Reed's Ruminations: The Past, Present, and Future
Reflections on science, technology, and computing — leavened by personal experience
Category: Extreme Computing
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The IT Ecosystem and Global Competitiveness
I recently chaired a U.S. National Academies study on the issues surrounding the end of Dennard scaling and its implications for U.S. industry, defense capabilities and national security. The report, The New Global Ecosystem in Advanced Computing: Implications for U.S. Competitiveness and National Security, was just released. It is a cautionary tale about the Gordian…
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Research {preposition} Infrastructure
Computing research and advanced computing infrastructure are interdependent, yet profoundly different in culture and metrics. As the scale and scope of computing grows, each needs to understand the constraints and needs of the other.
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No, Maybe, Yes, Obviously: Telling the Future the Past
In high-performance computing, we have seen many technology transitions, as vector supercomputers were supplanted by symmetric multiprocessors (SMPs) then by commodity clusters. The latter were recently augmented by GPUs. Each of these disruptive discontinuities brings community challenges. Indeed, the Kubler-Ross model of the stages of grief is sometimes apt – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and…
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Millions and Billions: Different Questions for Science Funding
All project cost estimates for an exascale initiative suggest it is well in excess of one billion dollars, placing it squarely in the realm of national priority debates. The science and engineering case, though absolutely necessary, is no longer sufficient by itself. One must also marshal arguments that address national, regional and global needs, and…
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SC11: The Cray, Fernbach and Kennedy Awards
The Cray, Fernbach and Kennedy awards and the work of the recipients reflect the evolving interplay of technology, software, applications and algorithms in advancing high-performance computing. They also recognize intellectual leadership and mentoring of a new generation of high-performance computing talent.
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Analog Computing: Time for a Comeback?
Use of the word “computer” conjures certain images and brings certain assumptions. One of them, so deeply ingrained that we rarely question it, is that computing is digital. It’s time to reconsider analog computing as an element of computer system design, particularly in a world of near threshold voltage designs, dark silicon, exascale computing and…