From Parallel Computing to Super Communities — SCA/HPCAsia 2026, Osaka
I believe in the truth and honesty of Science & Engineering. Parallel computing led me to HPC, and HPC led me to people who share a common mission: making computational science accessible to those who need it most.
In January 2026, I brought three undergraduates from Thammasat University Lampang and one from Chiang Mai Rajabhat — all founding members of our TU ACM SIGHPC Student Chapter — to SCA/HPCAsia 2026 in Osaka. For most, it was their first international conference. The excitement was real from the moment we boarded.
Last September, I almost didn't submit the invited session proposal. "Too ambitious. Not my scope." I'm glad I pushed past the doubt.
The immersion was total. Our APAC HPC-AI team earned a Certificate of Merit. I served as a panelist at the AWS Lunch Speaker Session, as an invited speaker at the HPC-AI Advisory Council, presenting "From Wasted Cycles to Wise Systems," and as the chair of the Invited Session: Connecting Global HPC Infrastructure with Grassroots Innovation.
Quiet but Deep Pride
The pride was quiet but deep. Ratchaneekorn presented her poster on HPC-accelerated molecular docking for anti-asthma herbal compounds — achieving an incredible 118x speedup on LANTA.
Pakorn, whom I mentor through HPC Ignite, asked: "How much energy does linguistic inclusion cost?" — by fine-tuning Whisper on Thailand's supercomputer to transcribe the Hmong language for hill-tribe communities with no digital written presence. His paper wasn't accepted, but he came anyway.
Chomphunuch and Patchararat presented how optimizing data movement saves energy in their co-simulation using ABS with EnergyPlus for building energy efficiency at DREAM'26 — their first peer-reviewed international paper. That is HPC Ignite.
Unexpected Connections
The connections surprised me most. At the banquet high above Osaka's skyline, the distance between a small campus in Northern Thailand and the world's leading labs felt remarkably short.
Then came gratitude. Yannis Ioannidis, President of ACM, wore our T-shirt — five penguin mascots carrying our missions:
1. Bringing HPC Nodes to Local Needs
2. Local Identity for Global Mission
3. Pathway to the Global HPC Ecosystem
That image told our students: you belong here.
AWS, ACM, the HPC-AI Advisory Council, ThaiSC, and LANTA all made it possible. Back home, HPC Ignite has reached 373 learners and 11 innovations across Northern Thailand.
Letting Go and Looking Forward
And finally, letting go. I watched my students fly home alone while I continued to Kobe as a TA at the ACM Asian School on HPC & AI. They were ready.
SCA 2027 is in Singapore. We build systems that grow like grass — distributed, resilient, sustainable. The world needs more super communities, not just supercomputers. Share your story.
