What is INCITE?
Each year the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program awards to researchers millions of supercomputer processor hours and 100 trillion bytes of data storage space at the Department of Energy’s global flagship facilities for unclassified supercomputing, which include some of the most powerful computers in the world.

The program seeks computationally intensive, large-scale research projects that can make high-impact scientific advances through the use of a substantial allocation of computer time and data storage.  The INCITE program specifically encourages proposals from universities and other research institutions.

What has INCITE accomplished?
Over the past 30 years, the Department of Energy’s high performance computing program has played an increasingly important role in scientific research by allowing scientists to create more accurate models of processes, simulate problems that were once thought impossible and to analyze the increasing amount of data generated by experiments. INCITE builds on this tradition.  INCITE has had significant accomplishments, and is growing at a rapid pace.

Through INCITE, scientists studying supernovae were able to model the first-ever full-star simulations of stellar explosions in three dimensions.  Another group used their INCITE allocation to study key aspects of photosynthesis to better understand this sustainable energy source.  A third group was able to create simulations of turbulence at a scale of unsurpassed detail, which can be used to improve engineering processes.

Which researchers are eligible to participate in INCITE?
DOE’s INCITE program encourages proposals from universities, research institutions and industry.  Industry is specifically solicited to propose challenging problems that may be solved using high performance computing. Proposals are peer reviewed and are chosen solely on the basis of scientific merit.

What computing resources does INCITE use?
The Department of Energy—which owns and operates some of the world’s most powerful computers—makes several of its supercomputers available for use in tackling large-scale, high-potential research projects which are judged to be the most scientifically promising in the peer review process.  In 2009, approximately a quarter billion processor hours will be allocated to researchers on the Cray, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM machines at:

• DOE's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) high-performance computing resources at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory Leadership Computing Facility
• Leadership Computing Facility at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Molecular Science Computing Facility at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Detailed descriptions of these resources can be found on the Department of Energy’s Office of Science website at the following web site:
http://hpc.science.doe.gov/allocations/management/resources/viewAllAllocationPools.do

How are INCITE projects chosen?
INCITE proposals are subjected to two reviews: a computational readiness and scientific review.

In the computational readiness review, each site evaluates the readiness and the scalability of the code and its algorithms described in the proposals requesting access to their site.  Each proposal will be rated as either being computationally ready or not ready.

DOE convenes an independent scientific peer review panels to evaluate each proposal’s potential for scientific impact.  Proposals are evaluated on scientific quality, proposed impact of the science, the ability of the principal investigator and the proposed research team, and the computational plan.  Scientific review panels are composed of application domain experts from DOE National Laboratories, universities and industry, National Academy members, and senior computational science researchers who have a working knowledge of the current computational challenges and opportunities in their fields.

How does INCITE and supercomputing fit in to the Department of Energy’s mission?
Supercomputing is fueling a modern scientific revolution, adding simulation and modeling to the two original tools of the scientific method: theory and experimentation.  From discovery computing in biofuels genetics to modeling nuclear materials for deterrence and energy production, the Department of Energy uses its supercomputers to enable researchers to pursue energy and national security related work at the crossroads of computational and physical sciences.

INCITE Q&A For The Research Community

What's new about the INCITE program in 2009?
In 2009, the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program may allocate up to a quarter of a billion processor hours on the Department of Energy Office of Science's high performance computing resources at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).  There are several new/upgraded machines being added to the resource pool, with more multi-core processors represented.

If I get an INCITE award, how do I get funding for my research labor and other items needed to carry out the INCITE work?
The INCITE award is for allocation of computer time and data storage resources only. Applicants must have all other resources required for the successful completion of the INCITE work committed to them at the time of their INCITE application.  Applicants who cannot demonstrate compliance with this requirement will be deemed ineligible for an INCITE award.

Must I have research funding from the Department of Energy?
No, current DOE sponsorship is not required.  However, researchers are expected to have all funding and any other elements necessary to ensure the success of their research project in place at the time of their application.

Does the research that I propose have to be in line with the Department of Energy mission?
No, alignment with the DOE mission is not required.

What constitutes a "computationally intensive" research project?
A computationally intensive research project will utilize a majority of the processors and multiple cores, if applicable, in the proposed research.  A project that involves a large number of small independent jobs is not considered computationally intense.

Can I submit a proposal to use a variety of resources at several different facilities?
In the proposal, you can identify a primary resource and any additional resources from the sites listed in the HPC Resources section.  Normally, awardees will only receive allocations on one resource per year.  If allocations are requested on multiple resources, the justification for the use of these resources must be clearly stated in the Description of Research and Computational Readiness sections of the application.  Relevance to the accomplishment of the stated research goals should be the principal determining factor in any resource request.

Does scaling data have to be from the proposed machine?
No, since you may not have previous access to the machine you are requesting, you can provide scaling data from any machine available to you.

Who is eligible to apply for an INCITE award?
The INCITE program will be open to all scientific researchers and research organizations, including industry.  Results of the non-proprietary research must be made available to the DOE and to the public.  Publication in the open literature is strongly encouraged.  For information about DOE policy on proprietary work at facilities and the specific implementation of these policies at the different facilities, proposers should contact either the DOE Assistant General Counsel for Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property or the patent counsel at the facility of interest.

Are researchers and teams from other US federal agencies eligible to apply?
Yes, as long they intend to publish their results in open peer-reviewed literature.  Research applications from other agencies are expected and encouraged.

Are foreign researchers and teams eligible to apply? Yes, foreign researchers may apply, as long they intend to publish their results in open peer-reviewed literature.  Their proposal will be evaluated on the same scientific and technical criteria as domestic researchers.

Does the proposal have to come from a team?
No, the solicitation is open to individual researchers, a team of researchers from the same institution, or multi-institutional teams.

Are teams based around a community-maintained code eligible to apply? Yes, if the research objectives of a proposal are best satisfied by the operation of a community-maintained code or suite of codes on INCITE resources, such use is entirely acceptable.

I previously received a one year INCITE award.  Am I eligible to apply again? Yes, you may apply.

Are INCITE awards only for a period of one year?
INCITE awards can be from one to three years in length.  Multi-year awards will be reviewed annually. Requests for multi-year awards will be subject to the highest standards of excellence and are expected to yield truly extraordinary scientific results.

Do the results of the research have to be published in the open literature?
Principal investigators on non-proprietary projects must be engaged in scientific research with the intent to publish results in open peer-reviewed literature.

The work that I do as an industrial scientist is proprietary, can I still apply?
Yes, U.S. proprietary use is welcome.  However, proprietary use of the HPC resources is subject to negotiation of the terms and conditions of the proprietary user agreement, which will include full cost recovery, between the DOE Laboratory and the proposer.  For more information about DOE policy on proprietary work at its National Laboratories, proposers should contact either the DOE Assistant General Counsel for Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property or representatives for the facility of interest.

What kind of protections do the INCITE centers offer to protect data?
For non-proprietary users, the HPC centers involved in INCITE have implemented controls for protecting non-sensitive unclassified -fundamental research- information based on the NIST 800-53 "Low Baselines and Compensatory Controls."  "Moderate Baselines" may be operating at your facility of interest; contact the facility directly for details.  Risk is currently mitigated using available enterprise infrastructure and network-based tools to provide perimeter protection and vulnerability resolution.  System and application-level security controls are implemented in accordance with industry and federal best practices. All non-temporary user data resides on centralized file and archival storage systems that are regularly backed up.  This data is protected and segmented from other users using standard access controls.  The HPC centers cannot guarantee zero risks to the information stored on its systems; therefore, requests for processing data that is of a sufficiently sensitive nature (e.g., proprietary or export controlled) must be clearly identified in the proposal.  Information-sensitivity concerns apply to the purpose and intent of the research, storing and compiling of source code, loading and execution of application software, input data for the application software, output data generated by the application software, and any data resulting from analysis of output data.  If, for example, the application software has an export control classification number (ECCN), prospective users should acknowledge this fact in the proposal and provide the ECCN. The prospective users should work with the facility to identify the available levels of data protection.  Greater levels of protection not typically offered may be provided at a significant cost which must be borne by the project.

Are there templates available for the proposals?
No, the web-based form is open format.

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