DOE Awards Over a Billion Supercomputing Hours to Address Scientific Challenges

Washington, DC. – The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that approximately 1.6 billion supercomputing processor hours have been awarded to 69 cutting-edge research projects through the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program. The INCITE program provides powerful resources to enable scientists and engineers to conduct cutting-edge research in just weeks or months rather than the years or decades needed previously. This facilitates scientific breakthroughs in areas such as climate change, alternative energy, life sciences, and materials science.

“Computation and supercomputing are critical to solving some of our greatest scientific challenges,” said Secretary Chu. “This year’s INCITE awards reflect the enormous growth in demand for complex modeling and simulation capabilities, which are essential to improving our economic prosperity and global competitiveness.”

The 69 projects selected, based on peer review and computational readiness evaluations of their potential to advance scientific discovery, were awarded time at DOE’s Leadership Computing Facilities at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Projects receiving INCITE awards utilize complex simulations to accelerate discoveries in ground-breaking technologies such as lithium air batteries and nano solar cells. The awards also include projects designed to close the nuclear fuel cycle, develop advanced propulsion systems, improve DNA sequencing and explore phenomena on the tiny scale of nanostructured superconductors. Other new and returning projects feature research in:

· Energy, including advanced systems for fusion energy and nuclear power, and improving combustion to increase efficiency and reduce emissions to develop safe and renewable energy solutions

· Environment, highlighting research into carbon sequestration, developing better insight of natural phenomena like earthquakes and hurricanes, and developing near-zero-emissions combustion devices

· Climate change, featuring projects to improve climate models, understand global warming, study the effects of turbulence in oceans, and simulate clouds on a global scale

· Biology, including understanding protein membranes to improve drug discovery, diagnostics and better treatment of diseases.

To learn more about the 2010 INCITE program, visit: http://www.er.doe.gov/ascr/incite/index.html.