APPLICATIONS

SEATTLE-- Global supercomputer leader Cray Inc. announced a $15 million order for Cray X1(TM) supercomputer equipment and maintenance from Network Computing Services, Inc. (NCSI), systems integrator and computing facilities manager for the Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC). The order calls for the installation, in stages during 2003, of a new Cray X1 supercomputer system and upgrades to early-production Cray X1 equipment shipped last fall, along with a trade-in, maintenance and related services. Further contract details were not disclosed. "Through our prior acquisition of early-production Cray X1 systems, the AHPCRC and NCSI were able to thoroughly evaluate the capabilities inherent in this new hierarchical parallel vector processor architecture. The AHPCRC is now uniquely positioned to apply the production Cray X1 to key applications in computational mechanics, battlefield weather forecasting, and biological process modeling that are of great importance to the defense of the United States," said Paul Muzio, NCSI VP-Government Programs and AHPCRC Support Infrastructure Director. "This procurement provides the Department of Defense's High Performance Computing Modernization Program, the Army, and the Defense science and technology community at-large, access to a new and important advanced capability computing system." Muzio added, "Through this, the AHPCRC is also supporting the Defense Science Board's Task Force on Supercomputing recommendation related to the development and acquisition of high computing systems with improved processor to global memory latency and bandwidth for critical defense applications." Dr. Vipin Kumar, AHPCRC Research Director and Professor of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, added, "The Cray X1 will allow the AHPCRC researchers to continue leading edge research in the areas of computational structural and fluid dynamics, computational electromagnetics, design of materials, and enabling technologies, as well as focus on new areas of great national importance such as modeling and simulation of chemical-biological effects and information assurance. In particular, the unique balanced architecture of Cray X1 and its follow-ons will allow the researchers to harness a much greater fraction of the peak performance than is possible with other contemporary parallel computers." "The AHPCRC will be the first customer to receive a fully populated, production Cray X1 system," said Cray Chairman and CEO Jim Rottsolk. "This reflects the strong historical relationship between the AHPCRC and Cray, and their commitment to perform substantial applications development work on the early-production units. As a result, the AHPCRC will have a head start in introducing the Department of Defense research community to a whole new class of high-performance computing using its large, production-quality Cray X1 supercomputers," he said.