She Computes: Celebrating Career Journeys in WHPC – NHR|WHPC Chapter IWD 2026

Monday Mar 9, 2026, 12:00 PM → 1:15 PM Europe/Berlin

Online

Ayesha Afzal (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Join us for an inspiring International Women’s Day event organized by the NHR|WHPC Chapter! Hear from women in high-performance computing (HPC) as they share their career journeys and successes. The event features a keynote by Ayesha Afzal, an invited talk by Eleanor Broadway, and six lightning talks by Jasmin Hörter, Baixiang Xu, Anita Rágyanszki, Franka Derwisch, Diana Goehringer and Isabel Gräbner. You’ll gain insight into a wide range of career trajectories, from research to positions in project and group leadership, professorships, and roles of managing director and conference organiser. These diverse paths highlight the many opportunities and directions a career in HPC can offer. We will then have a Q&A session where you can engage directly with the speakers and other participants. Celebrate the achievements of women in HPC, gain insights from diverse career paths, and connect with the community shaping the future of high-performance computing.

👉 Register by March 7 → Receive the Zoom link on March 8.

1 Welcome

Speaker: Ayesha Afzal (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

2 Keynote (10 min) – Building Bridges in HPC: My Journey with NHR@FAU, NHR|WHPC Chapter and WHPC

Speaker: Ayesha Afzal (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

3 Invited Talk (10 min) – Shaping the Future of HPC: How You Can Be a Part of It

Speaker: Eleanor Broadway

4 Lightning Talk (5 min) – An Indirect Path to HPC: Leading Teams and Projects with Purpose

Speaker: Jasmin Hörter

5 Lightning Talk (5 min) – Navigating My Professional Path: Early-Career Reflections in HPC

Speaker: Baixiang Xu

6 Lightning Talk (5 min) – From Scientist to Project Leader: A Joyful Career Journey

Speaker: Anita Ragyanszki

7 Lightning Talk (5 min) – From Research to Research Policy: Shaping Science at the System Level

Speaker: Franka Derwisch

8 Lightning Talk (5 min) – Between Circuits and Computation: Engineering My Own Path to Professorship

Speaker: Diana Goehringer

9 Lightning Talk (5 min) – Shaping Scientific Communities in HPC: From Research to Global Conference Organisation

Speaker: Isabel Gräbner

10 Q&A Session (15 min) – Open Conversation: Stories, Challenges, and Advice in WHPC

Speaker: Everyone

11 Closing Remarks

Speaker: Ayesha Afzal (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)