 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NASA SUPERCOMPUTING FACILITY MARKS 25 YEARS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
April 21, 2008
Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650-604-3937/207-1323
E-mail: mmewhinney@mail.arc.nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08- 34AR
NASA SUPERCOMPUTING FACILITY MARKS 25 YEARS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - This year is the 25th anniversary of NASA's premier supercomputing organization at Ames Research Center.
NASA officials today observed the occasion with a celebration highlighting the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division's legacy of accomplishments in high performance computing, and aerospace modeling and simulation.
Originally founded in 1983 as the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation program, the NAS Division today encompasses not only supercomputing, mass storage system, and high-speed networking, but also a host of integrated services. This includes advanced visualization, application performance optimization, expert user services, high-fidelity computational science and innovative information technology solutions.
"Over the past quarter-century, the NAS Division has earned an international reputation as a pioneer in development and application of high-performance computing technologies," said NASA Ames Research Center Director S. Pete Worden. "This outstanding team provides its diverse customers with state-of-the art supercomputing services and world-class aerospace modeling and simulation expertise."
The NAS facility and staff have contributed significantly to NASA's missions, including essential work for the space shuttle's return to flight and subsequent missions. Simulations conducted at NAS are critical to the design of Ares and Orion, NASA's space transportation vehicles for a new generation of explorers.
In science, Columbia and the other supercomputers at NAS are used for simulations in nanotechnology, combustion, atmospheric chemistry, ocean and climate modeling, hurricane prediction, solar and black hole physics, and cosmological structure simulations. The division continues to support NASA's aeronautics research covering all flight regimes from subsonic to hypersonic.
"NAS has a stellar record of innovation and delivery of cutting-edge technology," said Rupak Biswas, chief of the NAS Division. "None of that success would have been possible without our expert staff, which continuously accomplishes ambitious goals while overcoming challenges. I look forward to the next 25 years and the new heights that this outstanding team surely will attain."
NAS continues to strive to improve and expand its capabilities. The division installed the world's largest known visualization engine, the "Hyperwall-2," a powerful tool with more than a million times the graphics rendering power of the original workstations installed nearly 25 years ago. This summer, NAS plans to install a new cluster supercomputing system to augment its current computational capability.
- end -
|
|
|
|
ARCHIVE
|
|
|
