance Computing Competition every year, TU offers its students a supercomputing minor that can be completed in 15 credit hours. Key courses include foundational mathematics, foundational programming, high-performance computing and other electives.
“Many industries face a shortage of professionals with high-performance computing skills that will play a central role in future technological developments and advancements of human society,” said Associate Professor of Computer Science Peter Hawrylak. “We host the competition to encourage students to learn about the skillset and pursue careers in the field. The high-performance computing minor also helps meet industry demands.”
Results from this year’s competition include the following division winners:
High School First Place – Programming Track 1
Moore-Norman Technical School
Undergraduate First Place – Programming Track 1
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Second Place
The University of Oklahoma
Third Place
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Undergraduate First Place – Programming Track 2
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Graduate First Place – Programming Track 2
The University of Oklahoma
Event sponsors included the Tulsa section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Tandy Professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology John Hale and Associate Professors Hawrylak and Mauricio Papa organized the competition.
Learn more about TU STEM initiatives.