ISC 2026 in Hamburg once again proved to be one of the most important meeting points for the international HPC community. Throughout the week, NHR4CES contributed to the conference program with tutorials, workshops, poster presentations, Birds-of-a-Feather (BoF) sessions, and a series of engaging Sofa Talks at the joint NHR booth.
The week began with two half-day tutorials led by Christian Terboven from the NHR4CES CSG Parallelism and Performance. The sessions encouraged lively discussions and valuable exchanges among participants, setting the tone for an exciting week of scientific interaction.
At the joint NHR booth (J10), visitors had the opportunity to learn more about NHR4CES activities, explore collaboration opportunities, and discuss access to computing resources. Throughout the exhibition, the booth served as a hub for networking and dialogue within the HPC community.
Sofa Talks at the NHR booth
A particular highlight was the continued success of the NHR4CES Sofa Talk series, originally launched in 2021. This year’s discussions addressed a range of timely topics, including scientific visualization, international HPC networks and AI strategies, energy-aware data centers, and coordinated HPC training development. Bringing together experts from academia and research infrastructures, the sessions fostered valuable conversations on the future of high-performance computing and its growing intersection with artificial intelligence.
NHR4CES researchers also played an active role in shaping the conference program. Christian Wassermann contributed to discussions on trends in energy-efficient supercomputing, while Marc-André Hermanns moderated a Sofa Talk focused on strengthening and coordinating HPC training activities across institutions.
Another major highlight was the 10th International Workshop on In Situ Visualization (WOIV), where Marcel Krüger and Tim Gerrits from the CSG Visualization served as workshop chairs. The workshop brought together researchers and practitioners to discuss the latest developments in in situ visualization and workflow optimization for large-scale simulations.
The Community
Beyond the technical program, ISC 2026 once again demonstrated the importance of personal exchange. Discussions with researchers, users, and representatives from NHR centers across Germany highlighted shared challenges and opportunities in areas such as user support, training, sustainability, and the integration of AI into HPC environments.
These conversations continue to strengthen collaboration across the NHR Alliance and contribute to the advancement of research infrastructures nationwide.
As ISC 2026 comes to a close, NHR4CES looks back on a week filled with inspiring presentations, productive discussions, new connections, and valuable insights. We would like to thank everyone who visited the NHR booth, participated in our sessions, and contributed to making this year’s conference such a memorable experience.
We are already looking forward to returning to ISC in Hamburg next year.
