SCIENCE

LOS ALAMOS, NM -- Fakespace Systems Inc., a business unit of Electrohome Limited, today announced that it was awarded a $4.5 million ($7 million Canadian) contract by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The contract calls for Fakespace Systems to design, build and install several custom visualization systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The large-scale visualization systems will include new high-brightness, stereoscopic digital projection technology. Multiple Mirage(TM) 2000 graphics projection systems, from Christie Digital Systems, will be tiled into a custom-designed, large format WorkWall(TM) display system for viewing extremely large computer data sets in very high-resolution detail. Capable of displaying 31 million pixels, the full system is expected to be the largest display of its type ever built. Fakespace Systems previously installed large-scale visualization systems for the DOE at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1999 and 2000, with the goal of providing better ways for scientists to understand nuclear weapons phenomena through immersive visualization. The new WorkWall systems will be used to display some of the world's largest and most complex simulations, which were developed for the Department of Energy's Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI). As a key part of the DOE's stockpile stewardship program, ASCI uses extensive experimental programs and computer simulation to maintain the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without underground testing. The new visualization systems will be installed in the Strategic Computing Complex (SCC), one of the most sophisticated simulation and computing facilities in the world. The SCC will house more than 200 nuclear weapons scientists, engineers, and designers, and will provide large-scale visualization laboratories as well as a very large-scale visualization theater. The SCC also features an uninterrupted computer floor the size of a football field, and will house the largest supercomputer in the world. Called "Q," this system, built by Compaq Computer Corporation, will be capable of performing calculations at 30 trillion operations per second (teraOPS). Deliveries against the $4.5 million order are scheduled to occur during fiscal 2001 (ending September 30, 2001) and fiscal 2002. For additional information visit www.fakespacesystems.com