This year’s Annual Society of HPC Professionals Technology Event is a don’t miss event! We have a great lineup of speakers from the HPC & AI community.
It will once again be held at the beautiful Shell Woodcreek campus. There will also be a virtual option for those who cannot attend in person.
| 8:00am | Venue opens | Registration, breakfast, networking, sponsor exhibits (in-person only) |
| 9:00am | Welcome and opening remarks Doug Norton, President HPC Society | Welcome and overview of the day, including important facility information. Plus an exciting announcement about the Society |
| 9:15am | Morning keynote address –Five Big Questions for HPC-AI in 2025 Addison Snell, Co-Founder & CEO Intersect360 Research | Addison Snell of Intersect360 Research will give an overview of the state of the HPC-AI market, focusing on major questions facing an industry at a tipping point. Insights will be based on the latest market research fueled by the HPC-AI Leadership Organization (HALO), including the current state of HPC-AI budgets and long-term outlook for the HPC-AI market. |
| 10:00am | Replacing legacy ML tooling with secure open source MLOps platform in financial sector: ensure security, stability and automation Andreea Munteanu, AI Software Alliance Manager, Canonical | Organizations from financial services already started their AI journey, having a number of projects running in production. Infrasutrcture that is used to develop and deploy such initiatives is often a series of tools, put together without deep integration. They influence the maintanability of the infrastructure, challenging developers to spend more time on tooling than ML projects. This talk will explore the key considerations for replacing legagy ML tooling with open source MLOps platform, keeping in mind the security and compliance requirements of the industry. It will present automation opportunities, to ensure scalability, stability and portability. |
| 10:45am | Break and networking | |
| 11:00am | Driving Innovation: Insights on HPC/AI/QC/Cloud Architectures to Support the Future of Science & Engineering Srikanth Gubbala, Head of HPC Infrastructure (Global), Applied Materials | This talk explores how the integration of High-Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, and Quantum Computing is revolutionizing the future of science and engineering, with a special focus on the semiconductor industry. Cloud computing now plays a pivotal role in extending HPC capabilities, enabling elastic scaling, accelerating simulation workloads, and fostering global collaboration in silicon design and advanced manufacturing. The session will showcase how next-generation cloud architectures, combined with AI-driven automation and quantum advancements, are driving faster innovation cycles, enhancing R&D productivity, and opening new frontiers in computational science and engineering. |
| 11:45am | Lunch and networking | |
| 1:00pm | Powering the Future: Is AI Just Buzz or the Real Deal in Energy? Nefeli Moridis Ph. D. Global Head of Subsurface Energy Solutions, NVIDIA | As global demand for more efficient energy solutions rises, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly touted as a transformative force in the energy sector. But is AI truly driving meaningful innovation, or is it simply the latest industry buzzword? This presentation explores the current and potential roles of AI across the energy value chain—from predictive maintenance, to reservoir management, to renewables in the energy sector. By examining real-world case studies, emerging technologies, and the challenges of implementation, we aim to separate the hype from the reality. Attendees will gain a critical understanding of AI’s tangible impact on energy systems today, and the strategic considerations necessary to harness its full potential in powering the future. |
| 2:00pm | Megatrends and emerging futures of HPC & AI Shahin Khan, CXO, Board member, Analyst | How come there are so many big technology trends around us right now? IoT, 5G, AI, Crypto, Quantum, Cybersecurity, Robotics, Space Tech, Metaverse, Bio tech, and on and on. What’s going on? What do they impact? And do they have anything to do with HPC? We discuss these and propose a formulation in a historical context. |
| 2:45pm | Using GenAI to autoconfigure HPC/AI server infrastructure Shardool Pathak, Software Engineer | In this talk, Shardool will dive into how his service, Cloud Cascade, utilizes generative AI to simplify and accelerate HPC/AI infrastructure configuration. He will explore how AI can automatically generate optimized infrastructure setups tailored to specific workloads, perform intelligent cost analysis across major cloud platforms, and enable seamless cloud-to-cloud conversion. By combining these capabilities, Cloud Cascade helps organizations of all sizes make high-performance computing more accessible, efficient, and cost-effective. |
| 3:15pm | Break and networking | |
| 3:30pm | Roadmap to Quantum Value: The Power of a Billion Minds Whurley, Founder & CEO, Strangeworks | Strangeworks is a group of experienced serial entrepreneurs, enterprise software developers, and quantum physicists who seek to humanize quantum computing and make it accessible to everyone. As whurley will share, it is time to talk about quantum computing in a non-physics way to reach an audience bigger than the 0.1% of scientists on the planet. The Strangeworks ecosystem provides access to over 100 quantum computing resources and features quantum computers from IBM, Rigetti, Aquila, IQM, D-Wave, and many others, all in an easy-to-get-started environment that allows you to deploy this technology of tomorrow, today. |
| 4:15pm | Panel Discussion: HPC, AI, Quantum, and the Future of Science | Addison Snell will lead a fun and dynamic panel including Srikanth Gubbala, Nefeli Moridis, Shahin Khan, Shardool Patha, and whurley. |
| 5:00pm | Wrap up and networking Doug Norton, President HPC Society | |
| 6:00pm | Venue closes |
Co-Founder & CEO of Intersect360 Research
Addison Snell is a veteran of the High Performance Computing industry and the co-founder and CEO of Intersect360 Research, delivering data and insights covering the HPC-AI market and coordinating the HPC-AI Leadership Organization (HALO).
He launched his company in 2007 as Tabor Research, a division of Tabor Communications. He brought the company independent in 2009 as Intersect360 Research together with his partner, Christopher Willard, Ph.D. Under his leadership, Intersect360 Research has become a premier source of market information, analysis, and consulting for the high-performance computing (HPC) and hyperscale industries worldwide. Addison is a frequent keynote speaker and panel moderator at industry events, has testified before the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission Congressional Subcommittee, and was named one of 2010’s “People to Watch” by HPCwire.
Head of Global HPC Infrastructure, Applied Materials
Srikanth Gubbala is a global technology leader with over 20 years of experience in High-Performance Computing (HPC), cloud transformation, and infrastructure modernization. In his current role as Head of Global HPC Infrastructure at Applied Materials Inc, he leads a high-performing international team and drives the delivery of scalable HPC solutions while executing a strategic technology roadmap.
He specializes in the end-to-end planning and execution of HPC services, including design, implementation, maintenance, and adaptation. He works closely with CAD and design teams to develop custom solutions that enhance engineering productivity and operational efficiency. He consistently evaluates new technologies to optimize performance, streamline processes, and minimize downtime. His current focus includes integrating GenAI solutions into silicon development flows to improve design and verification processes.
Global Head of Subsurface Solutions, NVIDIA
Nefeli Moridis is the global head of subsurface solutions for NVIDIA’s global energy team. She focuses on accelerating high-performance computing applications and leads the AI initiatives for subsurface problems. These include seismic, reservoir, and CCUS solutions for the energy industry.
Prior to joining NVIDIA, Nefeli worked in the oil and gas industry as a reservoir engineer and consultant, focusing on projects in unconventional reservoirs in the U.S. and internationally. She has been invited to present at over 50 energy events since joining NVIDIA and has published eleven SPE papers that she has presented at SPE conferences worldwide.
Nefeli holds Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, a M.Sc. from the French Institute of Petroleum (IFP School) in Reservoir Engineering, and a B.Sc. from the University of Texas at Austin in Petroleum Engineering.
whurley is founder and CEO of Strangeworks, a quantum computing startup that removes the barriers to quantum, so you can turn what if into what is, with the most complete quantum ecosystem available. He is an Eisenhower Fellow, A Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Founder of the Quantum Computing Standards Workgroup at the IEEE, the first Ambassador to CERN and Society, a contributor to TechCrunch on the topic of Quantum Computing, and the co-author of “Quantum Computing For Dummies” and “Quantum Computing For Babies”.
Prior to starting Strangeworks he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS]. He came to Goldman Sachs via the acquisition of his second startup, Honest Dollar. Prior to Honest Dollar whurley founded Chaotic Moon Studios which was acquired by Accenture [NYSE: ACN].
AI/ML & MLOps Product Manager, Canonical
Andrea leads AI at Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu. She helps organizations drive scalable transformation projects with open source AI.
With a background in data science across industries like retail and telecommunications, she helps enterprises make data-driven decisions with AI. She is passionate about open source and amplifying its impact across regions and industries. Andrea enjoys sharing her knowledge, mentoring young professionals and having an educational impact in the industry.
CXO, Board member, Analyst
Shahin Khan analyzes technologies, policies, and marketing practices that define the Information Age. This means tracking the top technologies that enable Digital Transformation (DX), such as IoT, 5G, HPC/AI, Cryptocurrencies, Quantum, Space, Fusion, etc. Every organization must understand them, in one place, because success depends on when and how to take what actions. Otherwise, they become buzzwords that cost a lot but won’t move the needle. Technology is central to geopolitics and its impact on society and business. That has driven our concept of techno-politics. Finally, I track and practice the latest in B2B marketing and especially as it applies to strategic growth, transformation, and change acceleration.
You can see some of this thinking in the podcasts I co-host, my presentations on SlideShare, on our YoutUbe channel, and in the reports/webinars/blogs on OrionX.net.
Software Engineer
Shardool Pathak is a software engineer focused on simplifying HPC deployments across major cloud providers. As the founding engineer of Cloud Cascade, he’s currently building an intelligent abstraction layer that transforms complex HPC infrastructure setup into an automated and cost efficient process.
Previously, Shardool worked on delivery station operations optimization, implementing backend solutions for shift planning automation at Amazon. His work with AWS serverless technologies helped scale the system across NA and EU regions, contributing to millions in labor cost savings. A Computer Science graduate from UMass Amherst, Shardool is passionate about software engineering and tackling complex infrastructure challenges. He is focused on making high-performance computing more accessible and cost-effective through innovative cloud solutions.
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