SCIENCE

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) continues to highlight its advanced supercomputing capabilities this week by featuring the science and technology work done by the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program. This week, NNSA also launched a new and improved ASC webpage. 

Today’s feature focuses on NNSA’s energy-efficient supercomputers and highlights its supercomputers ranked in the most recent Green500 list. The work done on the supercomputers housed at NNSA’s national laboratory are a critical part of President Obama’s nuclear security agenda.

The two computers in the top 25 are housed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and six supercomputers housed at NNSA sites were also ranked in the Green500 list. Additionally, the top supercomputer at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in New York is based on NNSA’s Blue Gene technology.

“Energy efficiency is vital to our enterprise as we invest in the future by building a modern infrastructure that is smaller, safer, more cost effective and more programmatically effective,” said Don Cook, NNSA’s Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs. “The work done by our supercomputer engineers and scientists is a reflection of their commitment in seeking ways to better do business while promoting energy awareness.”

The purpose of the Green500 is to provide a ranking of the most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world. For decades, the notion of performance has been synonymous with speed. This particular focus has led to the emergence of supercomputers that consume large amounts of electrical power and produce heat that requires extravagant cooling facilities to ensure proper operation. The Green500 list encourages supercomputing stakeholders to create systems that are both cutting-edge and energy efficient.

The Green500 2010 list can be found here.