FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 09, 2011

American Chemical Society hosts Capitol Hill briefing on supercomputing on March 17

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2011 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) Science & the Congress Project invites news media to attend a luncheon briefing on “Supercomputing for Science and Competitiveness.” It will be held Thursday, March 17, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Room 210-212 of the Capitol Visitors Center (Senate side). Please RSVP to http://tinyurl.com/Exascale.

The briefing focuses on the need for the United States to have greater supercomputing capability to tackle the 21st century national priorities in security, energy and the environment. Federal agencies, in partnership with the private sector, are asking what a national effort should look like that will take the United States to the next level — the exascale — in its ability to address issues such as stockpile stewardship, climate modeling and prediction, understanding combustion and developing advanced materials. Fundamental new ideas, architectures and algorithms are required. Panelists for this briefing will describe the benefits of more capable supercomputers and the tremendous technical hurdles that need to be overcome to reach the exascale.

Co-hosted by The Senate Science and Technology Caucus, the briefing will feature the following panelists and an open discussion:

Opening remarks:

  • Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
  • Senator Mark Udall (D-CO)

Moderator: David Dean, U.S. Department of Energy

Panelists:

  • Thom Dunning, Jr., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Thomas Zacharia, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Richard Arthur, G.E. Research
  • Katherine Yelick, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The Science & the Congress Project was established in 1995 to provide a neutral and credible source of scientific information targeted to policymakers on Capitol Hill. Expert speakers are chosen to provide a balanced presentation about the topic under discussion, and their comments are independent of any position that may be held by the ACS, the sponsors of Science & the Congress, or its co-hosts. Visit Science & the Congress Project for more information.

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Media Contact

Audrey Leath
202-437-0411
a_leath@acs.org

Michael Bernstein
202-872-6042
m_bernstein@acs.org