PhD student and graduate research assistant in the IOWA-HPC Lab, Shihui Song attended the 2025 IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium (IPDPS 2025) in Milan, Italy — a premier international forum sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Parallel Processing. IPDPS brings together engineers and scientists from around the world to share the latest research in all areas of parallel computation and distributed processing through technical sessions, workshops, tutorials, and student forums.

At the conference, Song presented two papers — one based on her own research and another on behalf of her lab. The lab’s featured work, “A Memory-efficient and Computation-balanced Lossy Compressor on Wafer-Scale Engine,” introduces scalable solutions to address the demands of data-intensive applications by improving memory efficiency and computational balance on wafer-scale systems.

The IOWA-HPC Lab focuses on high-performance computing challenges, including parallel processing, efficient data movement, and system-level optimization. By representing the group on this international stage, Song helped amplify the lab’s latest innovations to a global audience of peers and experts.

"It was an incredibly rewarding experience. I had the chance to talk directly with experts in my field, and I learned a lot." - Shihui Song

Did you end up presenting on behalf of Professor Peng? How was your experience presenting your research at IPDPS? If not, what was your experience sitting in on presentations? 

Yes, I presented my own paper at IPDPS, and I also gave a presentation on behalf of my labmates for their paper. This was actually my first time giving an in-person presentation, so I was a bit nervous. There was a Q&A session after each talk, and I really enjoyed engaging with other researchers in my field. One of the most exciting parts was that after the session, someone came up to me to continue the discussion about my work.

How was your experience at the conference overall? Was there a workshop or tutorial at IPDPS 2025 that surprised you most in terms of relevance or innovation? 

Overall, it was an incredibly rewarding experience. I had the chance to talk directly with experts in my field, and I learned a lot. I attended a workshop on data compression, which is highly relevant to my research. It gave me many insights and ideas that I think I can apply in my own work moving forward.

What advice would you give to another student thinking about attending or submitting to IPDPS next year? 

The paper quality at IPDPS is generally high, so my main advice is to focus on writing a strong, solid paper. It’s also important to choose the right track—IPDPS has specialized tracks like compression or graph processing, and selecting the appropriate one can really help your work reach the right audience.

What was your experience like in Milan? Any favorite moments you’d like to share?  

I found the people in Milan to be very warm and welcoming. The Milan Cathedral was stunning—definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I also appreciated how convenient the public transportation was, with trains, trolleys, and buses all easily accessible. One of my favorite moments happened right in front of the cathedral: a professor noticed my SC’24 conference backpack and asked if I was attending IPDPS.

We ended up having a great conversation about the conference and our respective research—it was such a nice and unexpected connection to make in the middle of the city. Another memorable coincidence was that I met a student from Iowa State University on my flight to Milan—and incredibly, I ran into him again on the trolley to the airport on my last day. We had long conversations both times and talked about our experiences at the conference. 

What’s one thing you’d recommend to anyone traveling to Italy for the first time?

If you want to see The Last Supper, make sure to book tickets at least two months in advance. I didn’t realize this and unfortunately missed the chance. Also, bring a comfortable pair of walking shoes—many streets in Milan are paved with stones, and if you enjoy exploring the city on foot, it can get tiring without the right footwear.