GPU Tech Conference Off to a Fast Start in San Jose

Many of the several thousand GTC 2012 attendees began pouring in to the San Jose McEnery Convention Center early Monday morning to take advantage of a full day of pre-conference sessions, and start networking and sharing ideas with their peers. Over the days ahead, they’ll fill downtown San Jose’s hotels and restaurants with GPU-related buzz.

Early attendees are sitting in on round-table discussions on multi-display systems and GPU-based video processing, or attending GTC 2012 lecture sessions on topics from debugging GPU programs to optimizing GPU algorithms.

But the pace really kicks in on Tuesday, when NVIDIA CEO and co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang delivers big news during his highly anticipated keynote address. For those unable to attend GTC 2012 in person, we’ll provide a livestream of Jen-Hsun’s GTC keynote here.

Attendees will then choose from hundreds of sessions over the ensuing days, each with details of how GPU technology is advancing various industries and powering cutting-edge research.

For instance, Oak Ridge National Laboratory will share how they’ve been using GPUs to build Titan – the world’s fastest supercomputer. Beijing’s BGI will talk about their use of GPUs for bioinformatics research. Attendees can get the scoop on the latest advances in stereoscopic 3D visualization from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, winner of last year’s Gordon Bell Prize. And, the Emerging Companies Summit will offer attendees an inside look at how startups are using GPUs.

In Wednesday’s keynote, Princeton’s Iain Couzin will discuss his use of GPU technology to study collective behavior in the natural world. Couzin’s research explores how individual behavior can produce dynamic collective behaviors, and shed light on how our brains work and what drives crowd behavior. It also highlights how GPU technology can have an unexpected impact.

Finally, after two days of sessions and conversations with peers, attendees will be ready to blow off some steam at Wednesday night’s GTC 2012 party, featuring a live performance that will test the laws of physics.

With world-class speakers and plenty of opportunities for attendees to share stories and experiences, GTC 2012 is the year’s signature GPU technology event. And it’s not too late to attend. For more information, visit the GTC 2012 conference registration page.