Three Questions with SC20 Exhibits Chair Jamie Van Randwyk

Jamie Van Randwyk, SC20 Exhibits Chair, shares some tips for navigating the amazing array of technologies, products, solutions, and services from cutting-edge innovators that will be on display in the SC Exhibit Hall in Atlanta.

 

Jamie Van Randwyk
SC20 Exhibit Chair

 

 

Describe the Exhibits experience at SC. Who is there, and what are they showing?

 

Jamie Van Randwyk: SC Exhibits feature the latest technologies from the world’s leading vendors, research organizations, and universities. Exhibitors include leading companies in the industry, universities and research organizations, and brand-new companies with interesting technologies on display, from all around the world. You’ll find information on new processors, networking technologies, software, and cooling systems, plus presentations from international scientists on their latest research results. Because this is such an important conference, you can expect to see many movers and shakers from these companies, universities, and organizations right there on the exhibit floor.

There’s more to exhibits than just the exhibition floor. The Exhibitor Forum showcases a broad range of topics like cutting-edge hardware, advanced software solutions, and data management infrastructure. In addition, the SC Job Fair connects participating organizations with students and postdocs seeking internships or jobs. And the Exhibitor Suites are a place for those crucial meetings between companies and/or universities and research organizations.

 

Why should conference attendees visit the exhibit floor or go to the Exhibitor Forum?

 

JVR: The exhibit floor is a great place to see the technologies that will shape the future of large-scale technical computing and data-driven science, and learn about the research that is going on in the field. You also get a chance to meet some of the people who make all this happen, or even meet the right person to enable your next big opportunity in HPC! Many of the exhibitors also hand out ‘swag’ – t-shirts, bags, pens, or toys – so make sure you have enough space in your suitcase.

At the Exhibitor Forum, you get to hear from leaders in industry about what’s going on at the forefront of HPC. It’s a great opportunity to see how the field is advancing from an industry perspective.

 

The exhibit floor is huge! Do you have any advice to prevent getting overwhelmed?

 

JVR: The exhibit floor is indeed huge, and in fact this year’s exhibit floor is shaping up to be the largest on record. My primary advice is to go in with an idea of what you want to see. There is an interactive online map linking the exhibitors and their locations. You can search by topic too, for example if you’re interested in software tools you can search for only exhibitors who do that. My second piece of advice is to wear comfortable shoes, because the exhibit floor is more than 168,250 square feet (that’s 15,630 square meters)!

For a quick break to check your email or have a short on-floor meeting with a colleague, we will also have attendee lounges with comfortable seating and strong Wi-Fi signals – a great place to rest your feet.

This year SC is also providing space in an adjacent exhibit hall for local food trucks, so that attendees and exhibitors alike can eat on-site and get back to networking on the exhibit floor as quickly as possible.

See you in Atlanta!

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Rebecca Hartman-Baker
SC20 Communications Team