Senator Lamar Alexander on Tuesday, on the 25th anniversary of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility recognized the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a world-leading center for scientific computing research.
“Beyond basic science, dozens of companies, from small businesses to Fortune 500 giants, have used Oak Ridge supercomputers to accelerate their own research and development and gain a competitive advantage in the global market,” Senator Alexander said. “Not only does supercomputing help scientists and companies, supercomputers at our national laboratories can be used by federal agencies as a ‘secret weapon’ in the effort to combat issues like Medicare and Medicaid waste, fraud, and abuse; to find terrorists and criminals; and to help the National Institutes of Health find cures and treatments for disease.
“Using Oak Ridge’s computing facility, scientists have expanded the scale and scope of their research, solved complex problems in less time and ?lled critical gaps in scienti?c knowledge, and I am very proud of the men and women from all over the world who have made this facility a success.
I thank them for 25 years of hard work and dedication, and I look forward to their continued success answering some of the hardest scientific questions.
“The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility has not only been home to some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, but it has also been a global leader in the development of software applications and tools for scientific research. That’s important because it’s not just about having the fastest computer, it’s also about having the experts who know how to program and use them.”
In 2018, work will be completed on the “Summit” supercomputer, which is being built at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and will be more than five times faster than the “Titan” supercomputer. Titan is currently the fastest supercomputer in the United States and the fourth most powerful in the world -- and is being used to help researchers better understand materials and nuclear power, and support more energy breakthroughs.