The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), in collaboration with NVIDIA and the OpenACC organization, is hosting an Open Hackathon from August 19 to August 28, 2026. This multi-day, intensive event is designed to assist computational scientists and researchers in porting, accelerating, and optimizing their applications for various data center architectures, including CPUs and GPUs. Participants will be paired with dedicated, experienced mentors to achieve significant performance gains using a range of programming models, libraries, and tools. The primary goal is for teams to conclude the event with either a fully accelerated application or a clear, actionable roadmap for leveraging these advanced supercomputing resources.
Program Overview
• Program Name: NERSC Open Hackathon
• Organizers: NERSC, NVIDIA, and OpenACC organization
• Event Dates: August 19, 2026 – August 28, 2026
• Format: The event will be hosted in a hybrid format. The initial sessions on August 12 and August 19 will be held virtually. For the sessions from August 26 to 28, attendees may choose to participate either in-person at NERSC or remotely through a digital experience.
• Primary Objective: To help computational scientists and researchers port, accelerate, and optimize their applications on diverse data center architectures, including both CPUs and GPUs.
Key Dates and Deadlines
• Application Deadline: May 20, 2026
• Day 0 - Team/Mentor Meeting: August 12, 2026
• Day 1 - Hackathon Start: August 19, 2026
• Day 2: August 26, 2026
• Day 3: August 27, 2026
• Day 4 - Final Presentations: August 28, 2026
Event Agenda
• Day 0 (Virtual - August 12): 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM PT for Team/Mentor Meeting.
• Day 1 (Virtual - August 19): 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM PT, featuring Welcome, Cluster Overview, team introductions, and breakout room sessions.
• Day 2 (Hybrid - August 26): 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM PT, dedicated to teams working on codes with mentors, followed by Daily SCRUMS from 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM.
• Day 3 (Hybrid - August 27): 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM PT, continuing with code development and Daily SCRUMS from 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM.
• Day 4 (Hybrid - August 28): 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM PT, with final code work until 03:30 PM, followed by final team presentations until 05:00 PM.
Eligibility and Prerequisites
• Target Audience: The hackathon is open to all, but priority acceptance will be granted to NERSC collaborators.
• Team Composition: A minimum of three team members must be present and participate throughout the entire event to avoid dismissal.
• Project Familiarity: Teams are required to be fluent with the code or project they intend to work on.
• Licensing: All projects must have a license. Permissive-style Open Source Licenses such as BSD, MIT, or Apache 2.0 are preferred to facilitate mentor pairing.
Logistics and Resources
• Venue: The in-person component of the hackathon will take place at NERSC.
• Travel and Accommodations: Attendees are responsible for all their own travel and lodging expenses. Further information will be shared with accepted teams.
• Computational Resources: Participating teams will receive access to a dedicated GPU cluster for the duration of the event.
• Communication: All official communication and collaboration will be managed through Zoom, Slack, and email.
Preparation and Recommendations
• Recommended Skills: While advanced parallel computing skills are not mandatory, a basic understanding of GPU programming and profiling is beneficial. Organizers can provide access to no-charge lectures, tutorials, and labs to help teams prepare.
• Post-Acceptance Steps: Accepted teams will be provided with registration details, mentor introductions, and information on accessing computational resources. All team members must register and review the provided attendee guide.
This hackathon presents a valuable opportunity for research teams to advance their computational projects with direct support from experienced mentors and access to state-of-the-art hardware. Interested teams are encouraged to prepare their applications and take note of the submission deadline to participate in this intensive, hands-on event.