The Tsinghua University Student Supercomputing Team has claimed the overall championship title at SC24 Student Cluster Competition held in Atlanta, the United States. This achievement marks the team’s 18th victory across the three major international student supercomputing competitions.

The SC24 finals brought together 11 teams from seven countries and regions to compete in a rigorous 47-hour challenge. Teams were tasked with designing and assembling custom computing clusters under a strict 4.5 kW power limit. The competition evaluated their performance across benchmarks (LINPACK, MLPerf, and NPB), scientific applications like the Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON) Weather and Climate Model and Nanoscale Molecular Dynamics (NAMD) simulation, as well as a reproducibility challenge on dataflow lifecycle analysis. A mystery application of cat recognition challenge added another layer of complexity to the event.

The Tsinghua team began preparations for the competition months in advance, dedicating their summer break to rigorous training, collaborative development, and weekly discussions. During the finals, the team overcame significant obstacles, including jet lag, hardware unfamiliarity, and technical challenges posed by the competition’s live environment. Their comprehensive skills and steady on-site performance ultimately secured them the top position.

The winning team consisted of six undergraduate students: Yang Kai from Zhili College, as well as Li Yifan, Xue Zhiyu, Yang Yuqing, Wang Yucheng and Shi Chengyu from the Department of Computer Science and Technology. Technical support was provided by doctoral students Chen Shengqi, Zhai Mingshu, Zhang Runqing, and Shan Jingbo from the Department of Computer Science and Technology. The team was guided by faculty members Dr. Han Wentao, Dr. Jin Yuyang, and Professor Zhai Jidong, with additional support from Tsinghua’s Zhuiguang Innovation Program for student research and development.

The SC Student Cluster Competition, alongside the ISC Student Cluster Competition and the ASC Student Supercomputer Challenge, is considered one of the three most authoritative global supercomputing competitions.