Conference Guide for Attendees

pearc17.pearc.org

Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing 2017

July 9–13, 2017 — New Orleans, Louisiana

We look forward to seeing you in the Big Easy later this summer for PEARC17! To help

make your experience that much more enjoyable, we’ve assembled a few reminders

and tips for getting the most out of your time in New Orleans.

Getting Ready

● Preparing for PEARC17

● First-Time Attendees

● Registration and Information Desk

● PEARC17 Conference Store

Getting Situated

● How PEARC17 is Organized

● Wireless Access

● Conference Hotel and Floor Plan

● Presenter Needs

● A Word About Sustainability

Getting Social

● Get Connected with PEARC17 Social Media

● Networking and Social Events

● Monday Night Dinner Meet-Ups

● Dietary and Special Needs

Getting Around

● Printing, Shipping, and Receiving Services

● Transportation Options

● Enjoy New Orleans — Safely!

● Planning Your Visit to New Orleans

pearc17.pearc.org

GETTING READY

Preparing for PEARC17

Start planning now to get the most out of your

conference experience! The best place to start is at

the PEARC17 website. Here you will find descriptions

of all the activities and a detailed Technical Program

Schedule that you can use to build your own

personalized agenda. Just log into, or create a new,

Sched account and you can bookmark your favorite

sessions and sync them to your phone or calendar.

No need to download yet another app, but be sure to

bookmark the schedule on your phone by visiting:

https://pearc17.sched.com/mobile

If you have not already done so, we strongly

encourage you to make your lodging arrangements

at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, the official

PEARC17 conference hotel. The number of attendees

staying at the conference hotel directly affects our

ability to offer special programs and keeps

registration fees from rising. Staying at the

conference hotel also enriches your conference

experience, making it easy to attend evening social

events and network with colleagues outside of

formal conference sessions.

Poster printing

Order in advance at this link provided by FedEx Office

at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, and have your

poster waiting for you when you arrive:

https://docstore.fedex.com/hco5008b

First-Time Attendees

Okay, technically, we’re all first timers to a PEARC

conference, but if you’re new to this community—

Welcome! Attending a professional conference for

the first time can be a daunting experience, but with

just a bit of preparation and some inside advice, you

can navigate like a pro. Take a look at our handy

guide for first-timers to get some practical tips that

will up your conference game.

Registration and Information Desk

After you check in at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans,

please proceed to the PEARC17 Registration Desk,

behind the escalators in the Empire Foyer (Level 2) to

wear at all times, as well as your pocket

schedule. The registration desk will be open as

follows:

● Sunday, July 9: 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.

● Monday, July 10: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

● Tuesday, July 11: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

● Wednesday, July 12: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

● Thursday, July 13: 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

We strongly encourage tutorial participants to

Monday morning.

The registration desk also serves at the general

information desk for PEARC17 attendees. If you need

to get a message to another attendee, want to

inquire about ad hoc meeting space, are looking for a

lost phone, start here. If we don’t have the answer,

we will help get you one!

PEARC17 Conference Store

Don’t miss the chance to get your limited edition

PEARC17 polo shirt! Order before June 23 and get it

in time for the conference. These unique fashion

statements are available only through the Land’s End

PEARC17 shop:

https://business.landsend.com/store/pearc/

pearc17.pearc.org

GETTING SITUATED

How PEARC17 is Organized

You’ve told us that many of your most important

interactions happen outside of formal conference

sessions. We heard you loud and clear and hope that

you notice a bit more breathing room in the daily

schedule, from longer morning and afternoon

breaks, to extended lunch breaks, and to an earlier

“stop” time each day, with the Technical Program

ending by 5 p.m. We encourage you to make the

most of this extra time and use it to deepen and

enrich your PEARC17 and New Orleans experience.

There are six main components of the PEARC17

Conference: Tutorials, Technical Program, Exhibitor

Forum, the ARCC Workshop, Student Program, and

co-located Workshops and Events.

● Tutorials. Monday is Tutorials Day. Members

of the PEARC17 community are offering a

slate of half-day and full-day options on a

wide range of topics.

● Technical Program: At the heart of the

conference is the Technical Program,

providing multiple forums for sharing

research, development, discovery, and

applications in high performance computing,

networking, storage, and analysis, including:

o Plenary Speakers

o Technical Tracks

o Posters

o Birds of a Feather

o Visualization Showcase

o Awards Luncheon

Conference registration is needed for

attending these sessions.

● ARCC Workshop: The 2017 Advanced

Research Computing on Campuses (ARCC)

Best Practices Workshop is co-located with

PEARC17 and ARCC sessions run in parallel

with other Technical Program sessions.

Your conference registration allows you

attend any and all ARCC sessions.

● Exhibitor Forum: Our exhibitor community is

a vital part of the PEARC17 conference. This

year, we are offering an exciting Exhibitor

Forum that includes case studies and

customer stories from manufacturers,

vendors, and HPC service providers. The

Exhibitor Forum is a tremendous opportunity

for exhibitors and attendees alike. You can

find the full schedule of Exhibitor Forum

presentations in the conference schedule. We

encourage you to attend the Forum sessions

in Bolden 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Exhibitor Forum is open to all registered

attendees.

● Student Program: The PEARC17 conference

strives to build and support a strong and

diverse HPC student community at both the

undergraduate and graduate levels, through

professional development, opportunities to

learn from mentors, and engagement with

PEARC17’s technical sessions. The Student

Program includes special events, a Modeling

Day activity and presentations, interactions

between students, mentors and exhibitors,

and provides Student Volunteers to help the

conference run smoothly.

Student programs are open to registered

students, mentors, and by special invitation.

pearc17.pearc.org

● Co-located Workshops and Events: To

broaden the impact of the PEARC17

conference, we have made possible the co-

location of workshops and special events that

align closely in scope and mission.

Many of these events are open to registered

conference attendees, but several are by

invitation-only. Please refer to the conference

website for details.

Wireless Access

PEARC17 works with the hotel to eliminate typical

challenges experienced with hotel wireless networks.

For the best experience, we encourage attendees to

use the PEARC17 wireless network. It is public, open,

and unencrypted, so be sure to take the necessary

precautions to protect your network traffic (e.g., use

VPN connections and secure https websites).

If you experience problems with the conference

network, please report it to PEARC17 staff so that we

can investigate and work with the hotel to resolve

the issue.

Conference Hotel and Floor Plan

First things first: Pay attention at the elevators! Scan

your room key or select your floor before you get

on—unless you don’t care where you wind up.

Almost all conference activities will take place on the

Level 2 of the hotel, in the Empire Ballroom and

Foyer, the Strand rooms and foyer, the Bolden

rooms, and—unofficially—in the Starbucks. See the

hotel floor plan for detailed information.

A few events, including some Student Program

activities, take place on Level 4. The Student

Networking event is on Level 3 in the 8 Block

Restaurant.

Presenter Needs

For presenters, PEARC17 is BYOL—Bring Your Own

Laptop. Presentation rooms for the Technical

Program will have standard AV set-ups with a

projector, screen, and microphone. If you need

anything else, ask the Student Volunteer assigned to

your session or stop by the Registration Desk, and

we’ll do our best to get you what you need.

Student Volunteers will also be contacting you after

your presentation with instructions for collecting and

preserving your slides.

A Word About Sustainability

PEARC17’s theme is Sustainability, Success, and

Impact, and we’ve put this into practice wherever

possible. We’ve made conscious choices to reduce

our impact by eliminating unnecessary give-a-ways,

using water stations instead of bottled water, and

foregoing boxed lunches. And we’ve allowed the

hotel to select locally sourced food whenever

possible.

We’ve also opted for biodegradable name badge

holders and printed a smaller-format pocket guide.

And, before you leave, we want those badge holders

back! PEARC18 is already planning to re-use the

badge holders next year and will have a prize

drawing from all returned name badges. We will also

have recycling bins available outside the closing

session and near the Registration Desk for your

pocket guide.

Finally, the Hyatt Regency employs a progressive

conservation program that extends from the front

desk, to guest rooms, to the kitchen and restaurant

facilities, to recycling stations throughout the

building.

pearc17.pearc.org

GETTING SOCIAL

Get Connected with PEARC17 Social

Media

PEARC17 welcomes the use of social media during all

sessions, keynotes, bird-of-a-feather, and social

events, including live tweeting.

PEARC17 is on Twitter and Facebook to help you

connect with colleagues, discuss what’s going on, get

the latest news from exhibitors, post videos and

images about your experience, and share ideas about

what to do (and where to eat!) in New Orleans.

● Twitter: Follow @PEARC_17 and use

#PEARC17

● Facebook: Like the PEARC17 page, check for

updates and share your own

https://www.facebook.com/PEARChpc

● Our website: http://pearc17.pearc.org/blog

We ask social media users to follow these best

practices:

● Treat all participants, attendees,

conference and hotel staff, and exhibitors

with respect and consideration, and to

value a diversity of views and opinions.

● Honor requests not to post photos of

speakers or other attendees.

● Be respectful and collaborative.

● Communicate openly with respect for

others, critiquing ideas rather than

individuals.

● Avoid personal attacks directed toward

other attendees, participants, conference

and hotel staff, and suppliers/vendors.

Networking and Social Events

There are two major networking and social events

scheduled by the PEARC17 conference that are open

to all attendees. These start early and end early, so

be sure to make plans to experience New Orleans

dining and nightlife afterwards. (Stop by the

Registration Desk for suggestions.)

● Posters Reception, Tuesday, July 11, 5:30

p.m. – 7:30 p.m., will be held in Strand Foyer

with complimentary refreshments and

appetizers. With the opening of the posters,

this will be a key time to interact with poster

authors and socialize with other attendees.

● Visualization Showcase and Reception,

Wednesday, July 12, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.,

will feature hors d’oeuvres and live Zydeco

music from T’Canaille! See the latest high-

performance visualizations—vote for your

favorite—and network with colleagues new

and old. The Showcase reception will be held

in the Empire Ballroom and Foyer. Attendees

can purchase guest tickets at the Registration

Desk.

The Student Program also has several other events

open only to students and/or mentors, and a number

of invitation-only events have been scheduled.

pearc17.pearc.org

Monday Night Dinner Meet-Ups

While there is no formal social activity on the

evening of Monday, July 10, we’ve secured some of

the hottest tables in town for small-group dinners.

of NOLA’s best cuisine and meet some new friends!

Attendees and their guests are welcome.

Dinner cost is not included in your conference

registration. Spaces are limited and on a first-

come/first-served basis.

Dietary and Special Needs

From vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, to

bilingual staff, to accessible rooms that feature

audio-visual smoke detectors, closed-caption TVs,

front door alerts, accessible-friendly

telecommunication devices, the conference hotel is

well-equipped to handle any special needs or

requests. Before checking in, please alert the front

desk staff of any special accommodations that you

may require upon arrival.

We’ve included a variety of vegetarian and gluten-

free options throughout the conference menus. If

you indicated special dietary restrictions in your

conference registration, please alert a member of

the banquet staff during service. In certain cases,

special items have been reserved and are not on the

buffet tables for general consumption. If you don’t

see something you can eat, please let us know!

pearc17.pearc.org

GETTING AROUND

Printing, Shipping, and Receiving

Services

For printing, shipping, or receiving, a FedEx Office is

located on the Level 2 of the Hyatt Regency New

Orleans. (That’s the same level as most of PEARC17.)

This FedEx location handles all shipping and receiving

for the hotel. Should you need to have items

delivered to the hotel, you will pick up your packages

here. Packages shipped to the hotel should be

addressed to:

Hyatt Regency New Orleans

Hold for guest: (Your name)

601 Loyola Ave

New Orleans, Louisiana 70113

Location Phone Numbers

Phone: (504) 524-6048

Fax: (504) 524-6548

Location Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Sat - Sun: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Express Last Pickup

Mon - Fri: 6:00 p.m.

Sat: 4:00 p.m.

Ground Last Pickup

Mon - Fri: 5:30 p.m.

Transportation Options

Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) is

located approximately 27 minutes (12 miles) from

the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, the official PEARC17

conference hotel. One-way cab and Uber fares are

approximately $36. Less expensive options, such as

the airport shuttle, can be arranged upon arrival at

MSY for $24/one way. If using the airport shuttle, no

reservation is needed upon arrival, but return trips to

the airport do require a reservation.

Located at 601 Loyola Ave, New Orleans, LA 70113,

the hotel is steps away from many restaurants,

sights, and museums, and a 20-minute walk from the

French Quarter. Or, hop on the Loyola-UPT Streetcar

(there’s a stop just outside the hotel), that will take

you to the French Quarter or the Garden District and

back, for a just $1.25/ride or $3 a day. (You will need

exact change for the streetcar.)

For those driving to the conference, valet parking is

available at the hotel for $40/night, and includes in-

and-out privileges. Self-parking at several nearby

locations is available at somewhat lower daily rates,

but these locations are not affiliated with the

conference hotel and do not offer in-and-out

privileges.

pearc17.pearc.org

Enjoy New Orleans — Safely!

We want all PEARC attendees to have a great

conference experience, which includes enjoying all

the sights, sounds, and activities New Orleans has to

offer. The Central Business District and French

Quarter are generally safe and have lots of

pedestrian traffic, but, as with all major cities,

especially those with large numbers of tourists,

awareness of your surroundings and your belongings

is essential.

Here are a few reminders to help make sure you

have a safe and productive trip:

● DO NOT WEAR YOUR CONFERENCE BADGE

outside of the conference hotel. This is often

how scammers and criminals target tourists.

● Make sure to use the buddy system, traveling

in groups of two or more when leaving the

conference hotel. Never walk alone at night.

● Make sure to have your phone with you (and

charged) at all times, in case of emergencies.

● Be sure you have at least one other

attendee’s contact information—and that at

least one other attendee has your contact

information.

● The hotel staff can provide guidance about

areas that are safe (or not safe) before going

out. Most importantly, use common sense

and don’t walk in areas that are dark, off-the

beaten-path, or deserted. Stay on well-lit,

major streets.

● If you are driving, double-check that your car

doors are locked when you park, and secure

any valuables in your trunk.

● Exercise caution in parking structures,

stairwells, and elevators.

● Don’t leave your belongings unattended in or

outside of the conference hotel.

● Lock your hotel door at night. Don’t leave

your door open or share your card key with

anyone other than your roommate.

Planning your Visit to New Orleans

The PEARC17 web site has an awesome—if we do say

so ourselves—page to help you plan your trip to New

Orleans. Check out http://pearc17.pearc.org/new-

orleans

If you’d like some additional links, here are a few

New York Times Where to Go in New Orleans

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/travel/where-

to-go-in-new-orleans.html?_r=0

Lonely Planet 48 Hours in New Orleans:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/new-orleans/travel-

tips-and-articles/48-hours-in-new-orleans

New York Times 36 Hours in New Orleans:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/travel/36-hours-

new-orleans.html

New York Times New Orleans is a Party for Families

Too:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/05/travel/new-

orleans-family-holidays.html

Garden & Gun Classic Crescent City Eats:

https://gardenandgun.com/articles/nola-dining-guide-

classic-eats/

Garden & Gun New Orleans at a Glance:

http://gardenandgun.com/articles/new-orleans-glance/

Garden & Gun More New Orleans:

http://gardenandgun.com/tag/new-orleans/

Eater The 38 Essential New Orleans Restaurants:

https://nola.eater.com/maps/best-new-orleans-

restaurants-38

pearc17.pearc.org

Thank you to all of our great PEARC17 supporters and exhibitors!

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