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Editorial: Supercomputing
for Science—
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Thomas Zacharia
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From every corner of science a revolution is under way because of the growing amount of data being generated and the rapid increase in scientific understanding resulting from applying advanced computational science tools to these data. John Marburger, science adviser to President Bush, echoed this message when he spoke recently at ORNL. He observed that advanced computing combined with advanced instrumentation is enabling scientific discovery at an unprecedented pace—a pace that will only increase in the future.
Advanced computing and computational science add a new dimension to the more traditional experimental and theoretical approaches to scientific research. The use of computational tools has become vital to most fields of science and engineering and to many parts of the educational enterprise. ORNL is well positioned to play a key role in making breakthrough advances in important national priorities such as anti-terrorism research and development (R&D), networking and information technology R&D, nanotechnology R&D, biotechnology R&D; and climate change R&D by integrating advanced computing with physical, chemical, and biological sciences.
By creating the new Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate, ORNL reaffirms its commitment to the critical area of scientific computing. In the words of Bill Madia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, "ORNL has established expertise and ongoing research in developing new materials, studying global climate change and the effects of pollution, mapping human chromosomes and safety testing automobiles of the future in virtual reality. As we move those important national objectives forward, high-performance computing is essential. The creation of this directorate will improve the Laboratory's ability to advance in this area which is critical to the Laboratory's future."
DOE's Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research has launched an exciting program on Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) to develop the scientific computing software and hardware infrastructure that will dramatically extend our exploration of the fundamental processes of nature as well as advance our ability to predict the behavior of a broad range of complex natural and engineered systems. ORNL is a full partner in the SciDAC Program, collaborating with 13 laboratories and 50 universities in helping to create a new generation of scientific simulation codes that take full advantage of extraordinary computing capabilities such as those at DOE's Center for Computational Sciences at ORNL.
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| ORNL recently received the first IBM Power4 Regatta H system for early evaluation. (Photo by Jim Richmond, enhanced by Vicki Conner) |
Recently, ORNL took delivery of a 4-teraflops IBM Power4 supercomputer that can perform 4 trillion arithmetic operations per second. This addition to our existing 1.5 teraflops of computing represents an exciting tool of discovery in support of the new SciDAC program. The computer is already enabling breakthrough science in nanotechnology, global climate change prediction, and systems biology.
Within the next five years, computers 1000 times faster than those available to the scientific community today will be operating. These dramatic boosts in supercomputing power must be matched by corresponding increases in the capabilities of scientific modeling and simulation codes. Researchers across the Laboratory have teamed together to carry out the rigorous interdisciplinary effort of designing, building, tuning, integrating, and using codes to accelerate our solutions of complex scientific problems.
In this issue of the Review, we cover many areas in which ORNL researchers and our many collaborators are helping the Department of Energy meet its research needs now and well into the 21st century. We have several advantages on our side as we pursue this bold scientific agenda. We have an exciting research program in support of the SciDAC Program, we have a talented staff, and our work has applications in nanoscale science, biology, and climate change prediction. In addition, we are benefiting from the University of Tennessee's strong commitment to ORNL’s computational sciences agenda and the state of Tennessee's financial support for the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences. As we build state-of-the-art computing facilities, bring new computers on line, and support exciting new science, we are creating a leading scientific enterprise that will help advance the revolution in science.
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| Associate Laboratory Director for Computing and Computational Sciences |
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Web site provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Communications and External Relations |
