HPCC Program Overview 



High performance computing has become a critical tool for scientific and engineering research. In 

 many fields, computational science and engineering have become as important as the traditional meth- 

 ods of theory and experiment. This trend has been powered by computing hardware and software, 

 computational methodologies and algorithms, availability and access to high performance computing 

 systems, and the growth of a trained pool of scientists and engineers. 



The High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program has accelerated this 

 progress through its investment in advanced research in computer and network communications hard- 

 ware and software, national networks, and agency high performance computing centers. The 10 

 Federal agencies that participate in the HPCC Program (listed on page 12), along with their partners in 

 industry and academia, have made significant contributions to addressing critical areas of national 

 interest to both the Federal government and the general public. 



High Performance computing is knowledge and technology intensive. Its development and application 

 span all scientific and engineering disciplines. Over the last 10 years, a new approach to computing 

 has emerged that can support a broad range of needs ranging from workstations for individuals to the 

 largest scale highest performance systems that are used as shared resources. The workstations may 

 also be small scale parallel systems and connect by high performance networks into clusters. Through 

 the combination of advanced computing and computer communication networks with associated soft- 

 ware, these systems may be scaled over a wide performance range, may be heterogeneous, and may be 

 shared over large geographic distances by interdisciplinary research communities. The largest scale 

 parallel systems are referred to as massively parallel when hundreds, thousands, or more processors 

 are involved. Networks of workstations provide access to shared computing resources consisting of 

 other workstations and larger scale higher performance systems. 



High performance computing refers to the full range of supercom- 

 puting activities including existing supercomputer systems, special 

 purpose and experimental systems, and the new generation of large 

 scale parallel architectures. 



A Research and Development Strategy 

 for High Performance Computing 



Executive Office of the President 

 Office of Science and Technology Policy 

 November 20, 1987 



