Anvil onboarding
Open OnDemand, filesystems, Slurm, modules, and a light introduction to MPI as the model for distributed-memory execution on clusters.
Virtual NAIRR hands-on training
Virtual Hands-On Training on Anvil, Containers, and AI Workflows
Connect AI forecast workflows, WRF weather modeling, containers, and MPI-aware HPC practice using Purdue's Anvil system as the instructional platform.
Purdue University
Indiana University
Mississippi State University
Date
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Time
1:00-5:00 PM Eastern Time
Location
Online via Zoom
Registration Deadline
July 6, 2026
Workshop overview
AI-forward HPC workflows for weather and scientific modeling
You are invited to participate in a virtual, hands-on NAIRR training workshop focused on AI-forward HPC workflows that connect classical physics-based models with emerging AI-driven weather modeling workflows.
The workshop will combine cluster onboarding, MPI-aware HPC usage, comparative Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Pangu-Weather demonstrations, and portable container and Conda-based AI workflow design.
Blending short lectures, guided demonstrations, and hands-on activities on Anvil, this four-hour session is intended for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, research software engineers, and research support personnel.
While the examples used will center on weather modeling, the workflow lessons are designed to generalize across a broader range of computational science domains.
Workshop format
A practical path from cluster access to model comparison
Three CI-PIVOT Cyberinfrastructure Professionals from Purdue, Indiana University, and Mississippi State University will lead the program. About half of the workshop is devoted to a structured WRF and Pangu-Weather demonstration.
Containers and AI sidecars
Apptainer recipe and image logic, build-move-run workflows across systems, the host-versus-container boundary, and Conda for GPU-enabled AI tooling.
Hands-on workflow
Prepared WRF and Pangu-Weather scripts, staged input data, selected execution steps, output processing, visualization, and model comparison.
Hands-on component
Hands-on Anvil activities with coordinated workshop access
Hands-on participation requires an ACCESS ID. Organizers are working to use a workshop allocation and will make every effort to add registered participants in advance.
Provide your ACCESS ID in the registration form if you want to join the hands-on Anvil activities.
Inspect relevant modules, filesystems, and selected scheduler workflow steps.
Observe Apptainer build and run concepts and the transition to AI sidecar tooling.
Work through a prepared WRF and Pangu-Weather case using provided scripts and staged outputs.
Review and compare representative outputs instead of rebuilding every large dependency during the session.
Proposed agenda
Wednesday, July 15, 2026, 1:00-5:00 PM Eastern Time
Agenda items marked Hands-on are designed for participants with Anvil access. Participants without access can still observe the demonstrations and join the discussion.
| Time | Presenter | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00-1:15 | NAIRR | Welcome and Anvil access & allocation check |
| 1:15-2:00 | Bithi De, Purdue University | Hands-on Anvil as the host HPC environment: access pathways, filesystems, Slurm, modules, and an MPI introduction |
| 2:00-2:10 | Break | Short break |
| 2:10-3:05 | Cong Gian, Indiana University | Demo Containerization and AI sidecar workflow: Apptainer recipe and image logic, portability across clusters, and Conda/GPU workflow design |
| 3:05-3:15 | Break | Short break |
| 3:15-4:00 | Adonte Knight, Mississippi State University | Demo WRF and Pangu, Part I: Pangu overview, Conda environment setup, prepared data/model layout, inference workflow, and output processing |
| 4:00-4:10 | Break | Short break |
| 4:10-4:40 | Adonte Knight, Mississippi State University | Hands-on WRF and Pangu, Part II: WRF-ARW/WPS workflow, selected execution steps, visualization, and AI-versus-dynamic-model comparison |
| 4:40-4:55 | All | Q&A |
| 4:55-5:00 | All | Closing remarks |
Participant preparation
Complete account setup before the workshop
Participants who want to complete the hands-on Anvil activities should complete setup at least two weeks before the workshop whenever possible and provide their ACCESS ID during registration.
ACCESS and Anvil
Create an ACCESS ID and enroll in ACCESS Duo multi-factor authentication. If you plan to participate hands-on, provide your ACCESS ID in the registration form so organizers can coordinate Anvil access through the workshop allocation where possible.
Open OnDemand
Test login to Anvil in advance. Open OnDemand is recommended because it runs in a web browser and reduces local software requirements.
Local readiness
A stable internet connection, a modern web browser, and basic comfort with terminal copy-and-paste are strongly recommended.
Command cheat sheet
A lightweight command cheat sheet is available in the workshop materials repository. It covers Linux basics such as changing directories, listing files, checking the current path, creating directories, copying files, and copying/pasting commands in a terminal. Participants do not need advanced Linux or prior HPC experience to attend.
Registration
Register by July 6, 2026
The registration form includes a short readiness survey and asks whether you already have an ACCESS ID. If you plan to participate in the hands-on Anvil activities, provide your ACCESS ID so organizers can coordinate workshop allocation access in advance. Use your institutional affiliation email address rather than a personal email address.
Open Registration Form