BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — In a first for Indiana University, one of its own will be leading the fastest and most powerful temporary network in the world later this year.
Hans Addleman, a network architect for International Networks at IU, is the 2023 chair of SCinet, the one-of-a-kind research network built for the supercomputing conference, SC23, taking place November 12–17 in Denver. (SC’s official name is the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis.)
According to SCinet promotional materials, SCinet is the fastest and most powerful network in the world—for the duration of the SC conference. It supports the revolutionary applications and experiments that are a hallmark of SC, enables exhibitors to demonstrate the advanced computing capabilities of their solutions and services, and delivers wireless for more than 11,000 attendees.
As chair, Addleman will be responsible for 175+ volunteers from around the world; $70M in hardware, software, and services donated by industry leaders; and at least 450 wireless access points. He served as SCinet deputy chair for 2022, in which he shadowed the chair to prepare for his lead role for 2023. Preparations for 2023 begin at the end of SC22 and progress throughout the year leading up to the 2023 event.
I’ve come to love the relationships I’ve made and the SCinet hive mind I’m now a part of. These are 175 of the best and brightest research and education network engineers …
Hans Addleman
“We like to say, ‘SCinet takes a year to plan, a month to build, a week to operate, and a day to tear down,’” Addleman said. “Chairing this project is a major undertaking, of course, but I’ve come to love the relationships I’ve made and the SCinet hive mind I’m now a part of. These are 175 of the best and brightest research and education network engineers coming together every year to build this incredible network.”
“Hans is an incredibly talented network engineer. He is well-known in the networking community for his work on TransPAC; the Networks for European, American, African, and Arctic Research (NEA3R) collaboration; and other international networking projects. Being the chair of SCinet will raise his visibility and the visibility of Indiana University even further,” said Jim Williams, director of International Networks at IU.
SCinet is the fastest and most powerful network in the world—for the duration of the SC conference.
Addleman started at IU in 2001, working at the University Information Technology Services Support Center. He then moved into a network engineer role as part of the Campus Networks team and eventually moved to the Global Network Operations Center, or GlobalNOC. In 2015, he joined the International Networks team, where he is the network architect and co-principal investigator on the TransPAC grant.
In addition to Addleman’s activity as SCinet chair, IU has other staff in key positions across all aspects of SCinet networking. Notably, at SC22, International Networks’ TransPAC team was one of 17 contributors who received the SCinet Spirit of Innovation Award. Some of their roles and responsibilities will be outlined in future releases.
