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Panels

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panels

perspectives shared

Come hear thoughtful and insightful discussions among experts on topics vital to high performance computing – from software to hardware, education to applications, research to systems experience. Panels include ample time for the community to ask hard questions and debate the issues.

Schedule

Panels

Tuesday–Friday, 17–20 November 2026

Committee

Panels Chair
Sascha Hunold, Technical University of Vienna

Panels Vice Chair
Heidi Hanson, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

Panel Submissions Open 2 March 2026

Submission Updates: Those who meet the 27 April 2026 submission deadline may update their submissions through 1 May 2026 (via the SC26 submissions site).

Panel Submissions

2 MAR 2026

Submissions Open

27 APR 2026

Submissions Close

26 JUN 2026

Notifications Sent

28 SEP 2026

Final Materials Due

How to submit

What is A PANEL?

Duration

We invite panel proposals that bring together voices from different domains to discuss high-impact issues in high performance computing (HPC). From the convergence of HPC and AI to energy efficiency, interactive HPC, and the future of exascale systems. Our field faces questions that demand cross-disciplinary conversations. Panels should focus on ideas, breakthroughs, and challenges rather than commercial products or marketing pitches. The goal is to inspire, debate, highlight scientific impact, and spark new collaborations. The best panels will address boundary-pushing topics shaping our field and will inspire the next wave of innovation and discovery.

Each panel session is 90 minutes.

Preparing Your Submission

Format

Your panel information will be submitted via a web form (an abstract of no more than 150 words) and a file upload (a detailed description of your panel). The detailed description PDF file upload should be one to two pages and should include the following:

  • Panel title
  • Detailed description of the panel topic or position statements by the panelists
  • Explanation of why the panel will attract a good audience
  • Explanation of why the audience will find the panel beneficial
  • Points that address the review criteria listed below

Submission Template

Please apply the template for Panel submissions.

Keywords and Phrases

In the web form, submitters are asked to choose at least one but not more than three from the list of keywords and phrases to describe their panel:

  • Parallel programming methods, models, languages, and environments
  • HPC software and runtime systems
  • Quantum software systems and tolls, especially with a focus on HPCQC integration
  • Reproducibility and confirming studies
  • Architectures
  • Ethics and societal impact of HPC
  • Debugging and correctness tools
  • Performance evaluation, scalability, and portability
  • High-performance I/O, storage, archive, and file systems
  • Applications and application frameworks
  • Algorithms, numerical methods, and libraries
  • Scalable data analytics and management
  • AI, machine learning, and deep learning
  • Scientific and information visualization
  • Power use monitoring and optimization
  • Systems administration and/or resource management of HPC systems
  • Fault tolerance, reliability, maintainability, and adaptability
  • Cloud, data center, and distributed computing
  • High-performance networking
  • Computer and network security
  • Novel forms of computing
  • Embedded and/or reconfigurable systems
  • Collaborative environments and strategies
  • HPC education
  • “Hot topics” of current interest to the SC community
  • Creating a diverse and inclusive HPC community
  • Aspects of art generated with/for/by/related to HPC

Moderator/Panelists

The names of the moderator and panelists should appear exactly as you want them to appear in the online SC schedule.

  • The moderator and each panelist are expected to submit a short biography (maximum 150 words). The biographies should be provided in the online submission system, not in the panel proposal.
  • An individual can be a member of at most two panels at SC.
  • The panel should include no more than five panelists to provide sufficient opportunity for audience participation. Furthermore, chairs and microphones are allocated based on a maximum of five panelists.
  • Both a wireless microphone and Q&A app will be available to each panel.
  • Questions can come from the moderator, but it is expected that ample time is provided for audience questions.
  • The moderator and panelists must attend the panel in person, not virtually.
  • The panel organizer must assert that the people listed on the submission form have agreed to serve as panelists for the proposed session and plan to attend SC in person.
  • Each listed panelist will receive an email upon completion of the panel submission.
  • Please ensure diversity of technical topics, presenters and institutional type is given priority in your selection of panelists. Please describe (maximum 70 words) your choices in your proposal.

Review Criteria

Panels are peer-reviewed by a committee of experts. Each panel proposal will have at least three reviewers. Panel reviews are single-anonymous: reviewers will see moderator and panelists names, but moderators and panelists will not see reviewer names. Panels are evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Relevance and timeliness of the topic – Is this an issue that needs to be resolved now?
  • Expectation of driving toward insight – Will the panel make a meaningful contribution to the state of the art and for the good of the supercomputing community?
  • Credibility of panelists across dimensions of knowledge, experience, constructiveness, diversity – Diversity may be broadly construed to include topical, institutional, geographic, and demographic characteristics (e.g., seniority, gender). How is your panel representative of the current, or of an ideal, HPC community?
  • Audience draw – Expectation of creating excitement and drawing an audience, as evidenced by relevance and participation in similar events (e.g., panels, workshops, conferences) at related venues.
  • Approach – Effectiveness of prescribed approach in sharing and drawing out insights, including highlighting diverse perspectives (a little friendly controversy is often beneficial for discussion) and fostering and garnering audience participation. The submission should include a proposed agenda for the panel session.
  • Clarity – The proposal should be clear, complete, and articulate.
  • Broad and balanced coverage of topics at SC26.

conflict of interest & Plagiarism

conflict of interest

Please be aware of, and adhere to, these SC Conference guidelines regarding potential conflicts of interest and disclosure.

A potential conflict of interest occurs when a person is involved in making a decision that:

  • Could result in that person, a close associate of that person, or that person’s company or institution receiving significant financial gain, such as a contract or grant, or
  • Could result in that person, or a close associate of that person, receiving significant professional recognition, such as an award or the selection of a paper, work, exhibit, or other type of submitted presentation.

Program Committee members will be given the opportunity to list potential conflicts of interest during each program’s review process. Program Committee chairs and area chairs will make every effort to avoid assignments that have a potential COI.

According to the SC conference you have a conflict of interest with the following:

  • Your PhD advisors, post-doctoral advisors, PhD students, and post-doctoral advisees;
  • Family relations by blood or marriage, or equivalent (e.g., a partner);
  • People with whom you collaborated in the past five years. Collaborators include: co-authors on an accepted/rejected/pending research paper; co-PIs on an accepted/pending grant; those who fund your research; researchers whom you fund; or researchers with whom you are actively collaborating;
  • Close personal friends or others with whom you believe a conflict of interest exists;
  • People who were employed by, or a student at, your primary institution(s) in the past five years, or people who are active candidates for employment at your primary institution(s).

Note that “service” collaborations, such as writing a DOE, NSF, or DARPA report, or serving on a program committee, or serving on the editorial board of a journal, do not inherently create a COI.

Other situations can create COIs, and you should contact the Technical Program Chairs for questions or clarification on any of these issues.

Plagiarism

Please review the IEEE guidelines on identifying plagiarism.

upon acceptance

registration

All Panels participants must register and pay for the Technical Program. Panel moderators and panelists do not receive free or discounted admission to any conference sessions. By submitting a panel proposal to SC, you are making a commitment to register for the Technical Program and attend the conference upon acceptance of your submission.

finalizing accepted panels

Your panel information (title, abstract, and panelist bios) will be included in the online SC schedule. The panel moderator and panelists will be allowed to update this information within the SC submissions website until 28 September 2026.

Archives

Your panel information (title, abstract, and panelist bios) will be included in the Technical Program Archives and will be available for conference attendees.

on-site

schedule and location

Panels will be held Tuesday–Friday, 17–20 November 2026. Each panel session is 90 minutes. Please arrive at the room designated for the panel at least 15 minutes before the panel starts. Refer to the online SC Schedule to identify your panel’s room number. We ask the moderator and the panelists to leave the room at the end of the 90-minute session in order to allow time for organizers of the next session to set up.

infrastructure

Panels are assigned either a classroom or a theater room equipped with standard AV facilities:

  • Projector
  • Two projection screens
  • Fixed microphone and podium for moderator
  • Wireless lapel microphone and wireless handheld microphone
  • Two tables and five chairs for panelists
  • We will target three to four microphones on the panelists tables, unless limited by regulations at the conference center
  • One stand microphone in each of the three room aisles for audience questions

Current SC Conference policies and procedures DO NOT include the following in your panel room:

  • Poster boards
  • Round tables
  • Wired Ethernet connection
  • Power strips on the tables or under the chairs
  • Recording of your panel

panels FAQ

What is a panel?

A panel is composed of a moderator and panelists and provides a forum that promotes lively, highly interactive discussions on a wide variety of topics among the panelists and audience. A panel is not a set of mini-presentations that do not leave time for discussion with the audience. A panel is non-commercial.

The proposal should demonstrate to the review committee that the session will truly be interactive—avoiding long, disjointed mini-presentations or superficial entertainment. Rather than providing a technical history, emphasize why the panel will attract a strong audience and why participants will find it insightful and impactful.

Can I submit more than one panel proposal?

You are welcome to submit multiple proposals. A committee of peers selects panels in a peer-review process. Because a limited number of slots are available, any individual may be a member (i.e., contact, moderator, or panelist) of at most two accepted panels.

Do I need to secure permission from all panel participants (moderator and panelists) before submitting a proposal?

Yes. You must secure permission from all participants in the panel, as well as their agreement to register and attend the conference upon acceptance, prior to making your submission. If the submission is accepted for presentation, all panelists must register for the Technical Program.

What conference support is provided during panels?

A student volunteer will be present at the panel and will assist organizers in contacting technical personnel in case of problems.

Where can I find the Panels program online?

The program for Panels will be posted in the online SC schedule.

Ready to Submit?

Create an account in the online submission system and complete the form. A sample form can be viewed before signing in.

submit

If you have questions about Panel submissions, please contact the program committee.

contact us
SC attendee

dates & deadlines

Submission, application, and nomination deadlines for all programs and awards, the housing open date, the early registration deadline, and more – all in one place.

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