Based on the President's budget request of over $1 billion, this document presents in detail the FY 1997 Implementation Plan for the Federal High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program. Established by the High Performance Computing Act 1991, the Program is carried out by twelve Federal agencies.1 Throughout its existence, this Program has achieved extraordinary results relative to the original goals established in FY 1992.
The budget figures included in this Implementation Plan derive from a base of $489 million in place at the beginning of the official Program in FY 1992. Additional funding was added over the following five years.
Since the HPCC Program is part of the Administration's R&D portfolio, program oversight is the responsibility of the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC) Committee on Computing, Information, and Communications R&D (CCIC). In FY 1996, the High Performance Computing, Communications, and Information Technology (HPCCIT) Subcommittee became the Computing, Information, and Communications R&D (CIC) Subcommittee of the CCIC and is currently responsible for coordinating agencies' collaborative R&D activities.
The HPCC Program forms the core of the CIC R&D programs. Starting with this fiscal year, CCIC has reorganized its collaborative programs into five Program Component Areas (PCAs) whose structure evolved from the five components of the original HPCC Program (HPCS, NREN, ASTA, IITA, and BRHR)2. The PCAs are areas of high priority investments by the Federal agencies that participate in the coordinated R&D programs. The PCAs and their goals are:
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High End Computing and Computation (HECC): The goal of HECC R&D is
to provide the foundation for U.S. leadership in computing through investments
in leading-edge hardware and software innovations, and in algorithms and
software for modeling and simulation needed to address Grand Challenge-class
applications.
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Large Scale Networking Technologies (LSN): The goal of LSN R&D is to
assure U.S. leadership in communications in high performance network components;
technologies that enable wireless, optical, mobile, and wireline communications;
large-scale network engineering, management, and services; and systems software
and program development environments for network-centric computing.
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High Confidence Systems (HCS): The goal of HCS R&D is to develop
technologies that provide users with high levels of security, protection of
privacy and data, reliability, and restorability of information services.
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Human centered Systems (HuCS): The goal of HuCS R&D is to make
computing and networking more useful through collaboratories, technologies that
provide knowledge from distributed repositories, multi-modal interactive systems,
and virtual reality environments.
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Education, Training, and Human Resources (ETHR): The goal of ETHR R&D is to support research that enables modern education and training technologies, including technologies that support lifelong and distance learning, and curriculum development. |
Many applications span several PCAs, and numerous areas of research contribute to more than one PCA. In this document, descriptions of program activities for each agency indicate which activities contribute to which PCAs.
Research directions for the Program include the following:
In HECC, emphasis is being placed on system software technology for high performance systems-especially scalable clusters of shared memory processors. There is new emphasis on research on fundamental technologies based on quantum effects and biological phenomena. There will be less emphasis on procurements of large-scale experimental systems this fiscal year. Re-competition of the NSF Supercomputer centers and the DOE High Performance Computing Research centers is taking place during this period.3
In LSN, emphasis is on very high bandwidth optical, wireline, and wireless communications, very large aggregates of very small processors, connectivity for large numbers of universities and schools, distributed cooperative computing, and applications using computer-based patient records.
In HCS, agencies focus on the high performance aspects of system reliability, provability, and privacy of sensitive unclassified data, with some emphasis on information security. As the importance of this area grows, additional R&D activities will be supported to provide for computer based patient records, electronic commerce, and emergency management.
In HuCS, emphasis is on human-computer interaction techniques, including interactive problem-solving, software development technology, speech and document understanding, digital library technology, collaboratories, virtual reality applications in telemedicine, remote operation of expensive and unique equipment, and technologies required for remote collaboration.
In ETHR, closer cooperation between the NSTC Committee on Education and Training and the CCIC is planned. Some of the prior year HPCC education and training budget has been redefined and is no longer considered part of the HPCC crosscut. Education activities, such as supporting fellowships for advanced training in CCIC areas, are still high priorities for the HPCC agencies. New efforts to bring health care to remote individuals is also a high priority.
The world has entered the Information Age and the U.S. is leading the way. This leadership is due in large measure to long-term Federal research and development in advanced computing, communications, and information technology. The new CIC R&D programs will be key driving forces for advancing these technologies and their application to a more secure and better life in 21st century America.
This Implementation Plan contains the details of FY 1997 HPCC Program activities reflected in the President's FY 1997 budget request.
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| High End Computing and Computation | Large Scale Networking | High Confidence Systems | Human centered Systems | Education, Training, and Human Resources |
| Scalable systems, software, and environments | Multi-gigabit network testbed including wireline, wireless, and mobile technologies | Infrastructure protocols for secure and reliable networks | Intelligent systems and software | Integration of research and education technologies |
| Uniform memory access systems with low latency and high bandwidth | Very high speed backbones for network, scientific, and engineering applications | High speed cryptography for information security in virtual laboratories | Knowledge acquisition, fusion, aggregation, and summarization tools | Lifelong and distance learning technologies |
| Integrated circuit simulation for microsystems | Network reconfiguration tools | Interoperability standards | Virtual environments with remote instruments | Teacher development tools |
| Distributed operating systems | Global grid communications and inter-network protocols | Secure interface protocols | Multi-modal communication, speech understanding | K-12 education cooperative agreements |
| Compilers, debuggers, program development environments | Network management, cost accounting, and authentication | Network security and restorability | Collaboratories, tools for group authoring, remote control of instruments | Summer school in high performance computation |
| Algorithms and software for Grand Challenge scientific and engineering applications | Network-centric computation for National Challenge applications | Reliability and security for mobile computing environments | Graphical user interfaces for medical imaging and patient record systems | Research fellowships for science, engineering, and health professionals |
| Supercomputer centers, centers for advanced research on experimental systems | Data mining, integration, and visualization for scientific data | Telemedicine testbed networks, remote surgical procedures | Clinical decision support systems, patient records, visible human database | Health care information infrastructure |
| Advanced manufacturing design and processes | Optoelectronic and optical media | Authentication and verification procedures | Remote visualization of environmental data in digital libraries | Technologies for ubiquitous network access to the World Wide Web |
| Superconducting components | Convergence of computing and communications | Automatic document translation | ||
| Quantum and biological computing methods | ||||
| $454 Million | $260 Million | $32 Million | $249 Million | $45 Million |
| 1 | DARPA, NSF, DOE, NASA, NIH, NSA, NIST, NOAA, EPA, ED, AHCPR, and VA. DOT may be added to the Program later. |
| 2 | High Performance Computing Systems (HPCS), National Research and Education Network (NREN), Advanced Software Technology and Algorithms (ASTA), Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications (IITA), and Basic Research and Human Resources (BRHR) |
| 3 | Re-competition of the DOE NERSC center was completed in FY 1996. |
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