OIL & GAS

New US legislation will give researchers unprecedented access to federally-owned supercomputers while jump-starting the development of the next generation of high-end computers within federal government facilities. US Representative Judy Biggert sponsored the legislation, (H.R. 28, the High Performance Computing Revitalization Act of 2005) which amends the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, assuring that US researchers access the most advanced computing systems. “American researchers deserve the fastest computers in the world and this legislation is an important step in making that happen,” said Biggert, chairman of the Science Subcommittee on Energy. “We cannot imagine the kinds of problems that the supercomputers of tomorrow will be able to solve, but we can imagine the kind of problems we will have if we fail to provide researchers in the US with the best computing resources.” The legislation requires federal civilian science agencies to allow researchers to use federally-owned supercomputers. It also requires federal civilian science agencies to support critical aspects of high-performance computing including software and applications development, the development of technical standards and education and training. It also requires the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to direct an interagency planning process and maintain a roadmap for the research, development and deployment of high-performance computing resources. Cosponsors: Rep. Sherwood Boehlert [R-NY] Rep. Lincoln Davis [D-TN] Rep. Barton Gordon [D-TN] Rep. Darlene Hooley [D-OR] Rep. Bob Inglis [R-SC] Rep. Timothy Johnson [R-IL]