Together with NVIDIA and the OpenACC organization, NERSC is hosting an Open Hackathon from July 16 to 18, 2025, with introduction and preparation days on July 2 and 9.
Part of the annual Open Hackathon Series, this multi-day, intensive, hands-on event is designed to help computational scientists and researchers port, accelerate, and optimize their applications on a variety of data center architectures, including CPUs and GPUs.
The event pairs participants with dedicated mentors experienced in programming and targeted application areas. Participants use a variety of programming models, libraries, and tools to realize performance gains and speedups. This year, NERSC’s hackathon targets objectives that accelerate HPC scientific codes and workflows.
If you want or need to get your code running and/or optimized on a GPU-accelerated system, these hackathons offer a unique opportunity to set aside a few days, surround yourself with experts in the field, and push toward your development goals.
Format
The event consists of a kick-off day, where hackers and mentors video-conference to meet and develop their list of hackathon goals and get set up on the relevant systems. This is followed by a one-week preparation period before the 3-day intensive primary event.
Teams should include at least three developers who are intimately familiar with (some part of) their application. These developers will work alongside two mentors with GPU programming expertise.
Mentors and teams meet on July 2 in an optional remote session. The July 9 session kicks off a week-long preparation period before the three-day intensive primary event, July 16-18.
Days 0 and 1 (July 2 and 9) will be held virtually. Days 2, 3, and 4 (July 16-18) are hybrid. On-site workspaces will be available to NERSC-affiliated accepted teams on those days. Remote attendance is available for all others.
On-site attendees are responsible for bringing their equipment (e.g., laptop computer, power cord, etc.) and providing transportation.
Topic of Interest
This year, NERSC’s hackathon is targeting a wide array of performance and capability objectives that accelerate HPC scientific codes and workflows. You can find an overview of the variety of HPC workflows NERSC is advocating and advancing in our Workflows Whitepaper. But briefly, this event’s topics of interest include:
- GPU performance
- AI/ML performance and AI/ML workflows
- Data analytics
- Cloud-native support
- Workflow tools
- I/O optimization
- and much more…
How to participate
To participate in this hackathon, teams must apply by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. PDT, May 28, 2025. Acceptance will be confirmed by email.
While the hackathon is open to everyone looking to take their projects to the next level, NERSC collaborators will receive priority consideration.
Please note acceptance is not confirmed until you have received a confirmation email.
Please visit the Open Hackathon’s event page for more information or to submit a short proposal form.
Daily Agenda
Day 0 - Virtual (Optional): July 2
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 10:30 - 12 p.m. | Team/mentor meeting |
Day 1 - Virtual: July 9
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9 - 9:30 a.m. | Welcome + mentor introductions |
| 9:30 - 9:50 a.m. | Cluster overview |
| 9:50 - 10:30 a.m. | First team introduction presentations (3 minutes per team) |
| 10:30 - 11 a.m. | Break |
| 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Teams and mentors work in breakout rooms |
Day 2 - Hybrid: July 16
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Teams work on codes with mentors |
| 3 - 4 p.m. | Daily SCRUMS. Teams present highlights of daily progress (4 minutes per team) |
Day 3 - Hybrid: July 17
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Teams work on codes with mentors. |
| 3 - 4 p.m. | Daily SCRUMS. Teams present highlights of daily progress (4 minutes per team) |
Day 4 - Hybrid: July 18
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Teams work on codes with mentors. |
| 3 - 4 p.m. | Final team presentations (7 minutes per team) |