WestGrid Seminar Schedule - Fall 2011
The WestGrid and Compute Canada Seminar Series is shared live with researchers at participating WestGrid institutions via videoconference. The series explores how WestGrid and Compute Canada resources are being used to advance research investigations in the sciences, engineering, medicine and humanities. There are two tyoes of seminars: resource training seminars and research-based seminars. The series is open to all users and researchers in Canada.
Researchers are invited to attend in person at a WestGrid Access Grid site. If your institution is not listed as a WestGrid accessible site and you would like to attend, please contact us for more information.
If you have any questions about this seminar series, or have a request or idea for a topic to be covered, please email info@westgrid.ca
The Fall 2011 WestGrid Seminar Series
OCTOBER 12 | Introduction to WestGrid
Patrick O’Leary, Director of Operations, WestGrid
TOPICS COVERED:
- Overview of the WestGrid/Compute Canada structures
- Existing systems and new systems coming online
- General operations issues
- How to obtain a WestGrid/Compute Canada account
- Purchase plan for the coming year
- RAC process: Who should apply and how to apply
- Who to contact for assistance
OCTOBER 19 | Using WestGrid Resources
Edmund Sumbar, Programmer and Systems Analyst, Academic Information and Communication Technologies, University of Alberta
TOPICS COVERED:
- Getting started on WestGrid infrastructure
- Components of a typical WestGrid cluster
- Accessing one of many clusters available to you
- The process of running a job
- Writing a full-featured job script to enable you to take full advantage of the computing resources
NOVEMBER 16 | Job Scheduling Explained
Martin Siegert, Head, Research Computing, and WestGrid Site Lead, Simon Fraser University
TOPICS COVERED:
- How the job sequence is determined by the scheduling software
- How job priorities are calculated
- How RAC allocations are taken into account
- How to take advantage of “backfill”
- Getting the most out of the system
NOVEMBER 23 | Using WestGrid Resources to Simulate and Understand Elementary Chemical Processes
A Research-based Presentation by Georg Schreckenbach, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba
TOPICS COVERED:
- Using computational quantum chemistry to simulate and understand elementary chemical processes
- Testing of approximate computational methods for the simulation of olefin polymerization (production of plastic materials)
- Modelling the chemistry of uranium and other heavy elements
NOVEMBER 30 | Installing Software Packages on WestGrid Systems
Belaid Moa, HPC Specialist, University Systems, University of Victoria
TOPICS COVERED:
- Global software installation on a WestGrid system
- User-based software installation: When, where and how?
- Specific software package customization
- Software installation challenges faced by WestGrid users
- Effective guidelines to address these challenges
Times:
| Oct 12 and 19 | Nov 16 , 23 and 30 |
| BC: 12 - 1:00 p.m. AB: 1-2:00 p.m. SK: 1-2:00 p.m. MB: 2-3:00 p.m. |
BC: 12-1:00 p.m. AB: 1-2:00 p.m. SK: 2-3:00 p.m. MB: 2-3:00 p.m. |
Stay tuned for more details, including session abstracts.
