Team Information
Location: Camarillo, California
Established: 2002
Enrollment: 7,000
Mascots: Ekhos the Dolphin
California State University Channel Islands is back and bigger than ever. As usual, they’ve entered two teams into the fray. as they did in the 2024, 2023, and 2022 events. This year, their two teams are packed with six undergrads per team, the maximum allowed by law.
In past competitions, they’ve been mostly middle of the pack performers. However, their 2023 HPC Dolphin (aka “High Performance Dolphins Deluxe”) team took home the gold in 2023, winning in a photo finish contest. 2025 would be a great year to return to that winning form.
This Channel Islands team, dubbed “Team Nautical Processing” is completely new – no competition veterans. At this early point in the competition, all we know is their names, that they’re all undergrads and that there are six of them. More info will be posted as we receive it.
It’s great to have the Channel Islands teams for a fourth Winter Classic. Let’s see who wins the Battle of Camarillo this year.
2025 Team Roster:
- Emily Marrufo
Julian Nemo: "Hello! My name is Julian Nemo, a student pursuing my bachelor's degree in Computer Science at California State University Channel Islands. I'm fascinated by program optimization, which motivates my study of languages like C and Python, along with algorithmic efficiency.
Outside of CSUCI, I challenge myself by analyzing decompiled code from retro video games, which has deepened my understanding of optimization techniques and different programming aspects. When I'm not coding, I enjoy long distance running and playing bass, which help me maintain creativity and focus in my studies."
- Irvin Ortiz-Cortez
- Juan Ramirez
- Isai Soria
First Interview: The second team from Chanel Islands, Nautical Processing, brings six newbies to the world of HPC/AI. One funny thing that comes up in the interview is that two of the team members couldn’t say for sure if they were juniors or seniors right now. Seems like it’s a topic of debate with school administration. I offer to throw the full weight of the Winter Classic behind them if needed.
During the interview, I shared some of their scores with them for the first time. They came in fifth on LINPACK and a close second on HPCG and were fourth overall after that first module. We talked about their HPC Crash Course exam, but I didn’t have their score fully baked at that point. However, they did well and after the exam was factored in, they were sitting pretty in third place overall. We also talked about what they wanted to do career-wise, so employers pay close attention.
Nautical Processing follow up: In our follow up with the Nautical Processing team, we talked a lot about what it meant to them to get some real keyboard time on a IQM quantum system, courtesy of ORNL and their Quantum Challenge.
I asked them to talk about the most challenging part of the competition, which led to a conversation about the AWS WRF module. Which led to me bringing up profiling and how it can help save a LOT of time when trying to figure where to start on optimizing.
Nautical Processing thought that the HPC Crash Course and the tutorials presented by Dr. John Urbanic from The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center were hugely helpful. I’ve heard this from enough teams to make me decide to make the HPC Crash Course the first event in the next Winter Classic (assuming there is one, of course, right?)
2024 Team A
2024 Team Roster:
"Hello! My name is Christopher Arias I'm currently a Junior studying Computer Science at California State University Channel Islands. I am really into building Legos and just having a good time with friends! I want to be a Software engineer for a major company. I've had experience with Python, Java, and Javascript/HTML/CSS web development. I've also recently finished a Python Automation Certificate."
James Cowman
"My name is Michael Garcia, I am a Junior at California State University of Channel Islands majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Mathematics. My goal is to delve into the world of AI because that topic has fascinated me since I was a child. I still consider myself inexperienced, I know some C++, Java, and Python; however, I know there is still plenty to learn."
"Hey there! I'm Rishikesh Patil, currently pursuing my Master of Science in Computer Science at California State University, Channel Islands. Passionate about exploring the intersection of technology and society, I spend my time delving into the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing.
Outside of academics, I enjoy diving into coding projects that challenge my technical skills and creativity, and I also enjoy hiking and photography. I'm particularly interested in leveraging technology to tackle real-world problems and drive positive change in society. In the future, I aspire to work in a role where I can apply my expertise in machine learning and deep learning to develop innovative solutions that make a meaningful impact.
With a strong foundation in programming languages like Python, expertise in frameworks such as TensorFlow and Flask, and proficiency in data analysis and web development, I'm equipped to tackle complex challenges and contribute to cutting-edge projects."
"Hello, my name is Andrew Sweet. I am a Junior, and I just transferred to California State University, Channel Islands to finish my degree in Computer Science.
During my time at community college, I had the opportunity to participate in a couple of online programs run by NASA. One was the NASA L’SPACE academy, and the other was the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars. These programs exposed me to research methods used by NASA Engineers, and they helped to develop my ability to think as an Engineer and work on cross functional teams to complete a mission proposal.
These programs solidified my desire to pursue a STEM degree and seek a career oriented around the aerospace industry."
Faculty Advisor/Coach: Dr. Scott Feister
2023 Team Results Not Guaranteed
2022 Team Don't Panic
Cal State Channel Islands – Don’t Panic: When we catch up with the team, just after their LINPACK/HPCG module, the team is under stress, but hasn’t panicked. They were definitive on that – there has been no panic. A couple of the team members are majoring in “Mechatronics” which is a combination of robotics, CS, and electronic engineering all devoted to making smarter things. When I first heard it, I thought it was that Lego stuff that you could program. Turns out that was something different. The team achieved good scores on all the tasks so far, nabbing them eighth place overall. In the video, we interview the whole team, which was a lot of fun, and advise one of their members on how to best declare his double major. A couple of other high points: 1) One student said he needs to see some more complexity in physics….2) Another said that he wasn’t sure HPC was for him because “..it seems like something for smart people….”