Challenge sparks U.S. leadership computer plan
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Innovative INCITE
At the same hearing, Orbach announced the new Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program.
INCITE represented a different approach to computational science. Instead of parceling out small amounts of computer time to many projects, a peer-review process grants millions of supercomputer processor hours to just a few projects — including ones originating with industrial and academic researchers — that hold promise for major scientific advances.
For jetliner company Boeing, an INCITE award provided the chance to test and validate computer codes for aircraft simulations.
“Once this has been successfully completed Boeing then makes the investment in hardware so that these new tools and processes can be used to design products,” researcher Moeljo Hong wrote to program managers.
The response from researchers was so strong that requests for computer time under INCITE outstripped the resources available, driving home the need for additional machines.
In 2003, the Office of Science made increasing computing capability second only to ITER, the international fusion energy reactor, on its Facilities of the Future of Science list. The list prioritized large-scale science projects over the next 20 years, with top-ranked projects scheduled for near-term attention.
In May 2004, the department announced its Leadership Class Computing program. Its goal: build the world’s fastest computer for open science — capable of a sustained 50 teraflops.
The five-year program is nearing completion and already has exceeded that benchmark. Jaguar, a combined Cray XT3/XT4, was installed at Oak Ridge in 2006. In June 2007 it ranked No. 2 on the TOP 500 list at 101.7 teraflops.
A 2007 assessment of Facilities for the Future priorities found high-performance computing had made significant progress and was on schedule.
But even bigger and faster computers are on the way.
