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Information Technology Frontiers for a New Millenium
Coordination of HPCC R&D Programs |
 
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Introduction
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President Clinton established the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) by Executive Order on November 23, 1993. This Cabinet-level Council, chaired by the President, is the principal means within the Government for coordinating science, space, and technology efforts, as well as the diverse parts of the Federal research and development enterprise. Membership includes the Vice President, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, cabinet secretaries and agency heads with significant science and technology responsibilities, and other White House officials. The NSTC focuses on establishing national goals for Federal science and technology investments in areas ranging from information technologies and health research, to improving transportation systems and strengthening fundamental research. One of the NSTC's most important tasks is to prepare coordinated R&D strategies and budget recommendations to help science and technology achieve those goals. To accomplish this, the NSTC established five committees:
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Committee on Technology (CT)
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The NSTC's Committee on Technology (CT) provides overall technology policy, program, and budget guidance and direction for the Directors of OSTP and Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Comprised of senior-level representatives from the Federal government's technology R&D departments and agencies, the CT advises and assists the NSTC in increasing the overall productivity and effectiveness of Federal technology R&D. The Committee addresses significant national policy matters that cut across agency boundaries and provides a formal mechanism for interagency policy coordination and for the development of balanced and comprehensive technology R&D programs. The Committee promotes technology partnerships to leverage Federal R&D budgets more efficiently.  The CT oversees the activities of seven technology R&D Subcommittees:
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Subcommittee on Computing, Information, and Communications R&D
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One of the CT's seven subcommittees, the Subcommittee on CIC R&D consists of representatives from each of the twelve agencies that participate in the Federal HPCC R&D programs plus representation from OMB and OSTP. The Subcommittee and its Executive Committee work with the agencies to plan, budget, implement, and review the multiagency HPCC programs, helping to shape the Nation's 21st century information infrastructure. The Subcommittee has five Working Groups and several subgroups that meet regularly to coordinate activities, discuss new initiatives, and address specific program objectives:
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National Coordination Office for Computing, Information, and Communications
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The NCO serves as a central point of contact for Federal HPCC R&D, and also provides guidance and support to the Subcommittee on CIC R&D, which is chaired by the NCO Director who reports to the Director of OSTP. The NCO helps the Subcommittee prepare multiagency planning, budget, and assessment documents. Together, the NCO and the agencies that participate in the HPCC R&D programs work to build and implement a balanced, comprehensive HPCC R&D agenda. The NCO supports the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC -- described beginning on page 101), which is comprised of 26 industry and academic leaders. The PITAC is charged with providing an independent assessment of the Federal government's role in information technology R&D. |
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Outreach
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The NCO and the Subcommittee on CIC R&D meet frequently with representatives from Congress; Federal, state, and local organizations; academia; industry; professional societies; foreign organizations; and others to exchange technical and programmatic information about HPCC needs, issues, and trends. For example, during FY 1999, the NCO and the Subcommittee's LSN Working Group (LSNWG) participated in several activities at SC98, a national conference focused on supercomputing, scalable computing, networking, distributed computing, data-intensive applications, and other emerging technologies that advance the frontiers of computing, communications, and computational science. The NCO and the LSNWG coordinated Next Generation Internet (NGI) applications to help educate researchers and the public about NGI and other Federal HPCC R&D investments. LSNWG representatives also held an NGI panel and participated in several panel discussions and tutorials. The NCO coordinated a PITAC Town Hall meeting where members discussed the findings and recommendations they were drafting for their Report to the President, described beginning on page 101. Throughout each year, the NCO responds to thousands of information requests from Congressional offices, academia, industry, and the public. To fulfill these requests, the NCO provides print and video materials and maintains Web sites that include all NCO publications since 1994, information on the Subcommittee on CIC R&D and the organizations reporting to it, information on the NGI initiative, Congressional testimony, PITAC activities and reports, links to the servers of participating agencies, and other related information. The most up-to-date information on HPCC R&D programs is available at http://www.ccic.gov/ and http://www.ngi.gov/. |
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High End Computing Systems briefings
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The NCO and the HECCWG organized High End Computing Systems briefings -- held on August 17 and 18, 1998 -- that were attended by more than 125 Federal agency scientists and engineers and select contractors. The event was hosted by the National Library of Medicine at its Lister Hill center Auditorium in Bethesda, Maryland, and featured nine major U.S. high performance computing systems vendors: COMPAQ Computer Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, Intel Corporation, Sequent Computer Systems, Silicon Graphics, Inc., Sun Microsystems, Inc., SRC Computers, Inc., and Tera Computer Company. Similar briefings were held in February 1993 and October 1995. In the intervening years, there has been a wide range of technological developments, a major shakeout in the industry, and evolution of both the Federal government's R&D interests and needs, and industrial product lines and markets. Through these briefings, Government agencies updated their information about major trends and issues in high performance computing, which assists them in planning Federal high performance computing systems R&D and procurement activities. |
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Buy American Report |
Congress requires information concerning non-U.S. high performance computing and communications funding activities. In FY 1999, DARPA was the only HPCC R&D agency that entered into grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or cooperative research and development agreements for HPCC R&D with either 1) a company other than a company that is either incorporated or located in the U.S. and that has majority ownership by individuals who are citizens of the U.S., or 2) an educational institution or nonprofit institution located outside the U.S. DARPA funded HPCC R&D-related awards of $200,000 to University College London (UK) and $105,000 to the University of Warwick (UK). In FY 1999, no HPCC R&D procurement exceeds $1 million for unmanufactured articles, materials, or supplies mined or produced outside the U.S., or for manufactured articles, materials, or supplies other than those manufactured in the U.S. substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the U.S. |
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