ACADEMIA

The Council on Competitiveness will kick off the First Annual High Performance Computing (HPC) Users Conference Tuesday in Washington DC. The conference is co-sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Energy's Office of Science. High Performance Computing: Supercharging U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness is scheduled to take place Tuesday, July 13th at the Capitol Hilton hotel in Washington DC. With technology, talent and capital now available globally, the U.S is facing unprecedented economic competition from abroad. "The country that wants to out compete must out-compute," stated Deborah Wince-Smith, President of the Council on Competitiveness. "This conference is a unique opportunity for the best minds in government, academia and industry to identify the barriers preventing more widespread use of high performance computing across the private sector, and to work for solutions to ensure that this 'must have' tool set is more readily available to ensure industrial success in global markets." A news conference will take place during the HPC Conference to unveil and present findings from a new national HPC Users Survey, commissioned by the Council. The survey reveals important national trends in how U.S. companies are using high performance computers to enhance their business development, the resulting impact on their competitiveness, and industry's outlook for future use. During regular sessions, conference attendees will hear first hand from senior executives from a range of leading companies such as: DreamWorks, The Boeing Company, Livermore Software Technology Corporation, Procter & Gamble, and HNTB. Attendees will hear about the importance of using high performance computing to accelerate competitiveness, as well as the obstacles to acquiring and accessing these systems. In addition, top government executives such as Dr. Anthony Tether, Director of DARPA, and Dr. John Marburger, Science Adviser to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the government's role in developing this technology and promoting widespread application. For more information on the agenda, a list of speakers, or to register for the event please visit www.HPCusersconference.com (www.hpcusersconference.com) .