Suffolk Reporter

The Workshop on Modeling & Simulation of Systems and Applications (ModSim) marked its 13th year in 2024, focusing on sustainable computing. Held at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle, ModSim 2024 brought together experts to discuss the sustainability of the growing demand for computing.

Google’s Chief Technologist for High Performance Computing, Bill Magro, delivered the keynote address titled “HPC at a Crossroads: Navigating the AI and Cloud Revolution.” Magro highlighted artificial intelligence's disruptive impact and its role in advancing hardware-software systems sustainably. "A hallmark of the ModSim workshop has been hosting leading computing experts from all disciplines and research areas," said Adolfy Hoisie, chair of the Systems, Architectures, and Emerging Technologies department at Brookhaven National Laboratory and ModSim 2024 Organizing Committee Chair. "Bill Magro proved to be an outstanding continuation of that practice."

International speakers addressed various aspects of sustainable computing. Fredrik Robertsén from LUMI Leadership Computing Facility discussed sustainability measures at Finland's pre-exascale machine hosted by CSC–IT Centre for Science. Ana Lucia Varbanescu from the University of Twente spoke about reducing waste through model-based design-space exploration. Simon McIntosh-Smith from Bristol Centre for Supercomputing explained energy-efficient architectures' environmental impact.

Luca Carloni from Columbia University emphasized using architectural heterogeneity to create sustainable platforms despite integration challenges. Udit Gupta from Cornell Tech focused on ecological implications related to AI workloads and HPC data centers, describing efforts to estimate carbon emissions through computer architectural models.

The Dr. Sudhakar Yalamanchili Award was presented to Kevin Brown for his work on hybrid simulations combining parallel discrete event simulation (PDES) with machine learning (ML). "It’s truly an honor to receive an award associated with Dr. Yalamanchili," Brown said.

Brown praised the workshop as a valuable forum for feedback and insights into developing sustainable ecosystems for modeling and simulation tools. With this year's theme on sustainability, he found inspiration for future research.

As planning begins for next year's workshop, Hoisie reflected positively on ModSim 2024: "We had another great year with a new, exciting theme that brought together some of the best minds in modeling and simulation and sustainable computing."

To learn more about ModSim 2024, visit the workshop’s homepage.