Why the U.S. must lead in supercomputing

Why the U.S. must lead in supercomputing

Steven E. Koonin
San Francisco Chronicle Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Monday, June 14, 2010


China officially claimed the world's second-fastest computer earlier this
month. China was in fifth place just six months ago - and is expected to have
the world's fastest machine by year end. While its systems currently rely on
U.S. components, China is already constructing comparable machines using its
domestic technology. These challenges to U.S. leadership in supercomputing and
chip design threaten our country's economic future.

Here's why:

Supercomputers enable simulation - that is, the numerical computations to
understand and predict the behavior of scientifically or technologically
important systems - and therefore accelerate the pace of innovation. Simulation
enables better and more rapid product design. Simulation has already allowed
Cummins to build better diesel engines faster and less expensively, Goodyear to
design safer tires much more quickly, Boeing to build more fuel-efficient
aircraft, and Procter & Gamble to create better materials for home products.
Simulation also accelerates the progress of technologies from laboratory to
application. The United States must excel at such tasks to compete in a rapidly
developing global economy.

Better computers allow better simulations and more confident predictions. The
best machines today are 10,000 times faster than those of 15 years ago, and the
techniques of simulation for science and national security have been refined to
a high art. During that period, the United States has fielded an average of
seven of the 10 fastest machines on each of the semiannual lists, and four of
the seven on average have been Department of Energy machines. The department's
simulations give us confidence in the continued safety, security and
effectiveness of an aging nuclear stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing.

Sustaining and more widely exploiting the U.S. competitive advantage in
simulation requires concerted efforts toward two distinct goals. First, we must
continue to push the limits of hardware and software. Second, to remain
competitive globally, U.S. industry must better capture the innovation
advantage that simulation offers. But bringing such innovation to large and
small firms in diverse industries requires public-private partnerships to
access simulation capabilities largely resident in the national laboratories
and universities.

We in the Department of Energy have not been sitting idle. The Nuclear Energy
Simulation Hub at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has just been established. This
hub is a collaboration of national laboratories, industry and universities.
Congress is now considering the president's fiscal year 2011 request that will
launch a significant public-private effort to develop models that will
accelerate the design of more fuel-efficient internal combustion engines.

Loss of U.S. leadership in supercomputing and simulation would have staggering
consequences. Without deliberate and sustained investment, supercomputers
manufactured abroad with ever-improving technologies developed elsewhere would
soon dominate. And the simulation techniques invented in the United States will
become other nations' innovation advantages.

Steven E. Koonin is undersecretary for science in the Department of Energy.

This article appeared on page A - 10 of the San Francisco ChronicleWhy the U.S. must lead in supercomputing

Steven E. Koonin
San Francisco Chronicle Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Monday, June 14, 2010


China officially claimed the world's second-fastest computer earlier this
month. China was in fifth place just six months ago - and is expected to have
the world's fastest machine by year end. While its systems currently rely on
U.S. components, China is already constructing comparable machines using its
domestic technology. These challenges to U.S. leadership in supercomputing and
chip design threaten our country's economic future.

Here's why:

Supercomputers enable simulation - that is, the numerical computations to
understand and predict the behavior of scientifically or technologically
important systems - and therefore accelerate the pace of innovation. Simulation
enables better and more rapid product design. Simulation has already allowed
Cummins to build better diesel engines faster and less expensively, Goodyear to
design safer tires much more quickly, Boeing to build more fuel-efficient
aircraft, and Procter & Gamble to create better materials for home products.
Simulation also accelerates the progress of technologies from laboratory to
application. The United States must excel at such tasks to compete in a rapidly
developing global economy.

Better computers allow better simulations and more confident predictions. The
best machines today are 10,000 times faster than those of 15 years ago, and the
techniques of simulation for science and national security have been refined to
a high art. During that period, the United States has fielded an average of
seven of the 10 fastest machines on each of the semiannual lists, and four of
the seven on average have been Department of Energy machines. The department's
simulations give us confidence in the continued safety, security and
effectiveness of an aging nuclear stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing.

Sustaining and more widely exploiting the U.S. competitive advantage in
simulation requires concerted efforts toward two distinct goals. First, we must
continue to push the limits of hardware and software. Second, to remain
competitive globally, U.S. industry must better capture the innovation
advantage that simulation offers. But bringing such innovation to large and
small firms in diverse industries requires public-private partnerships to
access simulation capabilities largely resident in the national laboratories
and universities.

We in the Department of Energy have not been sitting idle. The Nuclear Energy
Simulation Hub at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has just been established. This
hub is a collaboration of national laboratories, industry and universities.
Congress is now considering the president's fiscal year 2011 request that will
launch a significant public-private effort to develop models that will
accelerate the design of more fuel-efficient internal combustion engines.

Loss of U.S. leadership in supercomputing and simulation would have staggering
consequences. Without deliberate and sustained investment, supercomputers
manufactured abroad with ever-improving technologies developed elsewhere would
soon dominate. And the simulation techniques invented in the United States will
become other nations' innovation advantages.

Steven E. Koonin is undersecretary for science in the Department of Energy.

This article appeared on page A - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle