Exascale Computing in the United States

Abstract

The U.S. is a long-time international leader in HPC, rooted in a strong and innovative computing industry that is complemented by partnerships with and among federal agencies, academia, and industries whose success relies on HPC. The advent of exascale computing brings challenges in traditional simulation as well as in areas colloquially referred to as “Big Data.” Within this context, we describe the U.S. exascale computing strategy: 1) the National Strategic Computing Initiative, a multiple U.S. federal agency effort comprehensively addressing computing and computational science requirements in the U.S.; 2) the Exascale Computing Initiative, a DOE effort to acquire, develop, and deploy exascale computing platforms within DOE laboratories on a given timeline; and, 3) the Exascale Computing Project (a component of the Exascale Computing Initiative), dedicated to the creation and enhancement of applications, software, and hardware technologies for exascale computers, focused on vital U.S. national security and science needs.