The Future of Supercomputing; An Interim Report

xii, 46 pages. Footnotes. Acronyms. Cover has slight wear and soling. The committee assessed the status of supercomputing in the United States, including the characteristics of relevant systems and architecture research in government, industry, and academia and the characteristics of the market. The committee examined key elements of context--the history of supercomputing, research investment, the needs of government agencies for supercomputing capabilities--and assessed options for progress. Key historical or causal factors were identified. The committee examined the changing nature of problems demanding supercomputing (e.g., weapons design, modeling and simulation, cryptanalysis, climate modeling) and the implications for systems design. This is its interim report. This report provides a preliminary outline of the state of U.S. supercomputing today, the needs for the future, and the factors that contribute to meeting those needs. This interim report establishes context--including the history and current state of supercomputing, application requirements, technology evolution, the socioeconomic context--to identify some of the issues that may be explored in more depth in the second phase of the study. The study sought to understand the role of national security in the supercomputer market and the federal interest in supercomputing.…