Joint Institute for Computational Sciences
To help realize the full potential of new-generation computers for advancing scientific discovery, the University of Tennessee (UT) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have created the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences (JICS). JICS combines the experience and expertise in theoretical and computational science and engineering, computer science, and mathematics in these two institutions and focuses these skills on scientific and engineering problems critical to both the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the nation. JICS is home of the National Institute for Computational Sciences (NICS), a new user facility established by $65 million award to UT to build and operate one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers and then lead a nationwide partnership to put it to use.
JICS is co-located with ORNL’s National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), which was established in 1992 to evaluate emerging computers for scientific and engineering applications, to procure large-scale systems and develop the software to make them useful, and to provide leadership-class computing capabilities for the research programs supported by the DOE. JICS is also part of the scientific and engineering research and education programs on the five UT campuses (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Martin, and Tullahoma).
The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences is a world-class center for research and education in computational science and engineering, advancing scientific discovery and the state-of the-art in engineering by taking full advantage of the terascale and beyond computers in the NICS and NCCS at ORNL, and educating a new generation of scientists and engineers well-versed in the application of computational modeling and simulation to solving the most challenging scientific and engineering problems.
JICS has a number of goals, including:
… establishing NICS as a major new petascale computing environment fully integrated with the TeraGrid.
… creating major new modeling and simulation capabilities for terascale and beyond computers and to utilize these new capabilities to solve the problems in science and engineering of greatest importance to the DOE and the nation.
… working within UT to train scientists and engineers to model and simulate fundamental systems as well as complex natural and engineered systems on terascale and beyond supercomputers and to educate a new generation of scientists and engineers well versed in the application of computational modeling and simulation in research and education.
… working with NCCS and UT, as well as with ORNL’s university partners (Duke University, Florida State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, University of Virginia, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) to create a state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure for science and engineering in the southeastern U.S.
 Office of Science |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
 Department of Energy |