17. July 2024

Empowering Diversity in HPC: Join NHR|WHPC

Promoting diversity is an important mission in NHR4CES. Therefore, we are very pleased that our PIs, Sandra Wienke and Bai-Xiang Xu, are among the founding members of the newly founded Chapter of Women in HPC (WHPC).

The NHR|WHPC chapter is dedicated to empowering women and minorities in the scientific high performance computing community in Germany. Aligned with NHR’s mission, their main goal is to connect and support users and staff of NHR, as well as HPC scientists from German universities. Additionally, they welcome all other WHPC supporters active in Germany.

Sandra Wienke, PI of our CSG Parallelism and Performance, believes it is important to create an environment where (more) women like to work in HPC, as well as strengthen the networking among women in HPC. She attended the very first events of WHPC ten years ago at SC 2014 and has been an (individual) member of WHPC since then. “I have been very lucky to be able to attend the RWTH’s locally-organized TANDEMplus mentoring, training and networking program for women postdocs. Now, having the NHR|WHPC chapter will promote and support women and minorities in HPC and corresponding activities nation-wide. So, we can exploit synergies across all NHR centers and empower a diverse HPC community in Germany”, she shares her thoughts. 

The Mission

The NHR chapter wants to connect and support the NHR employees and users who are scientists at German universities, in line with the mandate. They also welcome all other scientists and supporters of WHPC, who are active in Germany. The goal is to build a broad and strong community and better promote diversity, equality, inclusivity and a supportive culture in NHR and throughout Germany. The chapter actively supports minorities and promote women professionals, students, researchers and faculty working in academia or industry in Germany. The focus will be on providing support, resources, and opportunities, such as mentorship, travel fellowship programs, and campaigns. The chapter is dedicated to advocating for gender equity initiatives within German HPC communities. They identify challenges faced by women in the HPC field across different regions in Germany to gather insights, perspectives, and feedback. Using regular feedback, surveys, reviews, and evaluations from diverse perspectives, NHR|WHPC will ensure its long-term success and sustainability by continuously refining the chapter’s activities, strategies, and initiatives to make them realistic, impactful, and responsive to the needs of women in HPC within Germany.

Join NHR|WHPC

Become a member of NHR|WHPC free of charge, and register to the mailinglist to stay informed about the latest news. Visit the website to learn more about the initiative and how you can get involved: https://www.nhr-verein.de/whpc 

Chapter Committee

Ayesha Afzal | NHR@FAU

Dörte Sternel | NHR Office

Chapter Representatives from every NHR Alliance Member in Germany

Ayesha Afzal | NHR@FAU

Anita Ragyanszki | NHR@ZIB

Bai-Xiang Xu | NHR4CES@TUDa

Charlotte Debus and Jasmin Hörter | NHR@KIT

Diana Göhringer | NHR@TUD

Michaela Kemper | PC2

Sarah Neuwirth | NHR@SW

Sandra Wienke | NHR4CES@RWTH

Stefanie Mühlhausen | NHR@Göttingen