High End Computing

The HEC Interagency Working Group (IWG) was created in 1991 and currently coordinates Federal HEC R&D across 14 participating agencies and supports activities that extend U.S. leadership in high-capability computing (HCC). Guided by Pioneering the Future Advanced Computing Ecosystem: A Strategic Plan, the IWG focuses on the development of technologies that anticipate future needs, overcome current challenges, and ensure the effective use of HCC systems to support the Nation’s economic competitiveness, security, and leadership in science and engineering. EHCS investments drive innovation in areas such as precision medicine, smart and connected communities, and the next wave of autonomous machines.

The HEC IWG also coordinates the operation and modernization of HCC infrastructure and applications to accelerate scientific discoveries and technological innovations. HCIA investments provide researchers from academia, government, and industry tens of billions of computing hours annually on the Nation’s most powerful computing platforms and provide the ecosystem and expertise the United States needs in areas such as materials discovery and design, earth and space science, detection and treatment of diseases, and other applications of national interest.

Strategic Priorities in Enabling R&D for High-Capability Computing Systems

• Research and develop innovative approaches and technologies critical to delivering extreme-scale computing systems to enhance scientific insight, accelerate discoveries, and reinforce decision-making in support of national priorities.
• Research and develop technologies to make breakthroughs in HCC’s most pressing challenges and pioneer new frontiers in computing, fueling innovations and discoveries that will shape the future computing ecosystem – both inside and outside the data center – and strengthen technological competitiveness.
• Research and develop new approaches and techniques aimed at improving the programmability, portability, reliability, and usability of high-capability computing, broadening the impact and applicability of the HCC.
• Develop, foster, and broaden a diverse and inclusive HEC workforce for computing R&D to bolster technological competitiveness.

Strategic Priorities in High-Capability Computing Infrastructure and Applications

• Acquire, operate, and provide leadership-class and production-quality HCC systems required to meet critical national needs, including AI, and support research and education across all S&E areas.
• Develop, improve, and maintain algorithms, applications, and supporting software to advance capabilities vital to the Nation’s security, economy, and individual well-being.
• Develop resources and tools to lower barriers to HCC access, improve usability, and support collaborations to promote community-engaged R&D.
• Develop, enhance, and provide an HCC ecosystem to a diverse user community needed for effective use of advanced computing to support U.S. leadership in S&E, enable open science and community engaged R&D, and strengthen U.S. competitiveness.