Attend the Fall 2021 HiPerGator Symposium

UFIT is excited to announce that Jiang Bian will be the keynote speaker at the Fall 2021 HiPerGator Symposium. Dr. Bian, associate professor and director of Cancer Informatics and UF’s e-Health core, will speak about the collaboration with NVIDIA researchers to create GatorTron™. The Symposium will be held on Thursday, Oct. 21.

Calls for presenters and general event registration is now open.

Begun in 2018, the format of the HiPerGator Symposium has become so popular that two symposia are now scheduled each year. Each symposium features a series of lightning talks from postdoctoral fellows and students who discuss their research using HiPerGator and HiPerGator AI. Their talks immediately follow the keynote presentation, with the poster sessions completing the symposium. The event has proven to be an excellent way to share research and discuss potential future collaborations with fellow attendees.

Anyone with questions about the Fall 2021 HiPerGator Symposium may email Training and Biocomputing Specialist Matt Gitzendanner or AI Applications Specialist Ying Zhang.

Develop Competencies with Practicum AI

Registration is now open for the first-ever offering of Practicum AI. The program runs Sept. 7 through Nov. 30.

Practicum AI is comprised of hands-on learning experiences designed to teach the coding skills and conceptual AI understanding needed to apply AI methods. The Practicum AI consists of a core set of modules as well as specializations in particular types of AI methods. UFIT is offering the first iteration of Practicum AI face-to-face, with the inaugural participants helping to guide and refine the program for future offerings. Anyone considering applying should note that additional work outside of class time is required to prepare and complete the exercises. For the fall 2021 program, Practicum AI participants are expected to have basic proficiency in Python.

Practicum AI enrollment is limited to 25 participants. The Sept. 7 introductory presentation, held via Zoom, is open to everyone. After the introductory presentation, remaining sessions will be on Zoom as well in person in the UF Informatics Institute seminar room on Tuesdays from 10:40 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact Research Computing Training Team Lead Matt Gitzendanner.

Options for Using HiPerGator and HiPerGator AI

HiPerGator and HiPerGator AI can be used for teaching and research by UF faculty and faculty from Florida’s state universities. Options for using University of Florida supercomputing resources are as follows:

1. For teaching a class, allocations are free and last for one semester.
2. For research, allocations can be purchased for periods ranging from three months to several years. The rates are listed at https://www.rc.ufl.edu/services/rates/.
3. A free three-month trial allocation may also be requested. Trial allocations can be used to develop a course and to explore HiPerGator’s use for research. Interested faculty should complete the trial application form. Upon completion of the trial period, faculty will work with UFIT to find the best way forward for continuing their use of HiPerGator and HiPerGator AI.
4. Colleges and departments can also request a free three-month trial allocation to be shared between faculty in the unit. This option provides access for learning about AI and preparing to include AI in courses at no cost to individual faculty. Details of a basic AI Starter Allocation are available on the https://www.rc.ufl.edu/artificial-intelligence page.

HiPerGator has been successfully operating on the financial model described above since 2013. Financial support is due to significant investment from the Provost and Senior VP for Academic Affairs, the VP for Research, and the Office of the VP and CIO. Anyone with questions about UFIT’s computational resources and support for teaching or research may contact UFIT Research Computing Director Erik Deumens.