A special workshop dedicated to “GPGPU: Methods, algorithms and applications” will be hosted in conjunction with the 6th International Conference On Computational Science (ICCS 2006). The primary goal of this session is to present the GPU as a powerful parallel processor. Contributions presenting novel, original work in all areas of GPGPU, e.g. from hardware abstractions to specific applications, are cordially invited. For more information, please refer to the official workshop web page.

Jens Schneider, Polina Kondratieva, Jens Krüger, and Rüdiger Westermann from TU Munich have won the 2005 IEEE Visualization Contest with their work “All you need is particles!” Check out the video of their results; it’s very interesting.
(http://wwwcg.in.tum.de/Research/Projects/VisContest05)

Once again this year ACM SIGGRAPH will feature a full-day course titled “GPGPU: General-Purpose Computing on Graphics Hardware”. The course, organized by Mark Harris of NVIDIA and David Luebke of the University of Virginia, will feature GPGPU experts from industry and academia. The course will discuss core computational building blocks such as sorting, searching, and linear algebra, using case studies ranging from adaptive shadow mapping to database queries and data mining. Particular focus will be given to tools, perils, and tricks of the trade in general-purpose GPU programming. The course has been updated from SIGGRAPH 2004, with all new case studies. (http://www.gpgpu.org/s2005)

This workshop will first focus on an entry-level GPGPU introduction by Robert Strzodka, followed by a discussion of hardware-efficient PDE solvers with applications in Image Processing. After a brief review of the current state-of-the-art of FEM codes on the CPU side, algorithmic design patterns for efficient GPU implementations will be experimentally evaluated. (Note: talks will be given in German.) http://www.mathematik.uni-dortmund.de/~goeddeke/workshop/index.html

Suresh Venkatasubramanian will be teaching a GPGPU class at the University of Pennsylvania in Spring 2005. The class, titled “GPU Programming and Architecture” will focus on the stream programming abstraction of the GPU, and will cover the basic tools and techniques for designing and implementing algorithms for general purpose computations on the GPU. (UPenn GPGPU Course)

The complete course notes have been posted for the full-day GPGPU course held at IEEE Visualization 2004. The course, titled “GPGPU: General-Purpose Computing on Graphics Processors“, was held on Monday, October 11th, 2004 in Austin, Texas. The course begins with the architectural, economic, and programmatic motivations behind GPGPU. It then introduces a “hello world” GPGPU example and describes the stream programming model in detail (including Brook). Mathematical and algorithmic primitives are then presented, followed by descriptions of many of the low-level technical details required for effective real-world GPGPU programming. The course concludes with several case studies and a disscusison of the future architectual, application, and research possibilities for GPGPU. The course organizer was Aaron Lefohn, and the presenters were Ian Buck, Aaron Lefohn, John Owens, and Robert Strzodka. ( “GPGPU: General-Purpose Computing on Graphics Processors,” IEEE Visualization 2004)

This talk by John Owens of UC Davis discusses trends in GPU architecture and their current and potential uses for high-performance computing. The invited talk was given at the Eighth Annual Workshop on High-Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC 2004). (GPUs: Engines for Future High-Performance Computing)

Inspired by the summer Olympics taking place this year, ShaderTech.com is hosting a shader contest this summer with three categories: Materials & Environmental Effects, Image Processing & NPR Effects, and Thinking Outside the Box (this category includes GPGPU applications!).

With over $20,000 worth of prizes available, the Shader Triathlon is a great way to show off your shader skills. Participants can win gold, silver, and bronze prizes for each category, as well as the grand prize: 3ds max, RT/Shader, and a GDC 2005 Gigapass! In addition, all entrants will be entered into a random drawing for the following prizes: 3ds max, RT/Shader, and GPU Gems books.

The Shader Triathlon is sponsored by NVIDIA, discreet, RTzen, and the Game Developers Conference 2005. (ShaderTech.com Shader Triathlon)

Established by NVIDIA Corporation, NVIDIA U is a conference developed to promote the advancement of graphics technology through industry and academic collaboration. NVIDIA U 2004 will be a highly focused, one day event. Conveniently held in Los Angeles one day before GP2 and two days prior to Siggraph 2004, it is sure to sizzle with presentations targeting current and future NVIDIA technology. NVIDIA U is an NDA only conference that provides the ideal forum for leaders in the graphics world to collaborate and share ideas and research in graphics technology. (NVIDIA U Information Page)

Given the increasing power and usage of commodity GPUs, many researchers are using them for general-purpose computation. The ACM Workshop on General-Purpose Computation on Graphics Processors (GP²), to be held the Saturday and Sunday before SIGGRAPH 2004 at one of the SIGGRAPH hotels, will explore current issues in general-purpose computing using graphics hardware. These issues include:

• Do GPUs have the potential of being a useful co-processor for a wide variety of applications?
  What are their algorithmic and architectural niches and can these be broadened?
• What are the major issues in terms of programmability, language and compiler support and software environments for GPUs?
• What are some of the future technology trends that can lead to more widespread use of GPUs?

This workshop will bring together leading researchers and practitioners from academia, research labs and industry working in computer graphics, scientific computation, high performance computing,
omputer architecture and related areas. The program will consist of invited talks, panels and poster presentations. (ACM GP² Workshop. Call for Posters.)