Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility

Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility is a United States Department of Energy-funded facility located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, and is managed by UT-Battelle. The facility is part of the National Center for Computational Sciences and provides high-performance computing resources to support scientific research and engineering applications, collaborating with institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley. The facility's mission is to advance scientific discovery and innovation through the use of advanced computing technologies, working closely with National Science Foundation, NASA, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The facility's research focuses on areas such as climate modeling, materials science, and nuclear physics, often in partnership with European Organization for Nuclear Research, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

● Introduction

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility is a world-class computing facility that provides researchers with access to some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, including Cray Inc. and IBM systems. The facility is designed to support a wide range of research applications, from climate modeling and weather forecasting to materials science and nuclear physics, often in collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and United States Department of Defense. The facility's computing resources are also used to support research in areas such as genomics, proteomics, and systems biology, working with institutions like Harvard University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. The facility's users include researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as from other national laboratories, universities, and research institutions like California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and University of Chicago.

● History

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility was established in 2004 as part of the United States Department of Energy's Advanced Scientific Computing Research program, with support from Congress of the United States and National Academy of Sciences. The facility was designed to provide researchers with access to the most advanced computing resources available, and to support the development of new computing technologies and applications, often in partnership with Intel Corporation, Microsoft, and Google. The facility's first supercomputer was the Cray XT3, which was installed in 2005 and was one of the fastest computers in the world at the time, ranking high in the TOP500 list. Since then, the facility has deployed several other supercomputers, including the Cray XT5 and the IBM Blue Gene/P, and has collaborated with European Commission, Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

● Computing Systems

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility operates several high-performance computing systems, including the Cray XK7 and the IBM Blue Gene/Q. These systems are designed to support a wide range of research applications, from climate modeling and materials science to genomics and systems biology, often using Message Passing Interface and OpenMP. The facility's computing systems are also used to support research in areas such as nuclear physics and astrophysics, working with institutions like Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The facility's systems are connected by a high-speed network that allows researchers to transfer large amounts of data quickly and efficiently, using InfiniBand and Ethernet. The facility also provides researchers with access to a range of software tools and libraries, including MPI and OpenACC, and has partnerships with AMD, NVIDIA, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

● Research and Applications

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility supports a wide range of research applications, from climate modeling and weather forecasting to materials science and nuclear physics. The facility's researchers use high-performance computing to simulate complex systems and phenomena, such as climate change and nuclear reactions, often in collaboration with National Center for Atmospheric Research, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The facility's researchers also use machine learning and data analytics to analyze large datasets and identify patterns and trends, working with institutions like Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The facility's research has led to numerous breakthroughs and discoveries, including the development of new materials and technologies, and has been recognized with awards from National Science Foundation, American Physical Society, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

● Facilities and Operations

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility is located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, and is managed by UT-Battelle. The facility operates 24/7, with a team of system administrators and research support staff available to assist researchers with their computing needs, and has partnerships with Cisco Systems, Dell, and NetApp. The facility's computing systems are housed in a data center that is designed to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, using green computing technologies and renewable energy sources. The facility also provides researchers with access to a range of collaboration tools and resources, including video conferencing and data sharing platforms, and has collaborations with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

● Notable Achievements

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility has achieved numerous notable successes, including the deployment of several world-record-breaking supercomputers, such as Titan and Summit, which have been recognized by Guinness World Records and TOP500. The facility's researchers have also made significant contributions to a range of fields, including climate science, materials science, and nuclear physics, and have published numerous papers in top-tier journals like Nature, Science, and Physical Review Letters. The facility has also been recognized with awards from National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and HPCwire, and has partnerships with European Union, Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The facility's research has also had a significant impact on industry and society, leading to the development of new technologies and products, and has collaborated with General Electric, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin.