Advanced Simulation and Computing Program

Advanced Simulation and Computing Program
Name	Advanced Simulation and Computing Program
Other names	ASC Program
Established	1995
Parent	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Location	Livermore, California

Advanced Simulation and Computing Program

The Advanced Simulation and Computing Program is a United States Department of Energy initiative centered at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that supports high-performance Livermore, California computing for strategic national programs. The program underwrites procurement and development at facilities such as Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and collaborates with vendors like Cray Inc., IBM, and Intel Corporation to sustain exascale ambitions. It interfaces with national projects and institutions including National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense initiatives.

Overview

The ASC program provides resources for computational platforms, software research, and workforce development linking Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory. It funds efforts across hardware vendors such as NVIDIA, AMD, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Fujitsu while coordinating with institutions including University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, and Princeton University. ASC supports simulation codes developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (e.g., legacy codes), projects at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and partnerships with corporations like Microsoft and Google.

History and Development

ASC began after initiatives tied to Stockpile Stewardship Program oversight and followed policy shifts stemming from treaties such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty discussions and directives involving the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Early computing purchases involved supercomputers from Cray Research and collaborations with Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The program evolved through eras marked by contributions from figures at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory leadership, interactions with National Security Council advisors, and budget cycles in the United States Congress including panels like the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee. Milestones align with machine deployments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and acquisitions influenced by vendors such as IBM for projects related to Project Q-era research, and later procurements tied to exascale roadmaps shaped by Department of Energy directives and collaborations with National Nuclear Security Administration.

Architecture and Capabilities

ASC architectures combine processor technologies from Intel Corporation, AMD, and accelerator ecosystems from NVIDIA and ARM Holdings licensees, integrated by system vendors like Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Fujitsu. Systems run software stacks developed with contributions from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and open-source efforts from communities including contributors associated with Linux Foundation projects. Simulation capabilities address multi-physics codes influenced by research groups at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Columbia University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Storage and data movement strategies draw on innovations from Oak Ridge National Laboratory collaborations with Seagate Technology and Western Digital. Visualization and analysis integrate tools inspired by work at Argonne National Laboratory and National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

Applications and Projects

ASC funds production simulations for stewardship tasks connected to research at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, while enabling scientific computing projects with partners such as University of Michigan, Yale University, Cornell University, and University of Texas at Austin. Representative applications include extreme-scale computational hydrodynamics influenced by studies at Johns Hopkins University and climate-relevant modeling drawing on expertise from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NOAA-affiliated programs. The program supports code modernization efforts using programming models promoted by Department of Energy workshops, collaborations with software initiatives at Argonne National Laboratory such as projects akin to widely used simulation codes, and partnerships with industry research labs like Bell Labs and IBM Research.

Management and Funding

ASC is overseen within the National Nuclear Security Administration framework and aligns funding cycles with appropriations from the United States Congress, informed by oversight from committees such as the House Committee on Appropriations and reviews by Government Accountability Office. Program management involves laboratory directors from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, and coordination with procurement offices at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Funding supports vendor contracts with companies like Cray Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, and Fujitsu, and research grants to universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley.

Collaboration and Partnerships

ASC engages multi-institution consortia spanning National Laboratories—Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory—and academic partners such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Industry partners include Intel Corporation, NVIDIA, AMD, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fujitsu, and IBM. Additional collaborations reach federal entities like the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and agencies including NASA and NOAA for cross-domain science. International engagement occurs through exchanges with institutions such as CERN, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and partnerships with vendors headquartered in Japan and France.

Challenges and Future Directions

Key challenges include sustaining exascale performance amid constraints involving procurement cycles assessed by Congressional Budget Office analyses and ensuring code portability across architectures championed by Intel Corporation, AMD, NVIDIA, and ARM Holdings ecosystems. Workforce recruitment relies on pipelines from universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and Princeton University while competing with tech firms like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services. Future directions emphasize collaborations with emerging technology partners such as Quantum Research Consortium-style initiatives, potential coordination with National Quantum Initiative stakeholders, and integration of novel compute paradigms influenced by research from IBM Research, Google DeepMind, and academic centers like Caltech and Harvard University.

Category:United States Department of Energy