HPCC Program Goals
HPCC Agencies
HPCC Program Strategies
Develop, through industrial collaboration, high performance computing systems using scalable parallel designs and technologies capable of sustaining at least one trillion operations per second (teraops) performance on large scientific and engineering problems such as Grand Challenges
Support all HPCC components by helping to expand and upgrade the Internet
Develop the networking technology required for deployment of nationwide gigabit-speed networks through collaboration with industry
Demonstrate the productiveness of wide-area gigabit networking to support and enhance Grand Challenge and National Challenge applications collaborations
Demonstrate prototype solutions of Grand Challenge problems that achieve and exploit teraops performance
Provide and encourage innovative use of high performance computing systems, emerging software and algorithms, and network access technologies for solving Grand Challenge, National Challenge, and other advanced applications to enable new capabilities in missions such as national security, public health, public safety, environment, and education
Create an infrastructure, including high performance computing research centers, networks, and collaborations that encourage the diffusion and use of high performance computing and communications technologies in U.S. research and industrial applications
Work with industry to develop information infrastructure technology to support the Global Information Infrastructure
Leverage the HPCC investment by working with industry to implement National Challenge applications
Enhance computational science as a widely recognized discipline for basic research by establishing nationally recognized and accepted educational programs in computational science at the pre-college, undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels
Increase the number of graduate and postdoctoral fellowships in computer science, computer engineering, computational science and engineering, and informatics, and initiate undergraduate computational sciences scholarships and fellowships
Overview of the Five HPCC Program Components
Five integrated components represent the key areas of high performance computing and communications:
HPCS -- High Performance Computing Systems
Extend U.S. technological leadership in high performance computing through the development of scalable computing systems, with associated software, capable of sustaining at least one trillion operations per second (teraops) performance. Scalable parallel and distributed computing systems will be able to support the full range of usage from workstations through the largest-scale highest- performance systems. Workstations will extend into portable wireless interfaces as technology advances.
NREN -- National Research and Education Network
Extend U.S. technological leadership in computer communications by a program of research and development that advances the leading edge of networking technology and services. NREN will widen the research and education community's network connectivity to high performance computing and research centers and to electronic information resources and libraries. This will accelerate the development and deployment of networking technologies by the telecommunications industry. It includes nationwide prototypes for terrestrial, satellite, wireless, and wireline communications systems, including fiber optics, with common protocol support and applications interfaces.
ASTA -- Advanced Software Technology and Algorithms
Extend U.S. technological leadership in the development of advanced software and algorithms, enabling the use of HPCC-developed tools and methods, particularly to address large-scale problems such as the Grand Challenges. Software and early prototype applications are tested and evaluated on high performance computing and communications systems. Grand Challenge problems are computationally intensive problems such as forecasting weather, predicting climate, improving environmental monitoring, building more energy-efficient cars and airplanes designing better drugs, and conducting basic scientific research.
IITA -- Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications
Extend U.S. leadership in the development of advanced information technologies supporting distributed applications, intelligent interfaces to information systems, virtual environments, and National Challenge applications. National Challenge problems are information-intensive applications such as education and lifelong learning, digital libraries, health care, advanced manufacturing, electronic commerce, and environmental monitoring. IITA efforts will strengthen the HPCC technology base, broaden the market for these technologies, and accelerate industry development of the Global Information Infrastructure.
BRHR -- Basic Research and Human Resources
Support research, training, and education in computer science, computer engineering, and computational science, and enhance the infrastructure through the addition of HPCC resources. Initiation of pilot projects for K-12 and lifelong learning will support expansion of the NII.
Evaluation Criteria for the HPCC Program
Relevance/Contribution
The research must significantly contribute to the overall goals and strategy of the Federal High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program, including computing, software, networking, information infrastructure, and basic research, to enable solution of the Grand Challenges and the National Challenges.
Technical/Scientific Merit
The proposed agency program must be technically/scientifically sound and of high quality, and must be the product of a documented technical/scientific planning and review process.
Readiness
A clear agency planning process must be evident, and the organization must have demonstrated capability to carry out the program.
Timeliness
The proposed work must be technically/scientifically timely for one or more of the HPCC Program components.
Linkages
The responsible organization must have established policies, programs, and activities promoting effective technical and scientific connections among government, industry, and academic sectors.
Costs
The identified resources must be adequate, represent an appropriate share of the total available HPCC resources (e.g., a balance among program components), promote prospects for joint funding, and address long-term resource implications.
Agency Approval
The proposed program or activity must have policy-level approval by the submitting agency.