Oak Ridge Today

DOE: New $600 million supercomputer at ORNL will be world’s most powerful

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Pictured above from left during an announcement for the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, are Energy Secretary Rick Perry; ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia; Peter Ungaro, Cray president and chief executive officer; and Lisa Su, AMD president and CEO. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 3 p.m. May 21.

The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday announced a contract with Cray Inc. to build the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It is expected to be the world’s most powerful supercomputer when it debuts in 2021.

The contract with Cray is valued at more than $600 million for the system and technology development, a press release said.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry was at ORNL on Tuesday morning to make the announcement.

“This is a big deal,” Perry said. “Frontier’s record-breaking performance will ensure our country’s ability to lead the world in science that improves the lives and economic prosperity of all Americans and the entire world. Frontier will accelerate innovation in AI (artificial intelligence) by giving American researchers world-class data and computing resources to ensure the next great inventions are made in the United States.”

Besides the supercomputing announcement on Tuesday, Perry also delivered the keynote speech at InnovationXLab: Advanced Manufacturing Summit at ORNL.

Frontier is expected to perform at greater than 1.5 exaflops. It will be able to solve calculations up to 50 times faster than today’s top supercomputers, exceeding a quintillion, or 1018, calculations per second, the press release said. That’s a billion billion calculations per second.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that Frontier would be built at ORNL. But the contract with Cray and its value and the specific performance estimate of more than 1.5 exaflops are all new announcements. The contract award includes technology development funding, a center of excellence, several early-delivery systems, the main Frontier system, and multi-year systems support. The Frontier system is expected to be delivered in 2021, and acceptance is expected in 2022. 

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Leading AI expert, ORHS grad to be featured at reception, talk on Monday

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Kai-Fu Lee—a world leading artificial intelligence expert, venture capitalist, author, and founder of Google China and Microsoft Research Asia—will discuss artificial intelligence in Oak Ridge on Monday.

The May 6 talk is titled “Making AI Work.”

The public is invited to attend a community reception for, and also lecture by, Lee at Pollard Auditorium from 5:30-7:30 p.m., a press release said.

Lee, a 1979 Oak Ridge High School graduate, is being hosted by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, UT-Battelle, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the press release said.

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A former Oak Ridge student, artificial intelligence expert to visit city, talk at evening ceremony

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The cover of Kai-Fu Lee's book, "AI Superpowers." (Submitted)

The cover of Kai-Fu Lee’s book, “AI Superpowers.” (Submitted)

 

Kai-Fu Lee—a world-leading artificial intelligence expert, venture capitalist, writer, and former president of Google China—is planning a visit to Oak Ridge on May 6, a press release said.

Lee, a 1979 Oak Ridge High School graduate, will visit his former schools, St. Mary’s Catholic School and Oak Ridge Schools, meeting with students and teachers during the day, the press release said.

The public is invited to an evening ceremony at Pollard Auditorium including a reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. and Lee’s talk at 6:30. This community event will be hosted by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, UT-Battelle, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and Friends of ORNL. Lee will be available to sign his most recent best-selling book, “AI Super-Powers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order.” Copies of the book will be available for purchase, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL names director of artificial intelligence

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David Womble

David Womble

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has hired David Womble, a leader in high-performance computing and former executive at Sandia National Laboratories, to direct its artificial intelligence work.

Womble began as AI Program Director on October 30, a press release said. AI stands for artificial intelligence.

Womble’s responsibilities include guiding ORNL’s AI and machine learning strategy for high-performance computing, ensuring broad scientific impacts to the missions of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and providing long-range program planning and project leadership, the press release said.

“In more than three decades in computing, Womble has won two R&D100 awards and the Association for Computing Machinery’s Gordon Bell Prize, awarded each year ‘to recognize outstanding achievement in high-performance computing,'” the press release said. [Read more…]

Tourassi named top scientist at ORNL’s annual Awards Night

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Georgia Tourassi, Director’s Award winner for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

Georgia Tourassi, Director’s Award winner for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Georgia Tourassi of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate has received the ORNL Director’s Award for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology.

The top scientist award was presented to Tourassi by ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia during Saturday night’s annual Awards Night event hosted by UT-Battelle, the management and operating contractor of ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy, a press release said.

Tourassi was recognized for advancing the research, development, and deployment of artificial intelligence in data-driven biomedical discovery and medical imaging, including applications for cancer diagnosis and management, the press release said. She was also cited for her support of the missions of biomedical scientific societies and federal agencies and for mentoring students in biomedical science and technology.

Tourassi, who works in the Computational Sciences and Engineering Division and directs the laboratory’s Health Data Sciences Institute, also received the Distinguished Researcher award. [Read more…]