2025-26 Supercomputing Challenge Kickoff

Kickoff Conference at New Mexico Tech in Socorro will be held on the weekend of October 11 - October 12, 2025.

9:00-11:30: Registration, pictures and campus tours at Joseph Fidel Student Union building (building #18 on the map).
11:30: Lunch in the cafeteria. See the General Schedule for more information.
Room and board provided.
Attendance at the Kickoff is not required for participation in the Challenge. Attendance at the Kickoff will be limited to 300 students.

After lunch Keynote, Leila Al-hemali

Leila Alhemali

Keynote description: Growing up with the Web: What Computing Can Teach Us About Ourselves

Biography: Leila Alhemali was born in 1995 — the same year the modern web took off — and she’s been growing up with it ever since. In this talk, she shares how the internet shaped her path into tech, from watching global events unfold online to building interactive tools that help people understand climate and fire behavior.

It’s a personal and down-to-earth look at how computing has changed, what it means to work with it today, and why we’re still just scratching the surface of what’s possible.

Presentation slides

After dinner Keynote, Nicholas Bennett

Biography: Nick Bennett is a long time Supercomputing Challenge volunteer instructor/judge/mentor, ...

He currently teaches at CNM's Ingenuity

In this talk, Nick shared about the Deep Dive bootcamps at CNM and the opportunities available to those participants.

Sunday lunch Keynote, Jessica Trujillo-Torres

Coordinator of the New Mexico Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NMCCoE)

The New Mexico Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, which has integrated the New Mexico Tech Cybersecurity Education Center (as of January 2022), is developing cybersecurity expertise in economic development, education, innovation, and research for the state of New Mexico.
The NMCCoE vision is to make New Mexico a leader in cybersecurity economic development, education, innovation, and research. The goals proposed to achieve this vision are:

Grow and support cybersecurity economic development and research, including entrepreneurial workforce development, the growth of cybersecurity companies, and improve the cybersecurity stance of the state of New Mexico, its businesses, and its citizens.
Develop innovative cybersecurity programs, including educational programs and cybersecurity research, and enhance cybersecurity research and information flow between universities and industry.

Conference Tracks

Track 1 - Introduction to Python, Beginners, Schedule

The students who participate in this session typically are Pre-Algebra students and/or have little to no experience in Python coding.

Track 2 - AI-Assisted Modeling and Simulation in Python, Schedule

An introduction to concepts in discrete-event simulation in Python, using LLM-based AI coding-assist tools.

Track 3 - Image Processing Workshop with Python, Schedule

This session is for students who have taken Algebra 1 and/or have some experience in Python programming.

Track 4 - Experienced - Google Colab, Machine Learning, Python, Schedule CANCELLED

This session is for students who have at least Pre-Calculus math level and have some experience with at least one programming language and/or have participated in the Challenge for multiple years.

Teacher Session, Schedule

This session is for teachers to familiarize themselves with the Supercomputing Challenge year and milestones.