Event Summary
Every breakthrough in artificial intelligence, climate modeling, molecular simulation, energy production, pharmaceutical design, and more is powered by massive computational infrastructure. From the micro-architectures carved into silicon chips to the sprawling supercomputers and interconnected cloud clusters that span entire data centers, compute capacity is the foundational engine of modern scientific discovery, engineering innovation, and business operations and productivity.
On October 6, join the Austin Forum for a fast-paced, comprehensive overview presentation exploring the past, present, and possible futures of compute infrastructure. Our speakers will trace the trajectory of hardware evolution, from legacy chip paradigms to today's exascale hyperscale clusters, and share a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in computing infrastructure. The presentation will conclude with some thoughts on the future of computing, from architectures to new applications, drivers, and impacts. Spanning technology, real-world applications, power/energy constraints, and global economics, this presentation will give you a complete picture of the physical systems driving our digital world.
What we'll cover
- The Evolution of Silicon: How Moore’s Law drove decades of microprocessor innovation, where chip scaling stands today, and why specialized accelerators (GPUs, TPUs, and domain-specific ASICs) have taken center stage.
- Systems, Clusters, and Clouds: How individual chips are integrated into boards, servers, racks, and massive clusters that power modern high-performance computing (HPC) supercomputers and public cloud platforms.
- Future Architectures on the Horizon: What comes next when traditional silicon hits physical limits? An exploration of alternative paradigms, including 3D stacked chiplets, optical/photonic computing, neuromorphic processing, and quantum integration.
- Workloads Shaping the Hardware: How applications, from frontier AI training and drug discovery to real-time defense and financial modeling, are dictating future hardware design requirements.
- Power, Cooling, and Economics: Confronting the physical reality of building gigawatt-scale infrastructure, including thermal management, energy grid demands, capital expenditure dynamics, and global supply chain considerations.
Event Agenda
- 5:15 – 6:15 PM | Pre-Event Networking, food & beverages & Austin Energy Tech Demos/Tours
- 6:15 – 7:45 PM | Main Presentation & Audience Q&A
- 7:45 PM+ | Post-Event Social at B.D. Riley's (Complimentary drink included!)
Special thanks to our Event Sponsors
- Austin Energy for hosting, providing food & beverages, and hosting interactive tech tours!
- Abilitie for sponsoring! Stop by their table at the event to learn about their 12-Week Mini-MBA program. Austin Forum members receive an exclusive 50% tuition discount ($2,250 savings!) for the Fall cohort kicking off Oct 14.
Attendance Instructions
Join us at Austin Energy Headquarters, 4815 Mueller Blvd where you will be checked in at the front.
Doors open at 5:15. Come enjoy Pre-Event Networking, food & beverages & Austin Energy Tech Demos/Tours (VR: energy games + an EV driving experience) until the presentation starts at 6:15pm.
- Demos and Tours: Discover how Austin Energy puts sustainability into action. Join a guided tour of Austin Energy’s HQ that features AEGB Five-Star, LEED Platinum, and WELL Platinum building, a behind-the-scenes stop at the Austin Energy Museum, plus interactive digital experiences that bring sustainability journey to life.
Parking:
- There are visitor parking spaces available onsite + street parking.
- McBee St District Garage (1826 McBee St behind Alamo Cinema/Colleens)
