High School Students Invited to Take an Odyssey in Supercomputing

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Jan 10, 2001) — 

OSC (Ohio Supercomputer Center) and The Ohio State University (OSU) will host their 13th annual Summer Institute, SI 2001: An Odyssey in Supercomputing, July 16-27, 2001.

Computing is not limited to academia and business anymore. It has quickly become a normal part of our daily lives. Rapid development in computing has impacted our work, play, education and commerce. Those who stay on the pulse of technological change today will be the information leaders of tomorrow.

To prepare these future technology leaders, OSC will offer a two-week residential program that gives academically-outstanding Ohio high school freshmen and sophomores an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with some of the world's best supercomputers.

OSC employs a faculty of experts in the fields of high performance computing (HPC) and related sciences to teach the students some of the basics such as UNIX, C Programming, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), Fortran, AVS, and parallel processing techniques.

Experts in science and technology will lecture about the latest issues in their respective fields. They will provide rare insight into their jobs -- often sparking interest in a career that students may not have considered previously.

Students will work together on team projects to apply what they learn in classes and lectures. Using scientific method and OSC resources, they will work in small groups to solve real, complex science and engineering problems. On the last day of SI, students will formally present their results to an audience including family members, legislators and OSC guests.

And SI is not just for students. During the past few years, OSC has invited Ohio high school teachers to participate along side the students. SI is a great opportunity for teachers and students to work collaboratively in a challenging environment. Teachers even receive college credit for their participation.

OSC's SI has been an invaluable alternative learning experience for more than 100 Ohio students since 1989. Many students agree that the technical and interpersonal skills gained from SI laid the foundation for their educational and professional successes.

"I was expecting to be really challenged, and I was. I expected to learn some pretty cool stuff, which I did. I expected it to be fun, and it was. The program lived up to my expectations and more," said Krissy Woyach, 2000 Summer Institute Participant, Bishop Watterson High School, Columbus, Ohio.

Current 1999-00 high school freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to apply for SI. Applications should be available starting February 1, 2001 and are due no later than April 3, 2001. Students will be notified of their acceptance no later than April 17, 2001.

Since the program is state-supported, activities and materials are provided at no cost to the participants. Students will be responsible, however, for the cost of housing and some meals in the OSU dorms. If financial assistance for housing is needed, OSC will attempt to find resources to assist the student.

For more information, contact Elaine Landwehr at (614) 292-0890 or landwehr@osc.edu. Or visit the website: http://www.osc.edu/SI.