Building Scalable and Inclusive Foundations for HPC: Lessons from UC Merced's Introductory HPC Training Program

Volume 17, Issue 1 (March 2026), pp. 65–69

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@article{jocse-17-1-10,
  author={Yue Yu},
  title={Building Scalable and Inclusive Foundations for HPC: Lessons from UC Merced's Introductory HPC Training Program},
  journal={The Journal of Computational Science Education},
  year=2026,
  month=mar,
  volume=17,
  issue=1,
  pages={65--69},
  doi={https://doi.org/10.22369/issn.2153-4136/17/1/10}
}

High-performance computing (HPC) is becoming essential across a broad range of disciplines, including those historically underrepresented in computational research, such as sociology, psychology, and the arts. To reduce barriers to entry, the University of California, Merced (UC Merced) developed a 90-minute introductory HPC workshop designed for participants with no prior technical background. The workshop includes a theoretical overview of campus clusters, fundamental Linux commands, and core HPC concepts, followed by a hands-on session where participants connect through SSH and browser-based tools, load software modules, and submit jobs to institutional HPC resources using Slurm. Delivered in a hybrid format with both synchronous and asynchronous learning materials, the program has been offered more than 20 sessions since 2021. Post-workshop surveys indicate that 83 percent of participants are more likely to incorporate HPC into their research after attending, contributing to a doubling of active HPC users on campus since the program's launch. This scalable and inclusive model provides an effective framework for expanding HPC adoption and fostering computational engagement across disciplines.