OIL & GAS

RESTON, Va. -- Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN) has been awarded an extension on an existing contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) to provide high performance computing (HPC) capabilities for three years. The extension -- potentially worth more than $32 million -- went into effect Oct. 1, 2003. Under the terms of this agreement, Raytheon will continue to deliver and support the integrated HPC system consisting of a large-scale computational cluster, an analysis cluster, as well as a hierarchical storage management system, home directory file server, software and services. GFDL, located in Princeton, N.J., is tasked with "expanding the scientific understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern the behavior of the atmosphere and oceans as complex fluid systems -- with a special focus on the development and utilization of computer simulations." GFDL conducts leading-edge research to expand the scientific understanding of many topics, including weather and hurricane forecasts, El Nino prediction, stratospheric ozone depletion, and global warming. "GFDL performs research in support of NOAA's strategic goals to understand climate variability and change and serve society's needs for weather information," said Brian Gross, deputy director, GFDL. "Raytheon has demonstrated its ability to provide us with HPC technologies and support services to enhance our research capabilities for over three years. We are happy to announce that we will continue to partner with Raytheon on this program for an additional contract period." "Raytheon is enthusiastic about continuing our support of the NOAA GFDL and its vital environmental research," said Mike Keebaugh, president, Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems, Raytheon Information Solutions' parent business unit. "This is a critical partnership for Raytheon and it is an honor to be a contributor on this program."