Idaho National laboratory unveils big brain. "Icestorm" Site's computing center is 'new laboratory'
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| December 11, 2007 |  View for printing |
New modern INL high-performance computing center and supercomputer significantly enhance nuclear energy research
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is opening its High-Performance Computing Center, taking a major step in achieving the laboratory’s vision to become the nation’s leading nuclear energy research, development and demonstration laboratory.
"INL's new Computing Center will be a key tool as the lab continues to lead the way in the design and development of next generation nuclear reactors to provide safe, emissions-free nuclear energy in the United States," Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Shane Johnson said. "Advancements in nuclear technology will help spur the expansion of nuclear energy to meet growing energy demand around the world."
The Center will give INL enhanced capabilities in computer modeling, simulation and visualization to support reactor development.
INL High-Performance Computing Center will assist researchers in the analysis of reactor designs and processes. Its capabilities are similar to the computational design approach that aircraft manufacturers use to simulate different prototypes before selecting a final design. While a new reactor design will be rigorously tested before it is built and operated, simulation and modeling tools at the Computing Center can reduce the time and cost of the traditional design cycle and help ensure investments are made in the most promising reactor technologies. Highlights of INL’s recent achievements in high-performance computing include:
• INL’s supercomputer is rated as #64 in computational speed, according to the November 2007 TOP500 world’s fastest supercomputer list.
• The High-Performance Computing Center includes a 3,700-square-foot raised floor computer area that is expandable to 10,000 square feet.
• The new Computing Center accommodates planned growth in high-performance computing at the laboratory and supports INL’s five distinctive scientific signatures:
Advanced materials and nuclear fuel science Theory, modeling and simulation
Separations and actinide science
Microbiological and geological systems science Instrumentation, control, and intelligent systems
• The Computing Center, coupled with an increase in network bandwidth, helps position INL to pursue national and international research and scientific collaboration.
• High-performance computing can significantly reduce the time required for complex calculations, often from months to days.
• Interactive visualization capabilities enable the analysis and assessment of complex modeling and simulation results.
• The Computing Center is designed to be highly energy efficient and utilizes a modern cooling system that functions at a higher efficiency than conventional data centers. The environmentally friendly design includes a generator capable of using 15 percent biodiesel for backup power. This generator will prevent a power outage from impacting the computing work under way in the center.
INL will dedicate the High-Performance Computing Center on Dec. 10 at
11 a.m. in the Engineering Research Office Building visualization lab on the Research and Education Campus.
Reader Comments:
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Now if Idaho will just hook up the universities on this side of the state (ISU, BYU-I) & Montana/Utah do the same (MSU, USU) with a 10 gig min dedicated R&D-only-line (so Qwest won't freak out), the INL & these universities can use it to collaborate for more R&D money. There's $77 billion/yr in "extra-mural" (i.e. not directed per DoD, DOE, NASA, etc. budgets, not SBIR $ either) research monies available according to ssti.org This is how NM "turbo-charges" their lab-university combinations to get even more funding, which ultimately finds its way to startup commercializations. The govt funds it, the researchers get to keep & exploit the IP-derived (Intellectual property). Makes me wonder what the bureaucrats at the Inland NW Research Alliance are doing?? --Bill Sellers Idaho Falls
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