Cutting-edge projects awarded computing time on Blue Gene/L
Argonne and IBM provide major allocations for large-scale research
simulations through DOE INCITE program
ARGONNE, Ill. (Feb. 1, 2007) — Nine computing projects ranging from predicting
protein structure to simulating the formation of foams have been awarded large
amounts of time on IBM Blue
Gene/L computer systems at the U. S. Department
of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and IBM's T.J.
Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. The computer time is available to researchers through
the Department of Energy's INCITE program – Innovative and Novel Computational
Impact on Theory and Experiment.
These projects were allocated nearly 10 million processor-hours through the
Argonne and IBM collaboration. Five are new projects, and four are renewals.
In new endeavors:
- Kelly Anderson at Procter & Gamble Co. will investigate the molecular
mechanisms of bubble formation in foams to help develop better fire control
chemicals and environmentally friendly consumer products.
- Giulia Galli at the University
of California–Davis, in collaboration with
Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, will simulate water in confined spaces
to study water flow and transport at the nanoscale relevant to both materials
science and biological problems.
- Paul Fischer at Argonne National Laboratory, with collaborators at the
University of Illinois, will study turbulent thermal transport in sodium-cooled
reactor cores in order to gain an understanding of thermal mixing that can
lead to improved safety and economy of advanced reactors.
- Phani Nukala at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory will simulate the physics
of fracture that may resolve controversies about how the presence and distribution
of disorder impacts materials fracture propagation and related properties.
- Tamar Seideman at Northwestern
University will model the manipulation of
light at the nanoscale, with potential applications in solar energy, sensors
and chemistry.
In renewed projects:
- David Baker at the University
of Washington will undertake the high-resolution
prediction of protein structures with up to 150 amino acids in protein families
that have unknown structures to aid in understanding their functions.
- Peter Bradley at Pratt & Whitney Co. will conduct high-fidelity simulations
of an aircraft engine combustor that properly resolve turbulence, thereby
improving emissions and operability of future designs.
- David McGuire at the University
of Alaska–Fairbanks will model the response
of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change and disturbance to understand
the changing cycles of carbon release in the higher latitudes.
- Igor Tsigelny at the University
of California–San Diego will combine models
of synuclein-based protofibril structures with experimental findings as a
means of understanding the molecular basis of Parkinson's disease and generating
leads for drug discovery.
Through collaboration with IBM, as part of the INCITE program, Argonne will
provide 4 million hours on their Blue Gene/L system (BGL), and IBM will provide
6 million hours on their larger Blue Gene/L system at the T.J. Watson Research
Center (BGW). The IBM BGW system is the second fastest computer in the world,
with a capability of 114 teraflops — 114 trillion calculations per second.
The Blue Gene/L at Argonne arrived in January 2005 through funding from the
Office of Advanced
Scientific Computing Research in DOE's Office of Science.
Argonne evaluated the system and began providing resources to INCITE projects
in 2006 with the formation of the Argonne
Leadership Computing Facility.
INCITE has enabled scientists to run large-scale simulations and gain greater
insight into challenging problems in science and engineering. The INCITE program
continues to expand, with current research applications in chemistry, combustion,
astrophysics, genetics, materials science and turbulence.
“This grant allows us to perform computer simulations, at an unprecedented
scale, on the dissolving of soap and forming of suds. The resulting approach
should help us formulate products faster and more efficiently. That means the
consumer wins by getting better products sooner, and at better value, than
would have been possible using traditional methods,” said Kelly Anderson from
Procter & Gamble,
Argonne's Paul Fischer said, “With
this INCITE award, researchers will be able to conduct large-eddy simulations
of the thermal-hydraulics that governs advanced burner reactor peak temperature,
which is critical to the economy and safety of reactors.”
“This award will enable my team to make significant contributions to the challenging
problem of understanding, modeling and manipulating nanoscale photonic devices,
with a rich variety of applications in science and technology,” said Tamar
Seideman of Northwestern University.
"We're pleased to see such a wide range of projects being run on Blue
Gene," said David Turek, vice president of IBM's Deep Computing group. "The
diversity of this research is a testament to the enduring utility of the Blue
Gene design and offers a glimpse of the commercial potential that is the future
of supercomputing."
Argonne National Laboratory brings
the world's brightest scientists and engineers together to find exciting and
creative new solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology.
The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic
and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne
researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities,
and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific
problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for
a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed
by UChicago
Argonne, LLC for
the U.S.
Department of Energy's Office
of Science.
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of
leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across
IBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions,
and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage
of the new era of e-business. For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com.
For more information, please contact Eleanor Taylor (630-252-5565 or etaylor@anl.gov)at
Argonne, or Michael Corrado (914-766-4635 or mcorrado@us.ibm.com)at
IBM.
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