BEIJING, China, March 21 — Finalists for the 2013 Asia Student Supercomputer Challenge (ASC13) were announced in Beijing on 19 March. 10 Asian university student supercomputer teams will compete head-to-head for the highest computing performance next month at Shanghai Jiaotong University, China.

The 10 university teams are from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, King Abdulaziz University, National Tsinghua University, University of St. Petersburg, Ulsan University of Science and Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Tsinghua University, National University of Defense Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

ASC is one of the three global supercomputing contests, together with the Supercomputing Conference (SC) and the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC). This contest is initiated by China and jointly launched and organized by the experts and institutes from Japan, Russia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries and regions. It is hosted by famous Chinese supercomputer corporation Inspur, and aims to cultivate the talents of supercomputing application and boost supercomputer communication and cooperation in Asia.

ASC13 is considered as an all-round challenge for the ability of the supercomputer. Mo Zeyao, chairman of the ASC13 evaluation committee, commented in the review that all teams have outstanding skills in supercomputer platform building and the three tests of the preliminary contest, including HPL, Gromacs, and BSDE test.

According to the ASC13 committee, the finals will be more difficult. In addition to the three previous tests, it adds two new tests, OpenCFD and WRF. OpenCFD is a kind of Computational fluid dynamics software independently developed by Chinese scientists. WRF is a kind of Advanced Regional Prediction System developed by the National Center of Environment Prediction (NCEP), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and other American scientific institutes.

The supercomputer, known as the brain of modern science and technology, serves as a significant tool to boost scientific and technical innovation, economic development, social advancement, and defense security. Asian supercomputers have been constantly expanding in the global market. In the Top500 released in November 2012, Asia contributed 91 sets, ranking a close third in the world after America and Europe. However, compared with America and Europe, the exchange and cooperation is not mature in this field among countries and regions in Asia.

A number of experts of ASC experts from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand expressed their viewpoints and expectations toward Asian supercomputing development.

Mr. Michalewicz Marek, Senior Director of Singapore Computer Resource Center A*star, said that Asian countries should jointly strengthen the cultivation of the supercomputing talents, as well as communication and cooperation, so as to elevate the overall application level of supercomputers in Asia.

Mr. Hu Leijun, Vice Director of the State Key Laboratory of High-end Server & Storage Technology & Vice President of Inspur, believed that ASC13 will be taken as a beneficial initiative in Asian supercomputer development.

Since the commencement of the ASC13, many Asian universities have participated with great enthusiasm. Hundreds of universities have inquired through the telephone. Although it is held for the first time, ASC's influence is profound and extensive.

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Source: ASC13