KTech CONNECT Recap

The AONE team recently had the opportunity to attend a KTech Connect event in Knoxville, Tennessee thanks to the Knoxville Technology Council. KTech is an organization in the Knoxville area with the goals of promoting the technology industry in the area and bringing people together. Read more about KTech in our previous blog post. This event spanned over three days and was full of networking and educational events. I was so happy to get to see my friends A.J. Murray, Andy Lapteff, and Dan Richards again. Also, we got to meet Alex Perkins of the Cables 2 Clouds podcast for the first time! We missed Lexie this go around, but there is always next time.

8/16/2023 – Travel Day
On Wednesday, A.J., Andy, Dan and I made our way Knoxville. We (mainly I) were lucky to not have any travel issues on the way there. We all made it by mid-afternoon and were ready to get these events started. It is still amazing to me that this podcast has been going on for over three years and we have still only met in-person a few times. I think that is why we always try to make the best out of our time together. After getting settled in to our home for the rest of the week, we headed out on the town. We stopped in to Downtown Grill and Brewery for an excellent meal and conversation.

8/17/2023 – ORNL Tour and KTech CONNECT Networking
We definitely started off our week of events with a big day one. The day started off with finding an amazing local spot for breakfast, Scrambled Jake’s, which we ended up going back to the next day as well because it was awesome. Then, we headed out for a tour of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). ORNL has a storied past that started with a mission to race to develop “a terrible weapon based on splitting uranium atoms, which had been demonstrated — in Germany — a few years before World War II broke out.” (More history of ORNL here.) This was better known as the Manhattan Project. Since then, the lab has shifted focus to peacetime projects and the betterment of humankind. An example of this is how ORNL assisted early on in the COVID-19 pandemic with their high performence computing environment. Thanks to Daniel Pelfrey, a senior network engineer with ORNL, and team, we had the opportunity to learn more about high performnace computing and get an up close look at the Frontier and Summit supercomputers! It was amazing to learn about what makes up a supercomputer, and how vital a role the network plays in ensuring it is a functional system.

After the tour at ORNL, we attended the KTech CONNECT Networking event at Printshop Beer Co. This was a great way to cap off the first day and we were all impressed with the turnout. There were many local people from the KTech community who we were able to meet and get to know, as well as AONE fans who traveled from near and far (some folks flew in) to be with us for the week. Our friends of the show will never cease to amaze us. It was great to meet new people and reconnect with those who we do not get to see often. Selfishly, as a side perk, I enjoy these types of events because they get me out in front of people to focus on my communication skills. It definitely helps when you can network with people about networking!

8/18/2023 – Studio Tour / Alex Arrives! / Lunch and AI chat / Top Golf
We followed up our eventful day one with another one of excitement for day two. Part of this slate of KTech CONNECT events included a live podcast episode which was happening the next day, so on Friday morning, we were able to go see the JTV studio where the show was to be hosted. We had the opportunity to meet with the broadcast team who graciously gave us a tour of how things look and operate behind the scenes of their operation at JTV. This is something I have not had exposure to before, so it was very cool to see!

After the JTV tour, we headed back to the house, just in time to meet Alex Perkins of the Cables 2 Clouds podcast for the first time! We have been chatting and working with Alex for quite a while now online, so it was great to finally meet him in person!

We then headed out for the next KTech CONNECT event which was the VIP lunch at The Chop House. While we enjoyed a delicious meal, we got to hear an informative presentation from Edmon Begoli, PhD with ORNL on artificial intelligence. This was a beneficial presentation because it started with a very high level picture on what AI really is, then delved into how it can be used and what some of the potential implications are around AI. The presentation ended with an intriguing Q&A discussion on different topics surrounding artificial intelligence.

Later that afternoon, we worked on some content, then headed out for the next KTech Connect event, which was held at Top Golf.

8/19/2023 – Breakfast, Lunch, and Simulcast
The day of the main event arrived on Saturday. We started it off on a great note with breakfast at Loco Burro. We once again were able spend some time with the KTech community, enjoy more great food, and partake in some fantastic conversation. Then it was on to a wonderful lunch at Chesapeake’s Seafood House where we had the opportunity to chat more with the sponsors of the KTech CONNECT events. After that it was time to prepare for the live simulcast at the JTV studios. For the live recording, we reconnected with Daniel Pelfrey to have a chat about high performance computing and the supercomputers at ORNL. Prior to these events, I did not have a good idea of what high performance computing really is and what a supercomputer can be used for, so this was very beneficial for me. Hearing about how ORNL empowers its users to succeed was very powerful. One key takeaway for me was that ORNL does not just provide time on a supercomputer, but also offers expertise as well. That is quite the value-add. Being able to record this episode in front of an audience, in this studio was quite the experience. After the show, we had a reception with the sponsors and those who attended the live simulcast.

The Wrap Up
We had such an amazing time this week for many reasons. Members of the team got to reunite, meet new people, see new sights, eat great food, and learn new things. We would like to thank the Knoxville Technology Council for organizing this event and bringing us out, Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the tour, and the sponsors of the KTech Connect events (Alkira, JTV, Opengear, Rodefer Moss) for making this all happen.