Intel Awarded Supercomputing Contract

Intel has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Energy to create two next-generation supercomputers at the Argonne National Laboratory. These systems, according to the company, will be five to seven times more powerful than current supercomputers.

One of the computers, called Aurora, will be based on Intel’s HPC (high-performance computing) scalable framework and will have a peak performance of 180 petaflops. Additionally, it will be a next-generation Cray Shasta supercomputer.

Research goals for the Aurora system include more efficient batteries, solar panels, improved biofuels, effective disease control and enhanced transportation systems.

The second system, Theta, is to serve as an early production system for the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility. It will offer 8.5 petaflops performance while only requiring 1.7 megawatts of power.

“The selection of Intel to deliver the Aurora supercomputer is validation of our unique position to lead a new era in HPC,” said Raj Hazra, vice president, Data Center Group and general manager, Technical Computing Group at Intel. “Intel’s HPC scalable system framework enables balanced, scalable and efficient systems while extending the ecosystem’s decades of software investment to future generations. We look forward to the numerous scientific discoveries and the far-reaching impacts on society that Aurora will enable.”

For more information, visit Intel.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.