NTU Team Secures the Highest Linpack Benchmark Award at SC24 in Atlanta, USA

Our NTUHPC team, supernova has achieved a remarkable milestone at the SC24 Student Cluster Competition in Atlanta, USA. Competing against the brightest student teams from top-tier universities around the world, our team proudly secured the prestigious Highest Linpack Benchmark Award in this competition.

The SC24 Student Cluster Competition is a globally recognized event where student teams design, build, and operate cutting-edge high-performance computing (HPC) clusters to tackle real-world scientific challenges.

3^rd from left: Saeng-Nil Nattakan (BCE, Year 3), Bryan Shan Guanrong (BCG, Year 2), Ng Woon Yee (CS, Year 4), Zhang Danxu (Team Leader, CS, Year 4), Chua Ze Ming (CS, Year 2), Chanpaisis Nattapol (CS, Year 3), Dr. Loke Yuan Ren (Team Advisor), Dan Dietz (SCC Chair) and Dr. Darshan Sarojini (SCC Vice Chair),

This year's competition featured a strict power limit of 4500W, making it exceptionally challenging to optimise performance. With most teams deploying similar hardware configurations, achieving the highest Linpack performance required not only technical expertise but also innovative strategies and meticulous fine-tuning of the system.

Team lead, Zhang Danxu is optimistic about their success, "Our team's journey to winning the highest Linpack benchmark prize at the student cluster competition was like tuning a race car for peak performance. We poured our hearts into optimizing every component of our supercomputer, pushing the boundaries of what's possible. This experience not only sharpened our skills but also showed us the incredible potential of high-performance computing to tackle real-world challenges. We're proud of what we achieved and excited to use our knowledge to drive innovation in the future."

Our team’s success in achieving the highest Linpack performance highlights their outstanding proficiency in system design, optimization, and problem-solving in HPC. This achievement is a testament to the team's dedication, rigorous preparation, and innovative approach to pushing computational boundaries.  Despite the high-pressure, the team supported each other throughout their time there. “The competition was a 48-hour intense session of compiling and debugging. We organised shifts to ensure that at least two people were in the booth at all times. To keep spirits high, we played our favourite songs and initiated discussions with other teams, hoping to gain insights and learn from one another," said team member Ng Woon Yee.   View the competition poster here.

The team at work in Atlanta, USA