Richard Knepper

An illuminated burnt-orange sculpture of a giant pickaxe head embedded in the rock in front of the UTEP Bookstore, perforated with illuminated zeros and ones. The pickaxe stands up in front of a brilliant blue sky.

Not my photo, but the UTEP sculpture "Mining Minds" by Michael Clapper goes really hard

I lucked into one of these at a discount store a while back and it is an incredible daily driver - fantastic coffee, visitors need no schooling, easy to clean, makes our kitchen look fabulous.

Researchers in Japan and Switzerland demonstrated a giant robotic hand designed to aid disaster response, as part of Japan’s Collaborative AI Field Robot Everywhere (CAFÉ) project. The device, built in collaboration with Japan’s Kumagai Gumi, Tsukuba University, and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, and Switzerland’s ETH Zurich, is able to grip fragile or heavy debris with precision. The researchers paired the robot hand with an AI excavation system using reinforcement learning, which allows it to safely tackle hazards like natural dams from landslides.

Save us, Giant Robot Hand!

Possum t-shirt is best t-shirt!

This was a fascinating one for me, I liked the way the flashbacks, touches of body horror, and basic indignities of being human were all suggestive of something without being ham-handed. I was expecting a different denouement but not terribly disappointed.

Stop-work order issued to life-saving heart valve research at Cornell University "I think it's my lifelong mission. I have literally been working in this field since 1985, and for the past 30 of these years, I have been developing miniature blood pumps."

www.wbng.com/2025/05/12/s...

Just one example of the impacts of federal stop-work orders, life-saving research cannot move forward.

Just registered for Durham HPC Days for the 1st week of June, stopping in before ISC'25 -- looking forward to it!

www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...

I've already been working on a performance-to-power statistic to put a "sustainability cost" on people who won't give up old machines, the SpacePerry would be a great way to drive the concept home when we get to some of the GPU gear.

Cannot wait to factor SMR into costing model for a startup negotiation, "bear in mind, these quotes are good for now but by the time you get to the institution, things may have changed."

A Disaster for American Innovation The Trump administration is jeopardizing the AI boom.

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Guardian of the Universe, by Oxygen Destroyer 9 track album

I'm not the biggest metal fan but today is really hitting me with Oxygen Destroyer vibes.
oxygen-destroyer.bandcamp.com/album/guardi...

At work, lining up all the stuff I need to do, thinking of when I will return home to continue @sgj.bsky.social's The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and have my wig completely and utterly flipped by it.

#HPC person

One job of the scientist in our times is to speak the truth with a collective voice based on evidence. That's why I'm proud to join over 140 leading researchers to affirm the scientific consensus that bias in AI is a real problem that needs to be prioritized.

www.aibiasconsensus.org

Mines and cluster munitions.

The first mission in the Roadcraft demo is with a timber harvester and a logging crane, maybe oversuccessful in sealing the deal. I probably would have been in if you had given me a simple bulldozer or bucketloader.

They absolutely are, and other action in addition to budget updates...

I think Killian's assessment is pretty on target for HPC. CASC is meant to be a means of conversation between the funding agencies and RCD centers; without our colleagues at the agencies--no one to speak with. I wish I could say there are plans for science spending to come, I don't see any.

CASC Statement on science agency firings in HPCWire today:
www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire...

The impacts to our national competitiveness, health, safety, and science leadership will have longer consequences than one quarter, one year, or one presidential term.

CASC Statement on science agency firings in HPCWire today:
www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire...

The impacts to our national competitiveness, health, safety, and science leadership will have longer consequences than one quarter, one year, or one presidential term.

High-performance computing at a crossroads Long-term plans and comprehensive vision are needed

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

This changes my perspective, feeling much better about dragon. 50 years young and 250lbs thin in 2025. However being 6'2" short may turn out to be a drag.

A screenshot of a bluesky notification reading "Beyonce followed you". This is not anything approaching the real Beyonce, and the actual bsky account name is beyoce, which seems like a pretty rough type for someone who is supposed bear the name.

Continued. Excellence.

screenshot of results of a bing search entitled "Videos of Richard Knepper" - the results are "Wild Thing - Trailer" from Mar 16 2022 and "Getting Out" 1994, a crime drama starring Rebecca De Mornay on Chicken Soup for the Soul TV. What in the everlasting gobstopper is "Chicken Soup for the Soul TV"???

As a mark of my continued excellence, I remain associated only with the most exceptional things

The ones I've seen are all so tiny!

Assistant Director, CAC Systems and Operations Assistant Director, CAC Systems and Operations Info Tech Assoc Director, Band H Center for Advanced Computing Join Our Journey Cornell Research & Innovation creates an environment that unifies and...

Position open at the Cornell Center for Advanced Computing: cornell.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Cornel... Great team, exciting projects, "gorges" location! #HPC #HPCjobs

Screenshot of Wikipedia article text about the song "Turn Down for What", reading "'Turn Down for What' is written in the E Phrygian mode and is set in common time at a moderate tempo of 100 beats per minute."

Today, I have learned...

The front of a 2025 calendar in Polish, featuring artwork of Baba Yaga's chicken-legged hut.

Under my tree was this lovely calendar by Natalia Naszczyńska and Sebastian Łuczywo, the artwork and text make me happy.

A black and white illustration of an adventuring party sitting around a campfire consisting of an owlbear, a diminutive dragon, and a young teifling. The illustrations has orange accents.

Color illustration on a book cover with an owlbear, dragon, and tiefling girl entering a dungeon room.

Mrs. Kn got me Dungeon Academy: No Humans Allowed by Madeleine Roux and these illustrations by @timprobert.bsky.social are so endlessly charming!