Strategies for Working Remotely (Panel Series)

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Upcoming Panels

Panels are free and open to the public (except where noted). Registration is required.

  1. Work/Life Balance? Lessons from SC22 Early Career Program Panelists [Register]

    • Date and Time: Thursday 2022-12-08 3:00pm-4:15pm EST
    • Panelists:
      • Scott Callaghan (University of Southern California)
      • Fernanda Foertter (Voltron Data)
      • Julia Mullen (MIT Lincoln Laboratory)
    • Moderator:
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Abstract: This panel features brief presentations followed by engaging discussion from contributors to the SC22 Early Career Program invited talks on life/work balance conducted at the annual International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC22). Speakers will provide tips and lessons shared with the SC22 Early Career Program panel on work/life balance, parenting, strategies for working remotely, and on how everyone, especially those early in their careers, can apply lessons learned from pandemic-driven change and resiliency.

Discussion protocol: Attendees are asked to type brief questions in the chat accompanying the panel discussion.  We will call on people to ask their question verbally in the order received, curating for uniqueness.

About the Panel Series

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and need for many in our community to transition to unplanned remote work, the IDEAS Productivity project has launched the panel series Strategies for Working Remotely, which explores important topics in this area. The series brings together staff members of DOE laboratories and invited guests to speak about experiences in working remotely and transitioning from co-located and partially distributed teams to fully virtual teams, and teams of teams. Topics include challenges, lessons learned, unforeseen benefits, and opportunities to look for from this experience. Panelists will make brief introductory comments followed by open discussion.

Participation is free and open to the public. Registration is required for each event.   The sessions are independent, so join any and all.  

Format: The panelists make short statements or presentations related to the panel topic, and then the moderator opens the floor to discussion and questions from the audience. Due to the number of participants, we use chat capability to pose questions which are conveyed to the panelists by the moderator. Questions are curated for uniqueness. Recordings of the panels along with presentation slides and resources are posted here and on the ECP web site.

Notifications: If you’d like to receive announcements of upcoming panels and other IDEAS organized events, and followups when recordings become available, please subscribe to our mailing list.

Organizers: The panel series is organized by the IDEAS project in collaboration with the Exascale Computing Project (ECP).

Suggestions Welcome! Want to request another topic?  Email us at IDEASProductivity@gmail.com.

Past Panels

Listed in reverse chronological order.

2022

  1. What Can Be Learned from Applying Team of Teams Principles to the ECP Projects PETSc, Trilinos, xSDK, and E4S (2022-08-25)

    • Panelists:
      • Todd Munson (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • Jim Willenbring (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Ulrike Yang (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
    • Moderators:
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Reed Milewicz (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Miranda Mundt (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Benjamin Sims (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
    • Artifacts: Recording (YouTube)
    • Abstract: The ECP core mission is to develop a capable exascale computing ecosystem that accelerates scientific discovery and supports addressing critical challenges in energy, earth systems, materials, data, and national security. The very nature of this mission has drawn a wide range of talented and successful scientists with diverse backgrounds to work together in new ways toward this goal. In this panel discussion, we build on lessons learned from the experiences of the PETSc, Trilinos, xSDK, and E4S as viewed from the lens of “Team of Teams.” We consider how, why, and when each of these distributed teams may and may not function as Teams of Teams and when applying Team of Teams principles might benefit. We present strategies centered around developing engaged and productive virtual software teams and offer a deeper dive into these communities. We explore how developing a capable exascale ecosystem depends on meeting technical, social, and cultural challenges.

  2. Sustainable Hybrid Approaches for HPC (Rebroadcast) (2022-03-24)

    • Panelists:
      • Sadaf R. Alam (Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS))
      • Christian Bischof (Technical University (TU) Darmstadt)
      • Helen Cademartori (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • Devin Hodge (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • Kengo Nakajima (University of Tokyo)
      • Pat Quillen (Mathworks)
    • Moderator:
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Artifacts: Recording (YouTube)
    • Abstract:

      This panel discussion was held during SC21 and is being rebroadcast with live chat Q&A. The panel explored strategies for working remotely, with emphasis on how teams in high-performance computing (HPC) can be effective and efficient in long-term hybrid settings, where some staff work remotely and others on site, or collaborate while geographically dispersed.

      In spring 2020 many of us abruptly transitioned from a primarily on-site to a primarily remote work experience. Unplanned and imposed remote work created a sea change that has altered the way we work now and will likely impact the way we work in the future. This panel will explore strategies for working remotely, with emphasis on how teams in high-performance computing (HPC) can be effective and efficient in long-term hybrid settings, where some staff work remotely and others on site, or collaborate while geographically dispersed. This shift provides an opportunity to be more inclusive and compassionate, opening doors for technological innovation to support how we work and communicate as teams of scientists. By exploring how hybrid settings can help with hiring and retaining a diverse set of employees, this panel session will offer an opportunity for dialog to help shape and influence the future of HPC work (see https://sc20.supercomputing.org/proceedings/sotp/sotp_files/sotp114s2-file1.pdf).

2021

  1. Sustainable Hybrid Approaches for HPC (2021-11-18)

    • Panelists:
      • Sadaf R. Alam (Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS))
      • Christian Bischof (Technical University (TU) Darmstadt)
      • Helen Cademartori (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • Devin Hodge (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • Kengo Nakajima (University of Tokyo)
      • Pat Quillen (Mathworks)
    • Moderator:
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Artifacts: Recording (YouTube)

      • This panel discussion was part of the annual International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC21).

    • Abstract: In spring 2020 many of us abruptly transitioned from a primarily on-site to a primarily remote work experience. Unplanned and imposed remote work created a sea change that has altered the way we work now and will likely impact the way we work in the future. This panel will explore strategies for working remotely, with emphasis on how teams in high-performance computing (HPC) can be effective and efficient in long-term hybrid settings, where some staff work remotely and others on site, or collaborate while geographically dispersed. This shift provides an opportunity to be more inclusive and compassionate, opening doors for technological innovation to support how we work and communicate as teams of scientists. By exploring how hybrid settings can help with hiring and retaining a diverse set of employees, this panel session will offer an opportunity for dialog to help shape and influence the future of HPC work (see https://sc20.supercomputing.org/proceedings/sotp/sotp_files/sotp114s2-file1.pdf).

  2. Effective Teaming and Virtual Collaboration (2021-10-13)

    • Panelists:
      • Nancy Cooke (Arizona State University)
      • Gary Olson (University of California, Irvine)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Francesca Poli (Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program)
    • Moderator:
      • Susannah Howieson (Department of Energy)
    • Artifacts: Slides (Various)
    • Abstract: This panel discussion was part of the DOE Laboratories of the Future (LOTF) workshop series.

      DOE laboratories are globally recognized to be masters of science at scale, interdisciplinary research, and operating national user facilities. At the same time, the laboratory complex is entering its eighth decade of existence and retains vestiges of its World War II roots. As the stewards of this national treasure, it is our job to ensure the laboratories have the resources and structures to thrive for the next 70 years and beyond.

      Purpose of Workshop: The next event in the DOE Laboratories of the Future (LOTF) workshop series will be focused on effective teaming across the DOE laboratories and how we can best integrate new tools and mechanisms for virtual collaboration. Panel speakers will address:
      • How do decision-making teams work together effectively?
      • How can virtual collaborative tools help stimulate innovative collaborations?
      • What are strategies for working remotely at the national labs?
      • What new models of collaborative teaming can be adopted?

  3. Training Virtualization (2021-09-23)

    • Panelists:
      • Kelly Barnes (The Carpentries)
      • Helen He (NERSC and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • Julia Levites (Nvidia Corporation)
      • Thomas Papatheodore (OLCF and Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
    • Moderators:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Osni Marques (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
    • Artifacts: Recording (YouTube)
    • Abstract: Many organizations abruptly transitioned from a primarily on-site to a primarily remote work experience last spring. However, organizations still have training needs that were once largely accomplished through in-person events such as workshops, hackathons, and tutorials. This panel will share what they learned during the past year in their efforts to bring more virtualization to what historically has worked for in-person training events. What worked well? What did not work? This panel will share their insights about lessons learned over the past year and how those experiences will inform plans moving forward when organizations can safely offer in-person training again.

  4. I Finally Have the Internship I Always Wanted, Now What? (2021-06-24)

    • Panelists:
      • Dorian Arnold (Emory University)
      • Rebecca Hartman-Baker (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • Christine Harvey (The MITRE Corporation)
      • Jay Lofstead (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Moderators:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Artifacts: Recording (YouTube)
    • Abstract: Many virtual student internship programs across the national labs complex, industry, and academia are underway with students working remotely while geographically dispersed. What does a “virtual internship” lack, and what changes to mentoring or onboarding must be made? How can students get the most out of their internships—what opportunities should they look for, and how can they prepare for challenges? In the ninth installment of the panel discussion series, seasoned scientists offer career advice for students and early career scientists on weathering a pandemic, time management, and how to adjust to long-term changes while working remotely.

  5. How Does Remote Work Impact Creativity and Innovation? (2021-03-25)

    • Panelists:
      • Addi Thakur Malviya (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Pat Quillen (Mathworks)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Damian Rouson (Sourcery Institute)
      • Francesca Samsel (TACC (Texas Advanced Computing Center) and University of Texas at Austin)
    • Moderator:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
    • Artifacts: Recording (YouTube) | Slides (PDF)
    • Abstract: Many of us have been working remotely well over 13 months now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve hosted 7 panel discussions since April 2020 that allowed us to share resiliency strategies for working remotely as most of us transitioned from co-located to fully virtual work. That said, 13 months and 7 panel discussions later, how much do we know about how working remotely and a phased return to “the office” will impact our creativity? Do we do our best work when isolated? What is it about serendipitous face-to-face interactions that we find difficult to replicate online? In our eighth installment of the panel discussion series, we explore the topics of creativity and innovation with software development teams who are applying agile techniques, thinking differently about co-located collaboration, and questioning the unintended effects of working remotely. Panelists will make brief introductory comments followed by open discussion. Questions can be submitted by the audience in advance to remote@acm.org.

2020

  1. Year in Review: What Have We Learned So Far? (2020-12-17)

    • Panelists:
      • Lori Diachin (Exascale Computing Project and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
      • Thomas Evans (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Moderator:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
    • Archives: Recording (YouTube)
    • Abstract: Earlier this year many workers abruptly transitioned from a primarily on-site to a primarily remote work experience due to a global pandemic. As we bring 2020 to a close, what have we learned so far, and what do we have yet to learn about working remotely, and working effectively in hybrid configurations? In this fireside chat, we look at key highlights from each of the Strategies for Working Remotely panel discussions in the series and dig deeper. What has worked, why, and where can we improve? What do we have yet to learn, or unlearn? “Ask me anything” questions can be submitted by the audience in advance to remote@acm.org.

  2. Sustainable Hybrid Approaches (2020-10-29)

    • Panelists:
      • Katie Antypas (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • David E. Bernholdt (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Mark Miller (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
      • Hai Ah Nam (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
      • Valerie Taylor (Argonne National Laboratory)
    • Moderators:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Mike Heroux (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Archives: Recording (YouTube) | Slides (PDF) | Chat Transcript (TXT)
    • Abstract: In Spring 2020 many workers abruptly transitioned from a primarily on-site to a primarily remote work experience. Many people will be (or already are) transitioning to a hybrid experience, spending some days on site and some remote. Working in this hybrid setting is likely to last longer for many people than the primarily remote setting. For some, the hybrid setting may go on indefinitely. In this panel discussion, we learn from colleagues who have worked in a hybrid setting during their careers, as well as some who are new to remote work. We will discuss some of the challenges we have faced in primarily remote settings and how these challenges might be addressed in hybrid settings. Themes will include making effective use of time on site, best practices and principles for teams who are blended remote and on site, and how to be effective and efficient in long-term hybrid settings.

  3. How to Make Teams Tick (2020-08-27)

    • Panelists:
      • Todd Coffey (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Justin Lamb (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Navamita Ray (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
      • Ryan Shaw (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Tyler Shelton (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Daniel Shevitz (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
      • Salome Thorson (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Jan Velechovsky (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
    • Moderators:
      • Angela Herring (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Archives: Recording (YouTube) | Slides (PDF)
    • Abstract: Many teams have been working remotely for several months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, teams were largely co-located and comfortable that way – they just seemed to tick. Now that teams have become fully virtual and can no longer rely on productivity practices driven by being face-to-face, how have they managed change? What personal challenges have they faced, and how are they bringing back into balance team dynamics, and individual well-being? What are they learning about themselves and each other that has been unexpected? In the fifth installment of this IDEAS-ECP panel discussion series, we bring together members of successful software teams to speak candidly about being disrupted by change and bringing their teams back into balance.

  4. Virtual Onboarding and Mentoring (2020-06-30)

    • Panelists:
      • Helen Cademartori (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • Marcey Kelley (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
      • Jay Lofstead (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Bethany (Beth) Mccormick (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
      • Raj Sankaran (Argonne National Laboratory)
    • Moderators:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Rebecca Hartman-Baker (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Archives: Recording (YouTube) | Slides (PDF)
    • Abstract: As we head into the summer months, student internship programs are underway, albeit virtually as many of us are now working remotely in response to COVID-19 social distancing practices. Several laboratories have already onboarded interns and new team members to work remotely with geographically dispersed teams. What are some lessons learned and best practices about onboarding new hires that we can take away from this experience? In the fourth installment of this IDEAS-ECP panel discussion series, we bring together several staff members of DOE laboratories, who will speak about their experiences in onboarding and mentoring new hires virtually. Topics include challenges, lessons learned, unforeseen benefits, and opportunities to look for from this experience.

  5. Making the Transition to Virtual Software Teams (2020-05-21)

    • Panelists:
      • Jay Jay Billings (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Mark Gates (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
      • Mahantesh Halappanavar (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
      • Angela Herring (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
      • Axel Huebl (Berkeley Lab)
    • Moderators:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Archives: Recording (YouTube) | Slides (PDF)
    • Abstract: Recently, many tools and workflows have emerged in the software industry that have greatly enhanced the productivity of development teams. GitHub, a site that hosts projects in Git repositories, is a popular platform for open source and closed source projects. GitHub has encoded several best practices into easily followed procedures such as pull requests, which enrich the software engineering vocabularies of non-professionals and professionals alike. GitHub also provides integration to other services (for example, continuous integration such as Travis CI, which allows code changes to be automatically tested before they are merged into a master development branch). This presentation will discuss how to set up a project on GitHub, illustrate the use of pull requests to incorporate code changes, and show how Travis CI can be used to boost confidence that changes will not break existing code.

  6. Challenges Faced by Parents Who are Working Remotely, and Overcoming Them (2020-04-24)

    • Panelists:
      • Katherine Evans (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Thomas Evans (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Madeline Heroux (Step-by-Step Montessori School)
      • Lindsey Hughes (Sandia National Laboratories)
      • Stefan Wild (Argonne National Laboratory)
    • Moderators:
      • Ashley Barker (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Archives: Recording (YouTube) | Additional Educational Resources from Sandia Parents Group (Google Doc) | Mental Fitness Challenge (PDF)
    • Abstract: While working remotely is challenging enough, many are currently experiencing unique complexities involved with parenting, transitioning to online school at home, and working productively while practicing social distancing in response to COVID-19. In the second installment of the IDEAS-ECP panel discussion series, we brought together four ECP staff members, a new staff member on-boarding with a National Lab, and a Montessori educator to share ideas and resources.

  7. Advice from Colleagues with Experience (2020-04-03)

    • Panelists:
      • Mike Bernhardt (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
      • Lois Curfman McInnes (Argonne National Laboratory)
      • Mark Miller (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
      • Kathryn Mohror (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
      • Elaine Raybourn (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Moderator:
      • Mike Heroux (Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Archives: Recording (YouTube) | Slides (PDF)
    • Abstract: Working remotely has suddenly become a near-universal experience for staff members of research organizations, but for some it has been a way of life for years. In this panel discussion, we brought together five staff members of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories, all members of the DOE Exascale Computing Project (ECP), with years of varied experience working remotely. Topics included advice to people just getting started with working remotely, challenges, unforeseen benefits, and opportunities to look for from this experience, with emphasis on issues faced by collaborating teams in computational research. Panelists made brief introductory comments followed by open discussion.