WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today announced that several of its top Advanced Simulation and Computing Campaign officials will be participating in the SC09, the 22nd annual supercomputing conference, Nov. 14-20 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore. The meeting is the premier international conference on high performance computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis.

"NNSA is proud that our supercomputing platforms, which were originally developed to ensure the safety and security of our nuclear stockpile without testing, have led to amazing advances in science and discovery," said NNSA Administrator Thomas D'Agostino. "They are a critical example of our investment in nuclear security providing the tools to tackle a broad range of national and international challenges."

The theme for this year's participation by the Advanced Simulation and Computing program is "Advancing High Performance Computing for National Security." The conference will allow NNSA to showcase its capabilities and work with the scientific computing community to meet its national security mission. The conference offers presentations, seminars and panels featuring a world-class roster of thought leaders and innovators discussing the rapidly expanding role of HPC in the biological sciences.

NNSA's Advanced Simulation and Computing Campaign was established to provide the leading-edge, high-end simulation capabilities needed to meet weapons assessment and certification requirements and to predict with confidence, the behavior of nuclear weapons through comprehensive, science-based simulations. In addition, work at the national laboratories in modeling global climate change, tracking the global HIV pandemic, and addressing a host of other national and international challenges is leading to scientific advances enabled by simulations at unprecedented scales.

Earlier this year, NNSA's supercomputing platforms earned three of the top 10 spots on the latest TOP500 supercomputer list. The three computers in the top 10 were Roadrunner (#1, Los Alamos National Laboratory); BlueGene (#5, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory); and Dawn (#9, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory). A total of seven NNSA supercomputers made the TOP500 list.

Last month, President Barack Obama presented the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation's most prestigious honor for innovators in technological achievement, to the Blue Gene series of computers, a product line brought to market through investments by the NNSA and the Department of Energy.

SC09 attracts thousands of scientists in industry, government and academia from around the world.  For more information about the conference, see http://sc09.supercomputing.org/index.php.

About NNSA

Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science in the nation's national security enterprise. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; reduces the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the US and abroad. Visit http://www.nnsa.energy.gov/ for more information.

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Source: NNSA