Introducing RACKlette Team Member: Emir Isman

From humble systems to huge clusters

I think I was interested in computers and other complex systems since I was three years old. Back then, computers were not that 'cool' as they are today - they might not have meant anything significant to the average person. With the developments of the last 15 years such as the smartphone, everyone has been exposed to them, it is a fundamental part of our lives and it shapes many aspects of it.

I had the chance to experiment a lot with computers. Being a witness of the near past I can still remember the time that I thought 1 GB of RAM was a lot, mostly because of the fact that I have seen the prefix 'giga' used in context of RAM for the first time. I got to deploy legacy programs (because my father needed it), set up websites for student organizations in high school, and work on different hobby projects with my home server.

To pursue this interest I have decided to enroll in a computer science program at ETH Zürich where I greatly expanded my knowledge on the field and have many exciting opportunities to explore. I already have knowledge on Linux systems in general but it is the first time for me to get working on such a high-end cluster. I am currently working on two of our applications in the competition: VPIC, a vector particle-in-cell simulation tool, and IO-500, a high-performance storage benchmark.

I am excited to compete with teams from all around the world at SC19 and I would like to thank the CSCS, ETH Zürich and all of our great sponsors for making this possible. See you in Denver!