Recently, the finals of the 13th ASC Student Supercomputer Challenge (ASC25) successfully concluded at Qinghai University. Zhejiang University’s supercomputing team delivered an outstanding performance, securing First Prize and the prestigious Application Innovation Award!
The team consisted of Junnie Xie (team leader), Xi Lin, Chenxiao Li, Hongzhe Chen from the College of Computer Science and Technology, and Xingxing Hao from the School of Mathematical Sciences. They were guided by Associate Professor Jianhai Chen, Researcher Zeke Wang (ZJU 100-Talent Program), Professor Yin Zhang, Shuibing He, and Researcher Bohan Zhuang (ZJU 100-Talent Program). Over five intense days, the team built a self-designed supercomputing system under a strict 4000W power cap, achieving 14.9 tokens/s in single-threaded DeepSeek inference, earning 1st place in the DeepSeek task and thus the Application Innovation Award. Their overall performance placed them 4th, granting them the First Prize in the finals.
Competition Overview
ASC25 spanned five months and included preliminary and final rounds. Under a 4000W power constraint, teams were required to design and build their own supercomputing clusters, tackling seven advanced tasks covering areas like life sciences, climate modeling, particle physics, and large model inference. The challenges ranged from AlphaFold3 for protein structure prediction, RNA m5C for epigenetic analysis, Geant4 for particle simulation, and FAMIL for climate modeling on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to performance benchmarks like HPL and HPCG, and a cutting-edge large model inference task using DeepSeek.
These tasks integrated scientific research and engineering practice, demanding strong system architecture, parallel optimization, and interdisciplinary problem-solving capabilities.
Preliminary Round: Standing Out Early
In the two-month preliminary round, the Zhejiang University team distinguished themselves with excellent system tuning and task execution. They successfully completed key challenges such as HPL, AlphaFold3, and RNA m5C site prediction. Notably, they achieved 1st place globally in the RNA m5C task, demonstrating exceptional parallel computation and optimization skills. The team ranked 1st overall globally in the preliminaries, securing their spot in the finals.
Finals: Rising to the Challenge
Held in May at Qinghai University, the finals introduced even stricter power constraints: in addition to the 4000W total power cap, each node was limited to 2000W. In response, the Zhejiang team engineered a heterogeneous cluster with 5 nodes and 6 GPUs, optimizing CPU-GPU collaboration to balance power efficiency and performance. Throughout tasks ranging from classical benchmarks to AI optimization, particle simulation, and climate modeling, the team executed with precision, focus, and high quality.
Their remarkable performance on the DeepSeek large model inference earned them the Application Innovation Award, and their overall result secured them the First Prize with a 4th place finish.
International Collaboration & Cross-Disciplinary Teamwork
This year’s ASC drew over 300 teams from six continents. Only 25 made it to the finals, including top universities such as Zhejiang University, Tsinghua University, Peking University, University of Johannesburg (South Africa), and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany).
Zhejiang University also joined forces with teams from Qilu University of Technology, Tsinghua University, National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), and EAFIT University (Colombia) for the FAMIL superteam challenge, optimizing a climate model of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Each university contributed their strengths in algorithm design and performance tuning, showcasing excellent international collaboration.
During the finals, the ZJU team worked closely together with partners in cluster deployment, parameter tuning, and strategy coordination, reflecting the power of cross-cultural, interdisciplinary teamwork. This collaborative experience not only improved efficiency but also deepened mutual understanding and trust among global institutions.
A Legacy of Excellence
Since its founding, the Zhejiang University Supercomputing Team has consistently excelled on the global stage:
🏆 2025 ASC Finals – First Prize (4th Place Overall) + Application Innovation Award
🏆 2024 ASC Finals – First Prize (4th Place) + Linpack World Record Award
🏆 2024 ISC – 5th Place Worldwide
🥇 2023 IndySCC – Global Champion
🏅 2023 ASC Finals – First Prize (4th Place) + Linpack World Record Award
🥉 2022 ACM-China IPCC – National Third Prize (6th Place)
🏆 2022 SC – 4th Place Worldwide
In ASC history alone, the team has won eight First Prizes, thirteen Second Prizes, three World Record Awards, and one Application Innovation Award. Across top-tier competitions like ASC, ISC, SC, and PAC, they have repeatedly set new records and demonstrated their position as a leading force on the international supercomputing stage.
Bridging Competition and Research
Beyond competitions, the team actively contributes to academia and campus development. Their experiences have led to three published research papers, and they also maintain ZJU’s internal Git services and software mirrors, serving the wider university community with their technical capabilities.
Their journey reflects a persistent commitment to technical excellence, teamwork, and pushing boundaries.
Acknowledgments
This achievement would not have been possible without the strong support from various departments at Zhejiang University. Special thanks to Professors Yingcai Wu, Zonghui Wang, Shuibing He, and Zeke Wang from the College of Computer Science, as well as to:
ZJU Artificial Intelligence Collaborative Innovation Center
ZJU Information Technology Center
ZJU Education Foundation
ZJU Intelligent Computing & Systems Lab
ZJU Network Systems & Privacy Lab
ZJU Intelligent Computing Innovation Lab
ZJU Cybersecurity School
We also deeply appreciate the support and guidance from industry partners including Inspur, Sithin, China Mobile (Hangzhou Branch), Huawei, NVIDIA, Intel, ParaLink, and Leadtek.
Join Us
The Zhejiang University Supercomputing Team is a high-level, research-driven competition team led by undergraduates and open to students university-wide. Actively participating in global events like ASC, ISC, and SC, the team has won numerous international accolades and broken multiple Linpack records. Many of their innovations have resulted in published research and real-world technical services.
Each summer, the team offers an “HPC101 Summer Course”, teaching the fundamentals of High Performance Computing (HPC), parallel programming, and cluster architecture. The course is designed for beginners and includes hands-on labs and project mentorship. Outstanding students may be invited to join the formal team and represent ZJU on the global stage.
Whether you're passionate about systems and engineering, fascinated by AI and research, or seeking technical breakthroughs—we welcome you. Here, you'll find a team-driven environment, interdisciplinary challenges, and the opportunity to shine on an international platform.
