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Supercomputers.
Directions in Technology and
Applications
.
Academy Industry Program
National Academy of Sciences/National Academy of Engineering'
Institute of Medicine
and the
Computer Science and Technology Board
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1989
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NOTICE: This book is based on a symposium cosponsored by the Academy Industry Program (a joint
project of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute
of Medicine) and the Computer Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council. It
has been reviewed according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of
members of the two Academies and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of dis-
tinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of
science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter
granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the
federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National
Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its
administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences
the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also
sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research,
and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the
National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to
secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy
matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the
National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government
and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel
O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to
associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering
knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies
determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the
government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered
jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White
are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by the Academy Industry Program and by the following
organizations and agencies: Apple Computer, Inc., Control Data Corporation, Cray Research, Inc.,
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Grant No. N00014-87-J-1110), the Department
of Energy (Contract No. DE-FG05-87ER25029), Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett Packard,
IBM Corporation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant No. CDA-860535), the
National Science Foundation (Grant No. CDA-860535), and the Office of Naval Research (Grant No.
N00014-87-J-1 110).
Cover: Donna J. Cox, Scientist: Charles Evans, "Neutron Star Collision," National Center for
Supercomputing Applications, 1986
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 89~2945
International Standard Book Number 0-309-04088-4
Available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
S014
First Printing, December 1989
Second Printing, June 1990
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ACADEMY INDUSTRY PRO GRIM
ALLAN R. HOFFMAN, Director
EDWARD ABRAHAMS, Senior Staff Officer
LOIS E. PERROLLE, Staff Officer
DEBORAH FAISON, Senior Program Assistant
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
JOSEPH F. TRAUB, Columbia University, Chairman
JOHN SEELY BROWN, Xerox PARC Corporation
MICHAEL L. DERTOUZOS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
SAMUEL H. FULLER, Digital Equipment Corporation
JAMES FREEMAN GILBERT, University of California at San Diego
WILLIAM ~ GODDARD III, California Institute of Technology
JOHN E. HOPCROFT, Cornell University
ROBERT E. KAHN, Corporation for National Research Initiatives
SIDNEY KARIN, San Diego Supercomputer Center
LEONARD KLEINROCK, University of California at Los Angeles
DAVID J. KUCK, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ROBERT LANGRIDGE, University of California at San Francisco
ROBERT W. LUCKY, AT&T Bell Laboratories
RAJ REDDY, Carnegie Mellon University
MARY SHAW, Carnegie Mellon University
WILLIAM J. SPENCER, Xerox Corporation
IVAN E. SUTHERLAND, Sutherland, Sproull & Associates
VICTOR VYSSOTSKY, Digital Equipment Corporation
SHMUEL WINOGRAD, IBM Corporation
IRVING WLADAWSKY-BERGER, IBM Corporation
MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Executive Director
DAMIAN M. SACCOCIO, Staff Officer
MARGARET ~ KNEMEYER, Staff Associate
DONNA F. ALLEN, Administrative Secretary
CATHERINE ~ SPARKS, Secretary
l
. . .
111
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Preface
fiends in supercomputing technologies and the use of supercomput-
ers in three innovative U.S. corporations are discussed by leading experts
and by industry representatives in these proceedings of a symposium on
supercomE,uters held at the National Academy of Sciences complex on
September 8 and 9, 1988. The presentations that compose this report have
been revised and updated in the internal between the symposium and pub-
lication of this report. The symposium was the product of two groups, the
Academy Industry Program and the National Research Council's Computer
Science and Technology Board.
The Academy Industry Program was created in 1983 to open a dialogue
between the National Research Council and industry leaders. The program
has a two-part purpose: (1) to make National Research Council studies,
which number about 300 each year, available to industry decision makers
and (2) to learn from industry how this country should best address its long-
term needs in science and technology. Sixty-nine companies are currently
members of this expanding program. Industry, government, and academe
provide the three legs of the U.S. science and technology base, and the
Academy Industry Program helps ensure that industry's role in that triad is
carefully considered within the National Research Council.
The Computer Science and Technology Board, created in 1986, has
an ambitious agenda one focusing on research needs and public policies
to enhance U.S. production and use of new computer technologies. The
board's membership, which is half corporate and half academic, reflects
its belief in a partnership of the corporate and the academic sectors. In
v
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addition, the board is an intentional mix of people who might identify them-
selves as computer scientists and engineers or who would list one of the
sciences as their discipline and might also call themselves computational sci-
entists. The board is also somewhat unusual in that a very large proportion
of its support comes from the corporate sector. IBM Corporation, Digital
Equipment Corporation, Hewlett Packard, Cray Research, Inc., Control
Data Corporation, and Apple Computer, Inc. are all corporate sponsors.
The board's most important activity by far is to study items of national
interest having something to do with computing, but there is one overarch-
ing theme, the competitiveness of the United States, that lies behind almost
every one of the studies.
The board believes that it is not the manifest destiny of the United
States to remain the leading computer country in the world. In fact, if
we act complacent, it is assured that we will not be and that we deserve
not to be. The reason that leadership in computing is so important is that
computing is the enabling technology. If we lose computing, we lose much
more. In an information society where much of the industry is in the service
sector, it is extremely easy for companies to go abroad. If we think that
we saw an outflow in the manufacturing sector, we must realize how easy
it would be for companies that do not have a capital base in this country
to move their companies abroad.
Among the board's recent projects are the following:
The National Challenge in Computer Science and Technology (Na-
tional Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1988), addresses nature and
nurture issues for the computer field. Many of its major recommendations
are in line with the remarks made by Senator Albert Gore, Jr., in his
keynote address for this symposium.
A report, Toward a National Research Network (National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C., 1988), written in response to a request from the
Office of Science and Technology Polic y for a review of a proposed national
research network, which came out of what is sometimes called the Gore
initiative;
· A study, requested by the State Department, of the technology that
might affect U.S. policies on export control (Global fiends in Computer
Technology and Their Impact on Export Control, National Academy Press,
Washington, D.C., 1988~;
· A review, requested by the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration, of NASA's computer science research program;
· A colloquium, "Keeping the U.S. Computer Industry Competitive:
Defining the Agenda," held in May 1989; and
V1
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· A survey of over 100 supercomputer users and developers that
was prepared by the board to help guide its future assessments of high-
performance computing.
These projects are just examples from the board's rich portfolio.
Supercomputers are prominent among the board's projects because
science and technology advances make high-performance computing an
increasingly essential element of the U.S. scientific and industrial bases.
How and why this is so are the focus of this symposium report.
Joseph F. Daub, Chairman
Computer Science and Technology Board
. .
V11
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Contents
PART A OPENING REMARKS
1 WELCOME
Robert M. White
SUPERCOMPUTERS: VITAL TOOL FOR THE
NATION'S FUTURE
The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr.
INTRODUCTION
Lany L. Smarr
PART B THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF
SUPERCOMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
4 EXISTING CONDITIONS
Jack Worlton
5 TOWARD THE FUTURE
Steve Chen
1X
3
s
13
21
51
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PART C EXISTING APPLICATIONS OF
SUPERCOMPUTERS IN INDUSTRY
6 DECIDING TO ACQUIRE A POWERFUL NEW
RESEARCH TOOL-SUPERCOMPUTING
Beverly Eccles
7 USING SUPERCOMPUTING TO TRANSFORM
THINKING ABOUT PRODUCT DESIGN
Clifford R. Pe77y
8 ACHIEVING A PIONEERING OUTLOOK WITH
SUPERCOMPUTING
Lawrence G. Tesler
PART D CONCLUDING REMARKS
9 SUMMARY
Doyle D. Knight
x
73
81
90
101