Introduction to High Performance Computing

Catalog description

High Performance Computing (HPC) powers modern artificial intelligence, enabling the scale required for deep learning, generative AI, and emerging agentic systems. This course introduces the design and use of HPC clusters for AI applications in academia and industry. Students explore the AI lifecycle - from data collection to advanced deep learning - while connecting high-level concepts to systems-level implementation. Topics include GPU/TPU architectures, parallel computing, cluster operating systems, resource management, containerization, and advanced methods such as attention and mixture-of-experts. Hands-on labs emphasize building and configuring HPC systems, optimizing networks, managing resources, and deploying AI workloads in computer vision and natural language processing. The course also features instruction on hyperscale data centers from an industry expert. Students gain practical experience in both AI development and the infrastructure required to run it at scale. Open to students from diverse backgrounds.