Early Career

focus your career path

The Early Career program is a series of workshop-style sessions and pre-conference webinars for people in the early stages of their careers. It is intended to help guide program participants in navigating a successful career path. Topics include funding, mentorship, self-promotion, communication skills, resiliency, and time management.

Schedule

Early Career

Monday, 16 November 2026

Committee

Early Career Chair
Michael O. Lam, James Madison University

Early Career Vice Chair
Alana Romanella, University of Colorado, Boulder

Early Career Applications Open 1 April 2026

New for SC26: Early Career Program applications will be considered on a monthly basis beginning in May through August. Early applications are encouraged!

Early Career Applications

1 APR 2026

ECP Applications &
Travel Grants Open

10 AUG 2026

Travel Grant
Applications Close

1 SEP 2026

Travel Grant
Notifications Sent

15 SEP 2026

ECP Applications Close

1 OCT 2026

ECP Notifications Sent

What is Early career?

The Early Career Program provides a one-day series of special sessions for early-career researchers, educators, and technical professionals. This includes academic, industry, and laboratory staff and post-docs within the first seven years of a permanent position. The Early Career Program is available to participants by application only. The program aims to help participants secure a better understanding of the issues and challenges faced while navigating a successful research career.

Topics may include:

Goal Setting: Discerning, planning for, and pursuing career goals
Collaboration: Exploring opportunities for local and remote collaboration to increase impact and pursue career goals
Funding: Understanding the agencies, funding instruments, and strategies for securing research funding
Publishing: Understanding the landscape of conference, journal, and other publication venues, including getting involved in conference leadership or journal editorship
Mentorship: Understanding the difference between a mentor and a sponsor and establishing effective, long-term mentoring and sponsoring relationships

Science Communication: Discussing effective ways to promote research and development by communicating science to the public, as part of interdisciplinary science research
Time Management: Striking a balance between our professional and personal responsibilities and obligations
Project Management: Combining multiple technical and soft skills to successfully guide projects and engage diverse stakeholders
Academic Service Roles: Balance involvement in various academic service roles at one’s institution, and in conference organization, program committees, editorial boards

The program will include engaging interactive sessions aimed at helping participants develop their professional skills, as well as a strategic vision for their future.

Important Note

This program is NOT an introduction to HPC, and it does not cover technical content except for what is relevant to the above topics. If you are interested in tutorials or workshops on technical topics, please visit those elements within the Technical Program.

Preparing Your application

The application includes submission of a statement (maximum 250 words) on why you want to participate in the Early Career program.

The Early Career Program (ECP) is pleased to announce that travel support will be provided for up to 20 participants this year. The ECP support package includes conference registration, airfare, hotel accommodations, and airport parking. Notably, travel support covers attendance for the entire SC Technical Program, not just ECP activities.

This support is available to both U.S. and international applicants. To receive ECP travel support, participation in the in-person workshop on Monday, November 16, is required, and recipients are expected to attend the entire main conference (Tuesday-Friday).

How to Apply

In addition to the ECP application, applicants for travel support must complete a separate application. To be eligible, applicants must first apply to the Early Career Program.

The travel support application will require brief statements addressing:

Demonstrated financial need
Planned engagement at the conference
Personal contributions to the field or community
Anticipated benefits from attending the SC Conference

To accommodate SC26 Housing, the deadline to apply for travel support is Monday, August 10, which precedes the final deadline for ECP applications (September 15). This is a hard deadline. There will be no extensions. Notifications regarding travel funding will be made on Tuesday, September 1.

registration

Accepted Early Career participants are required to register for the Technical Program. A Workshops registration is not required. See more information at Registration.

schedule and location

Early Career sessions will be held in a workshop format on Monday, November 16, 2026, before the full SC Program begins – this allows participants to enjoy as much of the Technical Program as possible.

networking

Early Career participants have various networking opportunities throughout the day, including informal mingling during breaks and other more formal activities.

Ready to Apply?

Create an account in the online submission system and complete the form. A sample form can be viewed before signing in.

Apply

If you have questions about Early Career applications, please contact the program committee.

dates & deadlines

Submission, application, and nomination deadlines for all programs and awards, the housing open date, the early registration deadline, and more – all in one place.