INCITE Advances Open Science with Supercomputer Grants to 47 Projects

November 19, 2019

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 19, 2019—The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science announced allocations of supercomputer access to 47 science projects for 2020—awarding 60 percent of the available time on some of the nation’s most powerful supercomputers, with the ultimate goal of accelerating discovery and innovation.

For the past 15 years, the DOE’s Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment program has tackled science’s most difficult problems by giving researchers the opportunity to conduct their work on the world’s most powerful computers. Scientists from academia, industry, and national laboratories have explored a wide range of inquiry, from the formation of galaxies to the molecular dynamics of construction materials.

Jointly managed by the DOE’s Leadership Computing Facilities at Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, INCITE is the primary means by which the facilities fulfill their mission to advance open science by providing the scientific community with free access to their singular computing resources.

“INCITE resources have provided the opportunity for increasingly ambitious data and computationally-focused science and engineering projects,” said James Hack, director of the National Center for Computational Sciences, which houses the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. “This year’s awards include a very strong and diversified collection of scientific investigations, many of which will build foundations for computational exploration on the coming generation of exascale machines.”

Open to any researcher or research organization in the world with a computationally intensive project that’s pursuing transformational advances in science and engineering, INCITE’s application process is highly competitive. For the 2020 allocation period, the total number of node hours requested by applicants was more than three times what the program plans to award.

During a four-month span, INCITE proposals are assessed by 10 peer-review panels composed of international experts, with each panel representing a different scientific discipline. The proposals are also evaluated on a technical level by each computing facility for computational readiness and scalability of the project’s code and its algorithms. Finally, the INCITE awards committee makes its selections based on those recommendations.

“The 2020 INCITE program will undoubtedly advance computational science towards exascale,” said Michael E. Papka, director of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. “This year’s projects will enable bold, new findings and help the research teams reach new levels of success.”

The INCITE program launched in 2004 with just three inaugural projects totaling nearly 5 million core hours (core hours, in terms of allocation currency, represent far less computational power than the current measure of node hours). The fastest supercomputer available for INCITE at that time was the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center’s IBM supercomputer “Seaborg,” which offered 10 teraflops of computational power. Today, with the rapid advancement of computer technology, both the Argonne and Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facilities have exponentially increased their computing capabilities. The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility’s current machine is Theta, an 11.69-petaflop Cray XC40 system whose 280,000-plus cores make it ideal for research at the nexus of simulation, data science, and machine learning. The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, meanwhile, is home to the 200-petaflop supercomputer Summit, an IBM AC922 machine that debuted in 2018 as the most powerful computer in the world.

Over 15 years, INCITE hosted more than 700 projects that explored nearly every realm of known science. In 2020, 14 more projects will run on Theta and 39 projects on Summit, where six of these projects will receive an allocation on both systems.

“Our INCITE portfolio is quite diverse, with projects that come from the geosciences to plasma physics to engineering simulations, among a few,” said Judith Hill, INCITE project manager. “Our program is not static and continues to evolve.  For example, we have started to see traditional modeling and simulation projects invoking deep learning methodologies in their production campaigns.  In addition, this year we were excited to receive several fundamental deep-learning proposals investigating algorithmic improvements that would efficiently use Summit and Theta, the predecessors to future exascale architectures.”

Highlights of the 2020 allocations include:

  • Sean Couch from the Michigan State University received 1,000,000 Theta node-hours to better our understanding of core-collapse supernovae, the explosive deaths of massive stars that are key to cosmic chemical evolution and the formation of compact objects.
  • Johan Larson from the University of Maryland received 2,000,000 Theta node-hours to develop a predictive theory to improve modeling techniques for near-wall turbulence relevant to supersonic flight and propulsion applications.
  • Michael Osusky from General Electric Research received 590,000 Summit node-hours to study the physics in a high-pressure turbine to improve the efficiency of jet engines and heavy-duty gas turbines.
  • Robert Patton from Oak Ridge National Laboratory received 250,000 Summit node-hours to further develop AI capabilities in automatically designing complex neural structures uniquely tailored to both the data and to the Summit compute architecture.
  • Vikram Gavini from the University of Michigan received 360,000 Summit node-hours to elucidate the quantum mechanical interactions underpinning the deformation mechanisms in metals and will aid in the design of light-weight structural alloys with superior mechanical properties.
  • C.S. Chang from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory will study both the critical plasma edge physics that leads to the high-confinement mode necessary for efficient ITER operation and the physics that affects the heat-load to the material surrounding the plasma in ITER.

For a complete list of 2020 INCITE awards, please visit: http://www.doeleadershipcomputing.org/awardees/

Abou the INCITE program

The INCITE program promotes transformational advances in science and technology through large allocations of time on state-of-the-art supercomputers. For more information, please visit: http://www.doeleadershipcomputing.org/awardees/

About DOE’s Office of Science

The DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov


Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Subscribe to HPCwire's Weekly Update!

Be the most informed person in the room! Stay ahead of the tech trends with industry updates delivered to you every week!

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing power it brings to artificial intelligence.  Nvidia's DGX Read more…

Call for Participation in Workshop on Potential NSF CISE Quantum Initiative

March 26, 2024

Editor’s Note: Next month there will be a workshop to discuss what a quantum initiative led by NSF’s Computer, Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate could entail. The details are posted below in a Ca Read more…

Waseda U. Researchers Reports New Quantum Algorithm for Speeding Optimization

March 25, 2024

Optimization problems cover a wide range of applications and are often cited as good candidates for quantum computing. However, the execution time for constrained combinatorial optimization applications on quantum device Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at the network layer threatens to make bigger and brawnier pro Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HBM3E memory as well as the the ability to train 1 trillion pa Read more…

Nvidia Appoints Andy Grant as EMEA Director of Supercomputing, Higher Education, and AI

March 22, 2024

Nvidia recently appointed Andy Grant as Director, Supercomputing, Higher Education, and AI for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). With over 25 years of high-performance computing (HPC) experience, Grant brings a Read more…

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing po Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HB Read more…

Nvidia Looks to Accelerate GenAI Adoption with NIM

March 19, 2024

Today at the GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia launched a new offering aimed at helping customers quickly deploy their generative AI applications in a secure, s Read more…

The Generative AI Future Is Now, Nvidia’s Huang Says

March 19, 2024

We are in the early days of a transformative shift in how business gets done thanks to the advent of generative AI, according to Nvidia CEO and cofounder Jensen Read more…

Nvidia’s New Blackwell GPU Can Train AI Models with Trillions of Parameters

March 18, 2024

Nvidia's latest and fastest GPU, codenamed Blackwell, is here and will underpin the company's AI plans this year. The chip offers performance improvements from Read more…

Nvidia Showcases Quantum Cloud, Expanding Quantum Portfolio at GTC24

March 18, 2024

Nvidia’s barrage of quantum news at GTC24 this week includes new products, signature collaborations, and a new Nvidia Quantum Cloud for quantum developers. Wh Read more…

Houston We Have a Solution: Addressing the HPC and Tech Talent Gap

March 15, 2024

Generations of Houstonian teachers, counselors, and parents have either worked in the aerospace industry or know people who do - the prospect of entering the fi Read more…

Alibaba Shuts Down its Quantum Computing Effort

November 30, 2023

In case you missed it, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has shut down its quantum computing research effort. It’s not entirely clear what drove the change. Read more…

Nvidia H100: Are 550,000 GPUs Enough for This Year?

August 17, 2023

The GPU Squeeze continues to place a premium on Nvidia H100 GPUs. In a recent Financial Times article, Nvidia reports that it expects to ship 550,000 of its lat Read more…

Shutterstock 1285747942

AMD’s Horsepower-packed MI300X GPU Beats Nvidia’s Upcoming H200

December 7, 2023

AMD and Nvidia are locked in an AI performance battle – much like the gaming GPU performance clash the companies have waged for decades. AMD has claimed it Read more…

DoD Takes a Long View of Quantum Computing

December 19, 2023

Given the large sums tied to expensive weapon systems – think $100-million-plus per F-35 fighter – it’s easy to forget the U.S. Department of Defense is a Read more…

Synopsys Eats Ansys: Does HPC Get Indigestion?

February 8, 2024

Recently, it was announced that Synopsys is buying HPC tool developer Ansys. Started in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1970 as Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc. (SASI) by John Swanson (and eventually renamed), Ansys serves the CAE (Computer Aided Engineering)/multiphysics engineering simulation market. Read more…

Choosing the Right GPU for LLM Inference and Training

December 11, 2023

Accelerating the training and inference processes of deep learning models is crucial for unleashing their true potential and NVIDIA GPUs have emerged as a game- Read more…

Intel’s Server and PC Chip Development Will Blur After 2025

January 15, 2024

Intel's dealing with much more than chip rivals breathing down its neck; it is simultaneously integrating a bevy of new technologies such as chiplets, artificia Read more…

Baidu Exits Quantum, Closely Following Alibaba’s Earlier Move

January 5, 2024

Reuters reported this week that Baidu, China’s giant e-commerce and services provider, is exiting the quantum computing development arena. Reuters reported � Read more…

Leading Solution Providers

Contributors

Comparing NVIDIA A100 and NVIDIA L40S: Which GPU is Ideal for AI and Graphics-Intensive Workloads?

October 30, 2023

With long lead times for the NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs, many organizations are looking at the new NVIDIA L40S GPU, which it’s a new GPU optimized for AI and g Read more…

Shutterstock 1179408610

Google Addresses the Mysteries of Its Hypercomputer 

December 28, 2023

When Google launched its Hypercomputer earlier this month (December 2023), the first reaction was, "Say what?" It turns out that the Hypercomputer is Google's t Read more…

AMD MI3000A

How AMD May Get Across the CUDA Moat

October 5, 2023

When discussing GenAI, the term "GPU" almost always enters the conversation and the topic often moves toward performance and access. Interestingly, the word "GPU" is assumed to mean "Nvidia" products. (As an aside, the popular Nvidia hardware used in GenAI are not technically... Read more…

Shutterstock 1606064203

Meta’s Zuckerberg Puts Its AI Future in the Hands of 600,000 GPUs

January 25, 2024

In under two minutes, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, laid out the company's AI plans, which included a plan to build an artificial intelligence system with the eq Read more…

Google Introduces ‘Hypercomputer’ to Its AI Infrastructure

December 11, 2023

Google ran out of monikers to describe its new AI system released on December 7. Supercomputer perhaps wasn't an apt description, so it settled on Hypercomputer Read more…

China Is All In on a RISC-V Future

January 8, 2024

The state of RISC-V in China was discussed in a recent report released by the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The report, entitled "E Read more…

Intel Won’t Have a Xeon Max Chip with New Emerald Rapids CPU

December 14, 2023

As expected, Intel officially announced its 5th generation Xeon server chips codenamed Emerald Rapids at an event in New York City, where the focus was really o Read more…

IBM Quantum Summit: Two New QPUs, Upgraded Qiskit, 10-year Roadmap and More

December 4, 2023

IBM kicks off its annual Quantum Summit today and will announce a broad range of advances including its much-anticipated 1121-qubit Condor QPU, a smaller 133-qu Read more…

  • arrow
  • Click Here for More Headlines
  • arrow
HPCwire