The Race to Exascale: The Next Milestone in Supercomputing

The race to Exascale computing is on, and countries around the world are vying for the title of being the first to achieve this next milestone in supercomputing. Exascale computing refers to the ability of a computer to perform one quintillion (10^18) calculations per second, which is approximately 50 times faster than the current fastest supercomputer. This level of computational power has the potential to revolutionize fields such as artificial intelligence, climate modeling, and drug discovery, among others.

The United States, China, Japan, and the European Union are currently leading the charge in the race to exascale. Each of these players has invested heavily in research and development to create the next generation of supercomputers, with the goal of reaching exascale capabilities within the next few years.

The United States has long been a dominant force in the world of supercomputing, and its efforts to reach exascale are no exception. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has set a goal of achieving exascale computing by 2021, and it has dedicated significant resources to this endeavor. In 2018, the DOE announced a $1.8 billion investment in the Exascale Computing Project (ECP), which aims to develop the software, hardware, and applications necessary to achieve exascale capabilities. Additionally, the US is home to several of the world’s fastest supercomputers, including Summit and Sierra, which currently rank as the second and third fastest, respectively.

China, however, has emerged as a formidable competitor in the race to exascale. In recent years, China has made significant strides in supercomputing, and it now boasts the world’s fastest supercomputer, the Sunway TaihuLight. Chinese officials have set a goal of achieving exascale computing by 2020, and they have invested heavily in research and development to make this a reality. In 2018, China announced plans to invest $145 billion in its semiconductor industry over the next decade, with a focus on developing advanced processors and memory chips that will be crucial for exascale computing.

Japan, too, has set its sights on exascale computing, with a goal of achieving this milestone by 2021. The country’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology has invested $1 billion in the development of the Post-K supercomputer, which is expected to be 100 times more powerful than its predecessor, the K computer. The Post-K supercomputer will be built using cutting-edge technologies, such as energy-efficient ARM processors and high-bandwidth memory, which will be crucial for achieving exascale capabilities.

The European Union is also making significant strides in the race to exascale. In 2018, the European Commission announced the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, a $1.2 billion initiative aimed at developing exascale supercomputers by 2022. The initiative brings together 25 European countries and includes plans to develop three pre-exascale supercomputers, as well as two fully exascale systems.

As the race to exascale heats up, the potential benefits of achieving this level of computational power are becoming increasingly clear. Exascale computing will enable researchers to tackle complex problems that were previously impossible to solve, such as modeling the Earth’s climate system with unprecedented accuracy, simulating the behavior of subatomic particles, and accelerating the development of new drugs and materials. Moreover, exascale computing will also play a critical role in advancing artificial intelligence, as it will enable the training of more sophisticated machine learning models that can process vast amounts of data.

In conclusion, the race to exascale represents a global effort to push the boundaries of computing and unlock new possibilities in scientific research and technological innovation. As countries around the world invest heavily in research and development, the stage is set for a dramatic showdown in the quest to achieve the next milestone in supercomputing.

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