NERSCPowering Scientific Discovery for 50 Years

Local High School Students Tour NERSC

Outreach educates students about careers in scientific computing

February 17, 2015

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Jon Bashor, computing sciences' communications manager, gives students an inside look at supercomputing.

Last week, two groups of students from East Bay high schools descended on the Oakland Scientific Facility to learn more about supercomputing and networking.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, 30 students from a computer science class at Doherty Valley High School in San Ramon visited. Richard Gerber, head of NERSC’s User Services Group, gave the students an introduction to the center and scientific computing, followed by a tour of the machine room.

On Thursday, Feb. 12, 31 students from the Computer Academy at Oakland Technical High School rode the bus down Broadway for a tour of the machine room and a Q&A session on computing-related careers. David Skinner and Jon Bashor gave the students of an overview of NERSC and the kinds of problems tackled by users. After a machine room tour, the students spent 45 minutes in a career-focused Q&A session with Skinner, Annette Greiner and John Shalf. The visit was part of the school’s Career Pathways program aimed at bridging what students learn in the classroom with career options at local institutions. »See more photos on Facebook.

Oakland Tech students pose in front of NERSC's flagship supercomputer nick named

Oakland Tech students pose in front of NERSC's flagship supercomputer nick named Edison in honor of the American inventor. (Select image to enlarge.)


About NERSC and Berkeley Lab
The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility that serves as the primary high performance computing center for scientific research sponsored by the Office of Science. Located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, NERSC serves almost 10,000 scientists at national laboratories and universities researching a wide range of problems in climate, fusion energy, materials science, physics, chemistry, computational biology, and other disciplines. Berkeley Lab is a DOE national laboratory located in Berkeley, California. It conducts unclassified scientific research and is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy. »Learn more about computing sciences at Berkeley Lab.