IX. SUPERCOMPUTERS 



Large-scale scientific computers — or supercomputers — play a cri- 

 tical role In scientific and engineering research. These ultrafast 

 "number crunchers" are used for modeling and simulating scientific 

 and engineering problems in areas such as design and simulation of 

 very large-scale integrated circuits; design of nuclear weapons; de- 

 sign and analysis of nuclear reactors; magnetic fusion energy re- 

 search; aerodynamic design and evaluation; meteorological forecast- 

 ing; and petroleum exploration. 



The U.S. Government supports scientific research by providing 

 access for researchers to state-of-the-art supercomputers in Federal 

 laboratories and facilities such as the National Center for Atmo- 

 spheric Research computing facility, the National Magnetic Fusion 

 Energy Computing Center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 

 and the Los Alamos National Laboratory computing center. 



In 1985, the Department of Energy began support of the Super- 

 conducting Computational Research Institute at Florida State Uni- 

 versity. Also recently, the National Science Foundation announced 

 its plans to establish four National Advanced Scientific Computing 

 Centers at Princeton University, Cornell University, the University 

 of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the University of California, San 

 Diego. 



These supercomputer facilities are listed in table 11 and dis- 

 cussed briefly in appendix 10. 17/ 



The levels of international cooperation at the existing facili- 

 ties currently seems to be minimal. 



17/ Also see U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research 

 Service. Supercomputers and Artificial Intelligence: Recent Federal 

 Initiatives, Issue Brief 85105 (continually updated). 



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