CSE-6230-A
High Performance Parallel Computing
Instructor information
Lectures: 8-9:15 am MW
Location: Tech Sq Research Bldg 132
Instructor: Qi Tang
Email: qtang@gatech.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 4-5 PM on zoom
TA1: Amrutha Praveen
Email: aothayoth3@gatech.edu
Office Hours: Monday 3:30-4:30 PM on zoom
TA2: Rushan Zhang
Email: rzhangbq@gatech.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 11-12 AM on zoom
Course description
This course covers the practical and theoretical aspects of parallel computing and their applications. It will focus on OpenMP, MPI, GPU programming (CUDA), practical tools, and scientific applications such as grid- and particle-based simulations.
Prerequisites
- Proficiency in C/C++ programming
- CS 1332, 1372, 2110 or CX 4010
- Some basic knowledge in Linux
Topics
- Overview of single processor computing
- Introduction to Git and PACE
- Parallel programming and theory
- Distributed memory (MPI) programming
- Multithreaded (OpenMP) programming
- GPU (CUDA) programming
- Portable frameworks and scientific applications (OpenMP offload, OpenACC, Kokkos, PETSc, etc)
Grading
The weights for the course grade are as follows.
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Mini group projects (during the semester) | 60% |
| Group project participation | 5% |
| Class participation | 5% |
| Final project (due during exam week) | 30% |
The final course grade will be assigned based on the following scale.
| Grade | % |
|---|---|
| A | 90-100% |
| B | 80-89% |
| C | 70-79% |
| D | 60-69% |
| F | 0-59% |
Pass/Fail and Audit
For pass/fail, the passing grade is 50% and you are strongly encouraged to attend class regularly. If you wish to take the course for audit credit, the audit credit is given for a grade of at least 20% and you are strongly encouraged to attend class regularly.
Textbooks
The following three textbooks are either available freely online or accessible electronically through GT's library. The first two books have been uploaded to Canvas. We would like to express our special thanks to Victor Eijkhout for his generosity in making his books freely available to the entire community.
- The Science of Computing, Victor Eijkhout
- Parallel Programming in Science and Engineering, Victor Eijkhout
- CUDA by Example: An Introduction to General-Purpose GPU Programming, Jason Sanders and Edward Kandrot
Pre-class assignments
For most class meetings, there will be a pre-class assignment that you should complete beforehand. These assignments will form the basis for in-class discussions, so it is important that you complete them.
Class meetings
Class meetings are meant to be highly interactive and you are expected to attend if possible. You must be able to bring a laptop computer to class and are expected to complete short programming assignments in class.
Class management
We will use Canvas and Github Classroom to deliver course materials, announcements, and manage the discussion board. All course materials will be hosted on Github Classroom.
Course policies, expectations & guidelines
Plagiarism & academic integrity
Georgia Tech aims to cultivate a community based on trust, academic integrity, and honor. Students are expected to act according to the highest ethical standards. For more information on the Honor Code, please visit the OSI website.
Any student suspected of cheating or plagiarizing on a quiz, exam, or assignment will be reported to the Office of Student Integrity, which will investigate the incident and identify the appropriate penalty for violations.
Role of AI assistants
In this course, AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are treated as collaborative partners rather than code vending machines. You are encouraged to use them to brainstorm approaches, debug more effectively, and explore optimization ideas, but you must still design, verify, and refine your own solutions. The goal is to develop the skill of using AI creatively and critically, so that it enhances your HPC ability without replacing it.
This semester, I will be enhancing the course projects to provide opportunities to experiment with AI tools for more efficient code development on HPC. Mastery of this skill is increasingly important and will be essential in the near future. An examplar project repo can be found here.
Accommodations for individuals with disabilities
If you are a student with learning needs that require special accommodation, contact the Office of Disability Services at (404) 894-2563 or website, as soon as possible, to make an appointment to discuss your special needs and to obtain an accommodations letter. Please also email me as soon as possible in order to set up a time to discuss your learning needs.
Student-faculty expectations
The Georgia Tech community believes that it is important to continually strive for an atmosphere of mutual respect, acknowledgement, and responsibility between faculty members and the student body. Therefore, we herein endeavors to enumerate the specific expectations of each side. See here for more details.
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank Prof. Sean Couch for offering many useful suggestions and generously sharing course materials with me.