Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment Program (INCITE)

Approximately sixty percent of ALCF resources are allocated to researchers through the U.S. Department of Energy's INCITE program. Established in 2003, the INCITE program seeks out computationally intensive, large-scale research projects with the potential to significantly advance key areas in science and engineering. The call for INCITE proposals is issued annually in mid-April and closes in mid-July for allocations to begin the following January. In November 2011, the Department of Energy announced INCITE awards totaling a staggering 732 million compute hours on ALCF supercomputing resources allocated to 31 projects from academia, industry and other research facilities. Read more about these projects and INCITE at the ALCF.

Early Science Program (ESP)

The ALCF is preparing for the 2012 installation of Mira, its next-generation Blue Gene/Q system. The Early Science phase of the installation is a period of months between when the machine is accepted and when the system moves into production. During this time, a small community of users will be running large-scale calculations: the Early Science projects. This period provides the projects with a significant head start for adapting to the new machine and access to substantial computer time. Early Science users will help the ALCF identify root causes of any system instabilities, and work with ALCF staff developing solutions.

ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge program (ALCC)

Open to scientists from the research community in academia and industry, the ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge (ALCC) program allocates up to 30 percent of the computational resources at the ALCF, NERSC and Oak Ridge. Projects in the program are special situations of interest to the Department, with an emphasis on high-risk, high-payoff simulations in areas directly related to the Department’s energy mission, national emergencies, or for broadening the community of researchers capable of using leadership computing resources. Proposals are awarded an ALCC allocation based on a peer review for scientific merit and computational readiness. For more information about applying for an ALCC award, visit the DOE's ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge page.

Director's Discretionary Program (DD)

Start-up time through the Director's Discretionary (DD) program is available to researchers in academia, industry, and other research institutions who can demonstrate a need for ALCF's leadership-class resources. These awards are primarily a "first step" for projects working toward an INCITE or ALCC allocation (see above). DD awards are available year 'round and are usually between three and six months in duration. Award sizes generally range from the low tens of thousands to the low millions of compute hours. See more information about applying for this program on Getting Time on ALCF Systems.