ACCESS Staff Newsletter – September 2023

Inside ACCESS is a monthly newsletter produced for all ACCESS program staff. It contains program-wide announcements and updates from each of the program's service areas. Questions/comments? Email us at communications@access-ci.org.

ACCESS held a productive, virtual quarterly meeting Sept. 18-19, addressing high-priority program undertakings and facilitating thoughtful discussion among members who shared diverse points of view.

The ACCESS Coordination Office (ACO) facilitated a session focused on defining program goals. During a break-out session, teams brainstormed and refined key performance indicators that will help inform the Executive Committee (EC) with finalizing program goals for ACCESS.

The External Advisory Board (EAB) also convened – in which everyone at the quarterly meeting was invited to attend – and offered additional thoughts on the program goals session with an expected update at its December meeting. The EAB also discussed:

• evaluation planning status within the program
• updates on discussion topics from PEARC
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts
• ACCESS user communities

The ACCESS Metrics team gave a presentation on FY22 Usage Analysis from a variety of views. Quarterly meeting attendees also discussed broadening participation efforts and direction, which conferences ACCESS should attend and how education fits into the program's focus beyond research.

Parallel sessions included topics on "Innovative Pilots: Progress & Pathways," led by Allocations personnel, and "ACO Tools, Processes, Communications and Improvement," led by the ACO. The meeting closed with reports from standing committees and working groups across the program and brief comments from ACO leadership.

There will not be a quarterly meeting in December as the EC will meet in person. The next all-staff quarterly meeting is expected to be in person in March 2024.

Join ACCESS DEI Working Group

An ACCESS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Working Group has recently been formally chartered. If you're interested in contributing to the development of an ACCESS-wide DEI plan, please contact Agbeli Ameko or Shelley Knuth for an invite to upcoming meetings.

Researcher Advisory Committee Agenda Set for Oct. 23

The Researcher Advisory Committee will meet on October 23. The agenda for the meeting can be found here and topics are always welcome. Please submit topics through the Allocations feedback form.

Next Proposal Submission Window Dec. 15

Allocations is starting a semi-annual cadence for ACCESS Allocations Review Committee meetings for Maximize ACCESS project types. The next proposal submission window opens December 15 and will remain open until January 31, 2024. Allocations will begin or renew on April 1, 2024. In the meantime, the Allocations team will continue to assist researchers with their needs and work to improve the processes for all participants involved.

ACCESS at Tapia Conference

Agbeli Ameko presented for ACCESS at the Tapia Conference in Dallas on September 13-15. Ag received feedback and questions on topics such as resources available for students who are new to HPC, how to get accounts on systems for testing purposes and low friction options for using ACCESS resources for course instruction.

Open to Feedback

Allocations is always interested in receiving feedback on services and offerings and responded to 26 feedback form submissions in the past quarter. Feedback can be made via this form.

Metrics Framework Paper Submitted

An Allocations Metrics Framework paper has been submitted to Metrics2023. Allocations looks forward to sharing the paper, if accepted.

Check Out Refreshed Travel Grant Program

ACCESS Support is pleased to present the newly refreshed Community Engagement Program (CCEP). This travel grant program has been revamped and simplified with new opportunities. We are looking for everyone to participate – from brand new researchers and communities to experienced ACCESS users – to enhance and grow the community.

Please share these opportunities with your communities, university and friends. Please contact Alana Romanella with any questions. Thanks for helping make research computing resources and workforce development better!

Globus Data Transfer Service to Continue

ACCESS Operations maintained the program-wide Globus subscription for the first year of ACCESS, providing premium Globus features to all ACCESS-allocated resources and users. This ACCESS-wide subscription is now ending, but thanks to the strong support of ACCESS resource providers, no interruption of service is expected. Learn more here.

New Resource Provider Coordination Meetings

ACCESS Resource Provider Coordinator Tom Maiden is now offering biweekly RP Coordination meetings to provide opportunities for RP technical and support staff to ask questions, share ideas and information, and hear about what's happening with ACCESS. The next meeting will take place Friday, October 6 at 12 p.m. ET. Add these Zoom meeting details to your calendar!

ACCESS Acceptable Use Policy Updates

The ACCESS Acceptable Use Policy has been updated and is now available here.

Share Your SC23 Events with Us!

The ACO wants to help promote your Birds of a Feather sessions, presentations and other events to make sure you have maximum attendance. Please enter your information on our SC23 wiki even if your proposal hasn't been accepted yet.

Vote Now in HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards

Polls are open for the 2023 HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards! Nominations are in, and now it's up to HPCwire readers to pick their favorites to recognize the best and brightest innovators within the global HPC community. Our ACCESS program is up for several! Make your voice heard! Help tell the story of HPC in 2023 by submitting your vote here for The HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards now! Polls close October 1.

HPC Innovation Excellence Awards

The HPC Innovation Excellence Awards are also accepting nominations. Sponsored by Hyperion Research and the HPC User Forum, these awards recognize noteworthy achievements by users of high-performance computing, which includes simulation, AI and other advanced analytics, quantum computing and other methods and technologies. Applications must be submitted by October 10 to be eligible for the SC23 awards announcement.

PEARC23 ACM Proceedings Now Available

The Association for Computing Machinery Proceedings are now available and include full papers, short papers and posters from the most recent PEARC Conference held in Portland, Oregon. Of note, for PEARC23, the visualization short papers have been included in the proceedings.