The WINS program is seeking qualified female U.S. candidates in their early to mid-career to join the SCinet volunteer workforce for SC18. Selected candidates will receive full travel support and mentoring by well-known engineering experts in the research and education community.

Applications for WINS is closed. Learn about the SC18 WINS Awardees.

 

Overview

 

Created each year for the SC conference, SCinet brings to life a very high-capacity network that supports the revolutionary applications and experiments that are a hallmark of the SC conference. SCinet will link the convention center to research and commercial networks around the world.

The SC Conference Series is dedicated to supporting an inclusive environment. In 2015, SCinet partnered with a team of collaborators to create the pilot SCinet Diversity Program¹, developed as a means for addressing the prevalent gender gap that exists in information technology (IT), particularly in the fields of network engineering and high performance computing. The success of the 2015 program led to an official three-year award by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and DOE-ESnet, titled Women in IT Networking at SC (WINS)². WINS is a joint effort between the Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), the Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), and SCinet.

 

Opportunities

 

SCinet provides an ideal “apprenticeship” opportunity for engineers and technologists looking for direct access to the most cutting-edge network hardware and software, while working side-by-side with the world’s leading network and software engineers and top network technology vendors.

More than 15 teams comprise SCinet, all focused on specific areas of expertise involved in setting up and operating a research network. Selected candidates will be matched with a mentor in one of these areas based on interest and background. Learning and training opportunities include (but are not limited to):

• Operating and maintaining traditional IT services for SCinet
• Installing fiber optic network connections
• Installing and configuring wireless access points
• Installing and configuring wired network devices for conference meeting rooms
• Managing internet routing protocols
• Configuring wide-area network connections to national telecom providers
• Supporting conference attendees, high performance computing (HPC) and high-performing network demonstrations
• Participating in cybersecurity activities focused on prevention, detection, and countermeasures to protect the resources of the conference

 

Travel for Professional Development

 

This grant funds selected participants to travel for the staging, setup, and attendance of the SC conference as a SCinet volunteer. Travel includes up to three weeks (or some portion of these three weeks) depending on the SCinet team needs. SC18 will take place in Dallas, Texas, and participants should be prepared to travel on the following dates:

• SCinet staging: October 22–26, 2018
• SCinet setup: November 5–10, 2018
• SC18 conference and SCinet teardown: November 11–16, 2018

 

Project Measurement

 

After completion of the conference, participants will be asked to report on their experiences as to which parts of the training were new or useful, which learning experiences were not effective or valuable, and other targeted questions that will help drive the future of gender diversity outreach efforts. This reflection will be shared with their home institution, SCinet leadership, project PIs, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

 

Selection Criteria

 

Candidates will be reviewed by a panel of experts from the research and education community for current job relevance, stated support from applicant’s employer, ability to attend the conference (we will take care of the travel costs but you must be able to set aside time to attend), areas of interest (see application form), and desire to participate in SCinet.

The review committee will select up to five candidates to receive funding to set up SCinet at the SC conference in Dallas from October 22–26 and November 5–16, 2018.

For additional guidance with the application and required supplementary materials, please visit the WINS website (available March 1, 2018).

 

Questions

 

If you have questions regarding WINS or the application process, please contact the WINS management team.

 

¹ = NSF 2015 grant #ACI-1440642
² = NSF 2016 grant #ACI-1640987