The USA begins construction of the revolutionary Doudna supercomputer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Nvidia chip-based system will be 10 times more powerful than existing machines and become the most powerful in the US Department of Energy.
G. Ostrov
The United States has begun construction of a new revolutionary computing system that promises to change the landscape of scientific research and artificial intelligence. The supercomputer will be housed at the prestigious Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
Incredible Performance
The new system will have performance at least 10 times higher than the most powerful existing machines in the laboratory. The supercomputer was named Doudna in honor of Nobel Prize laureate Jennifer Doudna — co-author of the revolutionary genome editing technology CRISPR. Upon completion, Doudna will become the most powerful computing machine at the disposal of the US Department of Energy.
Strategic Importance of the Project
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright emphasized the strategic importance of the project: "The Doudna system reflects the Department of Energy's commitment to strengthening US leadership in science, AI, and high-performance computing. AI is the Manhattan Project of our time, and Doudna will help ensure that America's scientists have the tools needed to win the global race for artificial intelligence dominance."
Unexpected Contractor Choice
An interesting feature of the project was the choice of contractor. Instead of the traditional partner Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, the Department of Energy entrusted construction to Dell Technologies. This decision is explained by Dell's success in developing scalable AI systems for the commercial sector — exactly the kind of solutions that government laboratories are now focusing on.
Advanced Architecture
Instead of conventional solutions based on Intel or AMD processors, the Doudna supercomputer will use the latest Nvidia Rubin graphics chips and Arm architecture processors. This choice is not accidental — Berkeley already successfully operates the Perlmutter system with Nvidia graphics accelerators, so choosing "green" company solutions appears as a logical continuation.
Evolution of Supercomputing
Historically, supercomputers were developed for high-precision scientific tasks — from modeling nuclear reactions to climate forecasts. However, in modern conditions, these systems are increasingly focused on solving artificial intelligence tasks. The Doudna system will also use specialized Nvidia software adapted for scientific needs.
Modularity and Scalability
Dell notes that the supercomputer architecture is designed with modularity and scalability in mind. This can significantly simplify the reuse of technologies in other laboratories and even commercial structures, ensuring wider distribution of advanced computing solutions.
According to Paul Perez, Dell's Senior Vice President and Senior Technology Scientist: "This market went into some form of autopilot. What we did was turn off the autopilot."
More detailed information about Nvidia technologies can be found on the company's official website.
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