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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Morning Message, December 19, 2016

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Supercomputing Challenge staff and board would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Enjoy your break and keep working on your research and code. Please review the milestones at http://www.supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/sites/default/files/challenge-decathalon.pdf

 

AMAZON DONATES TO THE CHALLENGE

Christmas shopping is a great time to use Amazon Smile to make a donation to the Challenge. For your Christmas shopping please click on smile.amazon.com/ch/65-1207275 to start shopping. The service is at no extra cost to you. Please support the Challenge.

 

Interim Reports and Reviews

Interim reviews will begin in early January. If you haven’t submitted your Interim report please do so as soon as possible. So far we have 53 reports submitted. A list of submitted reports can be viewed at http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/submitted_interims. PLEASE check to see that we have your report posted and that the "Email Team" link includes all of your team members', and teacher's, correct email addresses.

 

LANL Foundation Scholarships

Application Deadline: January 17, 2017

Scholarship website: http://www.lanlfoundation.org/Scholarships/index.html

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and its employees, retirees, and contractors partnered with the LANL Foundation to create the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund (LAESF). The Fund’s goal is to provide scholarships that support the students of Northern New Mexico who are pursuing 4-year undergraduate degrees in fields that will serve the region. Awards are based on academic performance, leadership potential, critical thinking skills, and career goals. Financial need, diversity, and regional representation are integral components of the selections process.

 

Publish Your Research!

The Journal of Emerging Investigators publishes research for middle and high school students. JEI connects students with the PhD candidates and more advanced investigators who work in university research labs. When you submit your work to JEI, these researchers will give you meaningful feedback on your science. This feedback will help provide you with ideas on how to expand your question, more thoroughly investigate your hypothesis, or more accurately interpret your results.

Please visit JEI website for more info: http://www.emerginginvestigators.org/author-guidelines/

 

Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival

Date:                    Friday, February 24^th

Time:                    9:30am to 1:30pm

Venue:                 Santa Fe Community College

Teachers and students in 7^th and 8^th grades are invited to explore intriguing and accessible mathematical activities in a collaborative, non-competitive atmosphere. The activities will range from levels that middle school students will enjoy to levels that will challenge the brightest of students. The festival is free (lunch included) and open to all New Mexico teachers and students. Pre-register at www.STEMSantaFe.org (pre-registration required). For more information contact events@STEMSantaFe.org or call (505) 570-5402.

 

Central NM Science & Engineering Research Challenge

March 16-18, 2017 at UNM

Student registrations opened on December 1^st. Click Here to register.

Online entry deadline: February 6, 2017

Paperwork deadline: February 8, 2017

 

Summer Programs

It is not too early to think about programs/internships for next summer. See http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/resources#summer_programs for a list of possibilities.

 

Spaceport America Cup

Into rocketry? Want to put a New Mexico team on the map?

Check out the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association's Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition that will be held at the Spaceport in New Mexico. See http://www.soundingrocket.org/ and http://spaceportamericacup.com/ for details about the June 20-24, 2017 competition.

 

Events to Watch

The hour of code activities has Python activities, an App builder and Java script activities. Check it out: https://code.org/learn

AFRL's has a summer internship program. This is great opportunity to get your foot into the door for a job. Go to  http://afrlscholars.usra.edu/

 

If you need anything, please email consult1617 at supercomputingchallenge.org

Patty, Josephine, and David for the Challenge

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Morning Message, December 12, 2016

46 Interim Reports Submitted!

 

Congratulations on achieving another milestone! If you have not submitted your interim report yet, keep working on it and submit as soon as possible.

 

Please review the Interim Guidelines.

Submit your interim reports link: http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/interim

 

LANL Foundation Scholarships

Application Deadline: January 17, 2017

Scholarship website: http://www.lanlfoundation.org/Scholarships/index.html

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and its employees, retirees, and contractors partnered with the LANL Foundation to create the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund (LAESF). The Fund’s goal is to provide scholarships that support the students of Northern New Mexico who are pursuing 4-year undergraduate degrees in fields that will serve the region. Awards are based on academic performance, leadership potential, critical thinking skills, and career goals. Financial need, diversity, and regional representation are integral components of the selections process.

 

How Will Machine Learning Impact Your Life?

Every high school student should be asked to write an essay about the future. There are a handful of trends that are likely to make the decades following commencement quite different than it is today. Read more…

8 ways Machine Learning will improve education

 

Publish Your Research!

The Journal of Emerging Investigators publishes research for middle and high school students. JEI connects students with the PhD candidates and more advanced investigators who work in university research labs. When you submit your work to JEI, these researchers will give you meaningful feedback on your science. This feedback will help provide you with ideas on how to expand your question, more thoroughly investigate your hypothesis, or more accurately interpret your results.

Please visit JEI website for more info: http://www.emerginginvestigators.org/author-guidelines/

 

Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival

Teachers and students in 7^th and 8^th grades are invited to explore intriguing and accessible mathematical activities in a collaborative, non-competitive atmosphere. The activities will range from levels that middle school students will enjoy to levels that will challenge the brightest of students. The festival is free (lunch included) and open to all New Mexico teachers and students. Pre-register at www.STEMSantaFe.org (pre-registration required). For more information contact events@STEMSantaFe.org or call (505) 570-5402.

 

Central NM Science & Engineering Research Challenge

March 16-18, 2017 at UNM

Student registrations opened on December 1^st. Click Here to register.

Online entry deadline: February 6, 2017

Paperwork deadline: February 8, 2017

 

AMAZON DONATES TO THE CHALLENGE

Amazon makes a donation to the Challenge if you shop through the Supercomputing Challenge Amazon Smile site. Please click on smile.amazon.com/ch/65-1207275 to start shopping. The service is at no extra cost to you. Please support the Challenge.

 

Hour of Code

Did your school participate in the Hour of Code activities? Over 25 million people have done the Hour of Code in the last two weeks! Check it out: https://code.org/learn

 

Summer Programs

It is not too early to think about programs/internships for next summer. See http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/resources#summer_programs for a list of possibilities.

 

Spaceport America Cup

Into rocketry? Want to put a New Mexico team on the map?

Check out the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association's Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition that will be held at the Spaceport in New Mexico. See http://www.soundingrocket.org/ and http://spaceportamericacup.com/ for details about the June 20-24, 2017 competition.

 

If you need anything, please email consult1617 at supercomputingchallenge.org

Patty, Josephine, and David for the Challenge

 

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Afternoon Message, December 5, 2016

Interim Reports due in 5 days!!

Interim reports are due on December 10^th. The report should be more than 250 words, contain references from at least 5 sources, and citations. The report should answer the following questions:

• What is the project about? (the definition of the problem)
• How are you/do you plan to solve this problem computationally?
• What progress have you made up to this point? (research, code, etc.)
• What results are you expecting?   

Please review the Interim Guidelines.

 

Supercomputing Challenge on the White House Fact Sheet

The Supercomputing Challenge was listed on the White House Fact Sheet as one of the programs around the nation that is facilitating CS education. Please see the fact sheet at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0GmqQgNLrNIeGU1V3ptVFNqemc/view and look for the yellow highlighed New Mexico programs.

 

Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival

Teachers and students in 7^th and 8^th grades are invited to explore intriguing and accessible mathematical activities in a collaborative, non-competitive atmosphere. The activities will range from levels that middle school students will enjoy to levels that will challenge the brightest of students. The festival is free (lunch included) and open to all New Mexico teachers and students. Pre-register at www.STEMSantaFe.org (pre-registration required). For more information contact events@STEMSantaFe.org or call (505) 570-5402.

 

Central New Mexico Science & Engineering Research Challenge

March 16-18, 2017 at UNM

Student registrations opened on December 1^st. Click Here to register.

Online entry deadline: February 6, 2017

Paperwork deadline: February 8, 2017

 

AMAZON DONATES TO THE CHALLENGE

Amazon makes a donation to the Challenge if you shop through the Supercomputing Challenge Amazon Smile site. Please click on https://smile.amazon.com/ch/65-1207275 to start shopping. The service is at no extra cost to you. Please support the Challenge.

 

Events to Watch

The hour of code activities has Python activities, an App builder and Java script activities. Check it out: https://code.org/learn

AFRL's has a summer internship program. This a great opportunity to get your foot into the door for a job. Go to  http://afrlscholars.usra.edu/

 

Patty, Josephine, and David for the Challenge

 

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Supercomputing Challenge Tuesday Morning Message, November 29, 2016

Hope your break was an enjoyable!

Proposal Reviews

Proposal Reviews are meant to give you direction and a clear focus. Please make good use of your reviewer. Ask questions, make changes, travel in a direction you hadn’t considered before, or verify you were on the right track. Judges do evaluate that you heeded reviewer suggestions. It is professional to thank the Reviewer for their time and ask for more help if needed.

Interim Reports are your next Milestone

Interim Reports are due Dec 10^th ( the link for uploading is not up yet, so wait for that if you have it done early). You should at least know how you plan to model your project. Show a timeline of what you plan to do and who will do it. This report shows the reviewers and judges what you’ve learned even if you have changed direction (explain why if this is true, it shows you have thought it through). Cite your resources and know about your topic. Don’t forget to edit your work for grammar and spelling. If you need help editing, ask your English teacher.

AMAZON DONATES TO THE CHALLENGE

Support us when you shop! #StartWithaSmile at smile.amazon.com/ch/65-1207275 and Amazon donates to Supercomputing Challenge and it doesn’t cost you anything.

Events to Watch

An interesting article on high performance computing and animated movies:

http://www.enterprisetech.com/2016/11/23/disney-details-400000-hairs-on-mouse/?eid=328365116&bid=1597698

The hour of code activities has Python activities, an App builder and Java script activities. Check it out.

 https://code.org/learn

AFRL's has a summer internship program. This a great opportunity to get your foot into the door for a job. Go to  http://afrlscholars.usra.edu/

 

If you need anything, please email consult1617 at supercomputingchallenge dot org.

Patty, Josephine, and David for the Challenge

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Morning Message, November 21, 2016

Woo Hoo! Thanksgiving Week. MMMmmm good days ahead.

Proposal Reviews

You should be starting to receive Proposal Reviews this week if not all ready. It is professional to thank the Reviewer of their time and ask for more help if needed.

Interim Reports

Interim Reports are due Dec 10^th. Keep that milestone on your radar so that you submit it on time. By the end of October, it should be clear which direction you are taking on your project. You should have finished a big research push. You should at least know how you plan to model your project. Show a timeline of what you plan to do and who will do it. This report shows the reviewers and judges what you’ve learned even if you have changed direction. Cite your resources and know about your topic. Don’t forget to edit your work for grammar and spelling. If you need help editing, ask your English teacher.

Milestones

The month of December before break should be spent on honing in your project and clarifying the components of your model be it agent based or mathematical. Some of you may even have an idea of creating a physical model. If that is the case, then your plan should show it. For those of you coding, you need to hit the ground running in January if you haven’t already. Mentors would be a good addition to your team to help you through the rough spots. Ask Consult if you need help.

Events to Watch

Cartoon Network will air "The Signal" (S4|E23) of the Wonderful World of Gumball on November 28, this is part of the promotion for Hour of Code, CS Education Week. On Direct TV, that will be CneHD 296, Nov 28 6:30 pm, and CNw 297 9:30 pm.

Teachers: Want to do the Hour of Code activities? Check out https://code.org/learn
Lots of wonderful introductions to coding for all levels.

Air Force Research Labs have a summer internship program. This a great opportunity to get your foot into the door for a job. Go to  http://afrlscholars.usra.edu/

Interested in using GitHub? Here’s a nice intro. https://opensource.com/education/16/1/git-education-classroom

 

Enjoy the Break!

Patty, Josephine, and David for the Challenge

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Afternoon Message, November 14, 2016 

November goals:

• Have you CREATED A preliminary timeline and rough draft of plan?
• Have you begun your MAJOR RESEARCH PUSH to increase your knowledge of your topic? Your next report will need to show what you have learned and what are the variables that might affect your outcomes.

 

Reviewers are choosing your proposals to review. Some of you should have received reviews already. Let us know if you have not received a review by the end of the month. These reviews are done to help you find your way to resources to be successful, pay attention to what they say.

• Don’t hesitate to respond back with a thank you as they do this voluntarily.
• Ask more questions if you need clarification or have other questions. Pick that reviewers brain!

We do have about 18 missing proposals, if yours is one of those, you need to upload it. If you are having problems, email us at consult1617 at supercomputingchallenge.org. We will be glad to help!

Of the proposals submitted, we see a lot of teams have begun with a clear statement of the project and how they plan to approach it.  

• Never assume your reader knows what you intend to study, being specific is important.
• If you demonstrate what you already know, they can structure their responses to you.

 Here is the link if you’d like to see others proposals submitted  http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/231

 

Good Luck meeting your Goals this month!

Patty, David and Josephine for the Supercomputing Challenge

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Morning Message, November 7, 2016

The Kickoff has passed and we know a lot of you have starting working on your project. Let’s look at what should be done to this point.

MILESTONES

• PRELIMINARY RESEARCH ON TOPICS
  • Looking for any research like they propose to do.
  • Looking for more information on topic to expand knowledge
  • Looking for influencing variables
• WRITE PROPOSAL
  • Proofread
  • Submit proposal to Challenge Website
• BEGIN THINKING ABOUT PROJECT
  • How will you approach the problem
  • What other approaches might also work

 

For the Month of November you should be pacing yourself toward these goals.

 

• CREATE A preliminary timeline and rough draft of plan
• FIND MENTORS
• DIVIDE TEAM INTO JOBS (Researcher, Writer, Programmer.)
• MAJOR RESEARCH PUSH
  • Increase knowledge on topic
  • Discover Variables that might affect outcomes
• Decide on an appropriate Model for the project
  • Mathematical? Agent Based?, etc.

 

Currently, we are assigning your proposals to reviewers whose job it is to help you meet your goals. Teams should receive the reviews by November 21^st. Let us know if you have not received them so we can follow-up.

We do have about 20 missing proposals, if yours is one of those, you need to upload it. If you are having problems, email us at consult1617@supercomputingchallenge.org. We will be glad to help!

 

MACHINE LEARNING

An interesting primer on Machine Learning can be found at:

https://www.toptal.com/machine-learning/machine-learning-theory-an-introductory-primer

Here is some Google research on the topic: http://research.google.com/pubs/MachineIntelligence.html

-- 
David, Josephine, Patty,
Program Managers for the Supercomputing Challenge

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Morning Message, October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween!

Proposals

So far 60 proposals have been submitted at http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/231 but we think another that at least another 20 teams still need to submit their proposal. Please see http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/proposals for the guidelines and to submit a proposal. We do have one proposal that we can't identify the team/school, is your project about Green Transportation?

Proposal Reviews

We will be getting volunteers to review your proposals in the next few weeks so be on the lookout for emails from them. You might want to check that your email addresses are correct when someone clicks on the "Email Team" link next to your proposal.
-- 
David, Josephine, Patty,
Program Managers for the Supercomputing Challenge

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Morning Message, October 24, 2016

Proposals

Next week we'll be contacting volunteers to review your proposals so if you don't see your proposal posted at:

http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/231,

let us know, or submit it at:

http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=submit_proposal

Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code

December 5-11 is Computer Science Education Week. Since 2013, Code.Org has provided one-hour tutorials with the intent of getting students to experience one hour of computer science. Plan to organize an hour of code at your school, or a middle or elementary school that you have attended.

Foundation for Success classes

Check out these month-long Saturday classes from October 29^th through November 19^th in Albuquerque:

Explore your PC and Learn to Code and Make Lots of Money!

Lightweight, Wearable Tech Efficiently Converts Body Heat to Electricity

North Carolina State researchers have developed a new design for harvesting body heat and converting it into electricity for use in wearable electronics. The experimental prototypes are lightweight, conform to the shape of the body, and can generate far more electricity than previous lightweight heat harvesting technologies. Read more at: https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/09/wearable-teg-heat-harvesting-2016

Successes of Past Supercomputing Challenge Participants

We're always happy to hear from Supercomputing Challenge alumni. Read about Marisol Gamboa at:

https://www.llnl.gov/news/celebrating-hispanic-heritage-month-meet-marisol-gamboa

David, Josephine, Patty,
Program Managers for the Supercomputing Challenge,
 

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Supercomputing Challenge Monday Morning Message, October 17, 2016

Proposals

We are still working on posting your proposals and hope to have them all available by the end of the week.

Funding for Travel

Hopefully early next year (February??) we know if the year-end Expo and Awards Ceremony will be held in Albuquerque or Los Alamos. Matthew, one of the Challenge board members from Sandia National Labs, shared this with us recently:

"I know we have had problems getting students from more remote areas to the challenge, and have kicked around ideas for getting funding for it. Today I found www.donorschoose.org [1], which allows for a kickstarter-style fundraising campaign for small amounts of money to fund classroom-level activities, including travel to events and equipment. Lockheed Martin matches SNL donations of up to $250/employee, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seems to be matching many as well."

So, start exploring ways to fund your participation in Challenge events.

Summer Plans?

Think now about what you would like to do next summer. Several companies, like Sandia Labs and Los Alamos National Lab have summer internship programs and now is the time to start looking in to them. Watch the 1 minute video about Julia Craven who started as a summer intern at Sandia Labs and it turned into a full-time job. See other possibilities on the Challenge Resources web page: http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=resources#summer_programs

-- 
David, Josephine, Patty,
Program Managers for the Supercomputing Challenge,

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Supercomputing Challenge Wednesday Afternoon Message, October 12, 2016

 

Kickoff

It was great to see so many of you at the Kickoff this past weekend in Socorro. The gun has sounded for the start of the Supercomputing Challenge Marathon. Hopefully you are excited for the possibilities this year holds.

 

Teachers

We'll be sending out a survey to teachers soon for follow up information about the Kickoff.

 

Students

Contact Consult (consult1617@supercomputingchallenge.org) for any issues you might be having and we'll try to help out. There are folks willing to Skype with you to discuss your project.

 

Proposals

28 proposals have been posted at http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/231 so make sure yours is there.

 

TEAFs

We have 58 Team Entry Authorizations form so far. If you haven't submitted yours, along with the $40/student registration fee, please mail that in soon. (Step 6 at http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/registration.)

 

Computer Science is Changing Everything

In case you haven't realized it, no matter what field you want to go into, Computer Science is changing that industry.

Check out the Code.org five minute video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJqSu1IbcHg

 

Machines Rising

Check out six interesting articles from David's alma matter, California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.

TMI and the Informed Voter, The Food You Eat, Looking Inside You, The Shape of Cities, How Safe is Your Job and Before We Go Any Further . . . Cal Poly Computer science professors and other Cal Poly faculty experts guide us through the emerging world of a smarter class of machines.

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October 6, 2016

 

Registration in Joseph Fidel Student Center

Registration, pictures and campus tours are from 9:00-11:30 in the Joseph Fidel Student Union building (building #10 on the map) on Saturday morning. Lunch will follow in the cafeteria. See the General Schedule for more information. 

You will be selecting an Elective to participate in on Saturday night so check out the possibilities before you get to Socorro. You will also be given one of nine class schedules to follow during the Kickoff. There will be three "beginning" tracks which will use the NetLogo language, four "intermediate" tracks which will have some python programming and two "experienced" tracks with deeper computer science subjects.

 

NM Tech Escorts

Each track will have a New Mexico Tech student escorting the participants to each of the class locations and helping in those classes. They are in charge so please follow their instructions.

 

Help Desk Location

After the Saturday opening session, we'll set up a Help Desk in Speare 102 (the round building near the center of campus) where you can come if you get lost or need some help. There will be coffee there for teachers. If you need to contact one of us between Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, here are our cell phone numbers: David, 505-412-2558, Josephine, 505-709-7586, Patty, 505-220-7273.

 

Proposals

Twenty-two proposals have been submitted so far. We will try to post them publicly soon after you submit them but it is a manual process. See Proposals for details. Each team should bring a hard copy of their proposal with them to discuss with a scientist on Sunday morning.

 

Hotels

Hopefully all of the room changes have been made by now so to check which hotel you are at, see the housing lists.

 

Socorro Weather

Temperature predictions for Socorro are lows in the low 50s and highs in the low 70s, but there (currently) is an 80% chance of rain on Saturday so be prepared for that.

 

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October 3, 2016

 

Saturday Morning!

We hope to see many of you on Saturday morning at the Joseph Fidel Student Union building on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro. Plan to arrive between 9:00 and 11:30 to register in the lobby and get your t-shirts, schedules, jump drives and to take a quick tour of the NM Tech campus. Lunch will follow in the cafeteria then we'll head over to the Macey Auditorium for the Welcome Keynote Session. See http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/kickoff and http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/221.

 

Housing Lists

We have sent the lists to the hotels, but are still fielding changes. Check them out later this afternoon and let us know of any issues. http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/225

 

Proposals

Eight proposals have already been submitted. We'll try to get those publicly posted this week. http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/proposals

 

Machine Learning in the News

A combination of machine learning and game theory is being used to fight elephant poaching in Uganda. Read more at: http://qz.com/797996/a-combination-of-machine-learning-and-game-theory-is-being-used-to-fight-elephant-poaching-in-uganda/

 

Marvel Studio Contest for Girls in STEM!

Calling all girls who are interested in the STEM fields, ages 15-18, grades 10-12 to the DOCTOR STRANGE: THE MAGIC OF STEM CHALLENGE, learn more at: https://www.marvelstudiosstemchallenge.com/learn

 

Apply for 2016 Cutler-Bell Prize for Excellence in High School Computing
Every year, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing recognizes talented high school students in computer science. The intent of the program is to promote and encourage the field of computer science, as well as to empower young and aspiring learners to pursue computing challenges outside of the traditional classroom environment.

The application process involves a Challenge that focuses on having the student develop an artifact that engages modern computing technology and computer science. Judges will be looking for submissions that demonstrate ingenuity, complexity, relevancy, originality, and a desire to further computer science as a discipline. The application period closes November 1. If you need inspiration, check out last year's winners and their projects!

Four winners will be selected and each will be awarded a $10,000 prize and cost of travel to the annual ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing Reception, where students will demonstrate their programs and discuss their work. The prizes are funded by a $1 million endowment established by David Cutler and Gordon Bell.

 

More news later

We'll send out more messages this week to make sure you have all the details you need for a successful Kickoff.

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September 26, 2016

Greetings!

Registration

So far 325 students and teachers have registered to participate in the 27^th Annual Supercomputing Challenge.

Planning continues for the Kickoff at NM Tech in Socorro Oct 8-9. See the general schedule at http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/221

 

Team Makeup

This year we will assign team numbers after looking at the submitted Proposals and the TEAFs.

 

TEAFs

Please fill out and mail in your Team Entry Authorization Forms along with the $40/student registration fee. Purchase Orders will also be accepted.

 

Proposals

Read over the Proposal Pages, come up with a proposal for the project your team would like to work on this year and submit it. See the Template for the information desired on the proposal. Make sure you bring a printed copy of the proposal with you to the Kickoff.

 

Housing at Kickoff

Please let Consult know if you need housing for bus drivers or chaperones. About 200 participants said yes they are coming and about 100 participants said they weren't sure yet. That makes it tough to create the housing list. Right now we have http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/?q=node/225 which has the school name and in parenthesis after the name are the number of rooms needed by those saying yes and the number of additional rooms needed if the "Not Sure Yet" participant do come. We'll be coming up with specific housing lists in the next few days, but any more information you can provide would be helpful.

 

NASA Education Express Emails

Teachers, are you connected with NASA for STEM resources? Go to http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/Express_Landing.html where you can sign up for NASA's Education EXPRESS News Letter or "Science WOW!" weekly emails

 

LANL's Trinity Supercomputer

Challenge participants touring Los Alamos National Laboratory last April got to see either the Trinity machine or its unclassified companion Trinitite. Read about how Trinity is ushering a new age of supercomputing at: http://www.lanl.gov/newsroom/science-on-the-hill/2016/science-on-the-hill-trinity-ushers-new-age-supercomputing.php

David, Josephine, Patty,
Program Managers for the Supercomputing Challenge

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September 19, 2016

 

Welcome to the 27th Annual Supercomputing Challenge!

Web Page

On the Supercomputing Challenge web page, http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/, hover over Current Events in the top left corner and you can see quick links to this year's activities and events.

Kickoff

Planning is in full swing for the Supercomputing Challenge Kickoff which will be held at New Mexico Tech in Socorro on October 8th and 9th. Teams should expect to arrive between 9:00 am and 11:30 am on Saturday the 8th. Registration will be in the Joseph Fidel Student Union building where teams will get their schedules, Challenge t-shirts, and have their pictures taken. NM Tech students will be there to give tours of the campus before we have lunch in the cafeteria. There will be an after lunch keynote session, three classes, dinner, an evening keynote session and electives. Sunday morning will have three classes followed by lunch with a keynote session and then everyone will depart from Socorro. The Challenge will pay for meals and lodging for the weekend.

Proposals

Be preparing a proposal about the project you would like to work on this year and plan to bring it with you to the Kickoff. Submit your proposals on the Challenge web site, http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/proposals

Registration

Approximately 180 students and teachers from 28 different schools have registered for this year's Supercomputing Challenge. If you haven't registered yet (http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/registration). Registration deadline is tomorrow so that we can send off the t-shirt design with all the participating schools listed. Please register as soon as possible as we need to make food and housing plans and order t-shirts and such.

Theme

The theme for this year is "Supercomputing Around Us: Machine Learning". Read about how a company is using machine learning to predict crop yields at:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/4/12369494/descartes-artificial-intelligence-crop-predictions-usda

 

Questions?

Send us an email, to consult1617 at supercomputingchallenge.org

David, Josephine, Patty,
Program Managers for the Supercomputing Challenge

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August 30, 2016

Are you ready for the 27th Annual Supercomputing Challenge?

Registration

Start forming teams to participate in the 27th annual New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge.

Registration will open on September 1st
http://www.supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/registration

Registration deadline is September 20th.

Proposals

Teams need to form and start thinking about their projects and preparing a proposal. See http://www.supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/proposals for guidelines.

Our theme for this year will be Supercomputing Around Us: Machine Learning.

Kickoff Conference

The Kickoff Conference will be held October 8-9 at NM Tech in Socorro, New Mexico. More at: http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17/kickoff

There will be special professional development opportunities for teachers at the Kickoff Conference, a two-hour session on Saturday afternoon and a two-hour session on Sunday morning.

Support

Support the Supercomputing Challenge when you shop! #StartWithaSmile at http://smile.amazon.com/ch/65-1207275 and Amazon donates to the Supercomputing Challenge.

Local Support

Do you need help raising funds for your participation in the Supercomputing Challenge?

Check out https://www.donorschoose.org/ where you can raise money for your registration fees and other associated costs of participating in the Supercomputing Challenge.

Looking forward to a wonderful, exciting, challenging year.

David, Josephine, Patty,
Program Managers for the Supercomputing Challenge

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August 22, 2016

We are getting excited about the 27th Annual Supercomputing Challenge.

The Kickoff will be October 8-9, 2016 at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.

Please let us know if you will be able to help by filling out this Google Form.

We are still updating the http://supercomputingchallenge.org/16-17 web site so please bear with us.