[Senate Report 108-379]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 738
108th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 108-379
======================================================================
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COMPUTING REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2004
_______
September 28, 2004.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4516]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 4516) to require the Secretary of Energy
to carry out a program of research and development to advance
high-end computing, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the
Act, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Energy High-End
Computing Revitalization Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Center.--The term ``Center'' means a High-End Software
Development Center established under section 3(d).
(2) High-end computing system.--The term ``high-end computing
system'' means a computing system with performance that
substantially exceeds that of systems that are commonly
available for advanced scientific and engineering applications.
(3) Institution of higher education.--The term ``institution
of higher education'' has the meaning given the term in section
101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(4) Leadership system.--The term ``Leadership System'' means
a high-end computing system that is among the most advanced in
the world in terms of performance in solving scientific and
engineering problems.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Energy, acting through the Director of the Office of Science of
the Department of Energy.
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COMPUTING RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall--
(1) carry out a program of research and development
(including development of software and hardware) to advance
high-end computing systems; and
(2) develop and deploy high-end computing systems for
advanced scientific and engineering applications.
(b) Program.--The program shall--
(1) support both individual investigators and
multidisciplinary teams of investigators;
(2) conduct research in multiple architectures, which may
include vector, reconfigurable logic, streaming, processor-in-
memory, and multithreading architectures;
(3) conduct research on software for high-end computing
systems, including research on algorithms, programming
environments, tools, languages, and operating systems for high-
end computing systems, in collaboration with architecture
development efforts;
(4) provide for sustained access by the research community in
the United States to high-end computing systems and to
Leadership Systems, including provision of technical support
for users of such systems;
(5) support technology transfer to the private sector and
others in accordance with applicable law; and
(6) ensure that the high-end computing activities of the
Department of Energy are coordinated with relevant activities
in industry and with other Federal agencies, including the
National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration,
the National Security Agency, the National Institutes of
Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National
Institutes of Standards and Technology, and the Environmental
Protection Agency.
(c) Leadership Systems Facilities.--
(1) In general.--As part of the program carried out under
this Act, the Secretary shall establish and operate 1 or more
Leadership Systems facilities to--
(A) conduct advanced scientific and engineering
research and development using Leadership Systems; and
(B) develop potential advancements in high-end
computing system hardware and software.
(2) Administration.--In carrying out this subsection, the
Secretary shall provide to Leadership Systems, on a
competitive, merit-reviewed basis, access to researchers in
United States industry, institutions of higher education,
national laboratories, and other Federal agencies.
(d) High-End Software Development Center.--
(1) In general.--As part of the program carried out under
this Act, the Secretary shall establish at least 1 High-End
Software Development Center.
(2) Duties.--A Center shall concentrate efforts to develop,
test, maintain, and support optimal algorithms, programming
environments, tools, languages, and operating systems for high-
end computing systems.
(3) Staff.--A Center shall include--
(A) a full-time research staff, to create a
centralized knowledge base for high-end software
development; and
(B) a rotating staff of researchers from other
institutions and industry to assist in coordination of
research efforts and promote technology transfer to the
private sector.
(4) Use of expertise.--The Secretary shall use the expertise
of a Center to assess research and development in high-end
computing system architecture.
(5) Location.--The location of a Center shall be determined
by a competitive proposal process administered by the
Secretary.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
In addition to amounts otherwise made available for high-end
computing, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to
carry out this Act--
(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
(2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
(3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
SEC. 5. ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Amendments.--Section 23 of the National Science Foundation
Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n-9) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subsection (b), by striking ``and the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration'' and inserting ``, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of
Energy'';
(2) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``Administration, and''
and inserting ``Administration, the Secretary of Energy, '';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ``5'' and
inserting ``4'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4),
and in that paragraph by striking ``3'' and inserting
``2''; and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) 3 members selected by the Secretary of Energy; and'';
and
(4) in subsection (f), by striking ``the advisory bodies of
other Federal agencies, such as the Department of Energy, which
may engage in related research activities'' and inserting
``other Federal advisory committees that advise Federal
agencies that engage in related research activities''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) take
effect on March 15, 2005.
SEC. 6. REMOVAL OF SUNSET PROVISION FROM SAVINGS IN CONSTRUCTION ACT OF
1996.
Section 14 of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (15 U.S.C. 205l) is
amended by striking subsection (e).
Purpose
The purpose of H.R. 4516 is to require the Secretary of
Energy, acting through the Director of the Office of Science,
to implement a research and development program (involving
software and hardware) to advance high-end computing systems.
Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill
The bill requires the Secretary of Energy to develop and
deploy high-end computing systems for advanced scientific and
engineering applications.
The bill further requires that the Department of Energy's
high-end computing (HEC) program support individual
investigators and multi-disciplinary teams of investigators;
conduct research on multiple computing architectures; conduct
research on algorithms, programming environments, tools,
languages, and operating systems; support technology transfer
to the private sector; and coordinate with industry and other
Federal agencies.
The bill also requires the Secretary to establish and
operate Leadership Systems facilities that would provide the
U.S. research community with sustained access to high-
performance computing resources. (Leadership Systems are
defined in the bill as high-end computing systems that are
among the most advanced in the world in terms of performance in
solving scientific and engineering problems.) These Leadership
Systems are to be made available on a competitive, merit-
reviewed basis to researchers in U.S. industry, institutions of
higher education, national laboratories, and other federal
agencies.
The bill requires the Secretary to establish at least one
High-End Software Development Center to concentrate efforts to
develop, test, maintain, and support optimized software tools
for HEC. The Center is to be staffed with both full time
research personnel as well as rotating staff from other
organizations. The Center shall be used by the Secretary to
assess research and development in HEC architectures. The
location of a Center shall be determined by a competitive
proposal process.
In addition to amounts otherwise made available for high-
end computing, the bill authorizes the expenditure of $50
million for fiscal year 2005, $55 million for fiscal year 2006,
and $60 million for fiscal year 2007.
The bill requires that the Department of Energy be included
in establishment of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory
Committee of the National Science Foundation and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The bill repeals section 14(e) of the Metric Conversion Act
of 1975 (15 U.S.C. 205l(e)) so as to remove a sunset provision
from the Savings in Construction Act of 1996; by so doing, it
continues requirements that specifications for masonry and
light fixtures for use in Federal facilities shall not be
written so as to be satisfied only with metric versions unless
the need for such ``hard metric'' specifications is certified
by the head of the relevant Federal agency.
Background and Need
High-performance computers are used to simulate physical
phenomena that are either too difficult or too costly to study
experimentally. These simulations provide insight into physical
phenomena and in some cases are the only alternatives to
experiments. They provide a critical ability to accelerate
progress in fundamental sciences. The applications of high-
performance computing extend far beyond scientific advances.
Global leadership in high performance computing is an essential
component of national security and economic competitiveness.
Historically, the United States has driven advances in high
performance computing and, in most past years, the world's
fastest computers were located here. But today, the world's
fastest computer is Japan's Earth Simulator. The Earth
Simulator has held this distinction for well over two years, an
extremely long time in the rapidly improving and evolving
computational arena. The Earth Simulator is slightly more than
2.5 times faster than the next fastest computer in the world,
which is located in the United States. While 15 of the top 20
high-performance computers are currently located here, the fact
remains that the Earth Simulator has dramatically changed the
metrics for high-performance computing.
The Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program
in the Office of Science supports fundamental research in
applied mathematics, computer science, and networking. The
Office also provides world-class, high-performance
computational tools that enable the DOE to succeed in its
science, energy, environmental remediation, and national
security missions. The mission of this program is to underpin
the Department's world leadership in scientific computation. It
does not include a substantial budget for new facilities.
This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Energy, acting
through the Department's Office of Science, to carry out a
research and development program to put our nation on the
forefront of high-performance computing. This act authorizes
the Secretary of Energy to establish scientific computing
facilities and a high-end software development center.
This legislation is consistent with observations of the
National Research Council in its interim report on the future
of supercomputing, which addressed the need for government
involvement:
There are several important arguments for government
involvement in the advancement of supercomputers and
their applications. The first is that unique
supercomputing technologies are needed to perform
essential government missions and to ensure that
critical national security requirements are met.
Furthermore, without the government's involvement,
market forces are unlikely to drive sufficient
innovation in supercomputing, because the innovators--
like innovators in many other high-technology areas--do
not capture the full value of their innovations.
Historically, it seems that innovations in
supercomputing have played an important role in the
evolution of today's mainstream computers and have
provided important benefits by virtue of their use in
science and engineering. These benefits seem to
significantly exceed the value captured by the initial
inventors.
H.R. 4516 authorizes the Department to support research to
develop and build the next generation of computer architectures
and the software to operate and use these next generation
machines.
Legislative History
S. 2176 was introduced on March 8, 2004, by Senator
Bingaman on behalf of himself and Senator Alexander. The
companion bill, H.R. 4516, was introduced on June 4, 2004 by
Rep. Judy Biggert; passed as amended by the House on July 7,
2004; and received in the Senate on July 8, 2004.
On June 22, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources, Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing on High-
Performance Computing: Regaining U.S. Leadership, which
included consideration of S. 2176, the High-End Computing
Revitalization Act of 2004.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R.
4516, as amended, favorably reported on September 15, 2004.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open
business meeting on September 15, 2004, by a unanimous voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R.
4516, if amended as described herein.
Committee Amendment
The amendment in the nature of a substitute made few
changes to H.R. 4516 as passed by the House. One definition was
modified to require the Secretary to act through the Director
of the Office of Science. Provisions for at least one software
development center were added to the program functions. The
National Nuclear SecurityAdministration was added to groups
whose programs were to be coordinated. No change was made in
authorization levels or fiscal years. Section 5 on Societal
Implications of Information Technology was deleted.
The amendment in the nature of a substitute differs from S.
2176 in several ways. Section 2, Findings, was deleted. Section
3, Definitions, had minimal changes, including substitution of
the term ``leadership system'' for ``ultrascale scientific
computing capability.'' Program functions remained similar;
reference to classified facilities was deleted. Levels and
duration of authorizations in Section 5 were reduced
substantially to match the levels and duration as passed by the
House. Sections 6 and 7 of H.R. 4516 as passed by the House
were incorporated.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act
of 2004.
Section 2. Definitions
Defines terms used in the Act, including:
Center: The term ``Center'' means a High-End Software
Development Center established under section 3(d).
High-end computing system: the term ``high-end computing
system'' means a computing system with performance that
substantially exceeds systems that are commonly available for
advanced scientific and engineering applications;
Leadership System: the term ``Leadership System'' means a
high-end computing system that is among the most advanced in
the world in terms of performance in solving scientific and
engineering problems.
Institution of Higher Education: the term ``institution of
higher education'' has the meaning given the term in section
101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
Secretary: the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Energy acting through the Director of the Office of Science.
Section 3. Department of Energy high-end computing research and
development program
Requires the Secretary of Energy to carry out a high-end
computing (HEC) research and development program. Requires the
Secretary to develop and deploy HEC systems for advanced
scientific and engineering systems. Requires the program to:
Support both individual investigators and
multidisciplinary teams of investigators;
Conduct research on multiple HEC architectures;
Conduct research in algorithms, programming
environments, tools, languages, and operating systems for HEC
systems in collaboration with architecture development efforts;
Provide for sustained access by the research
community in the United States to HEC systems and to Leadership
Systems, including the provision of technical support for users
of such systems;
Support technology transfer to the private sector;
and
Ensure that Department of Energy HEC activities
are coordinated with industry and with other Federal agencies.
Requires the Secretary to establish and operate Leadership
Systems facilities to conduct advanced scientific and
engineering research and development using Leadership Systems,
and to develop potential advancements in HEC system hardware
and software. Requires the Secretary to provide access to
Leadership Systems on competitive, merit-reviewed basis to
researchers in United States industry, institutions of higher
education, national laboratories, and other Federal agencies.
Requires the Secretary to establish at least one High-End
Software Development Center that is to concentrate efforts to
develop, test, maintain, and support optimized software tools
for HEC. The Center is to be staffed with both full time
research personnel as well as rotating staff from other
organizations. The Center shall be used by the Secretary to
assess research and development in HEC architectures. The
location of a Center shall be determined by a competitive
proposal process.
Section 4. Authorization of appropriations
Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Energy to
carry out this Act of $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
$55,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and $60,000,000 for fiscal
year 2007.
Section 5. Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee
Adds the Department of Energy to the jointly established
(by the National Science Foundation and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration) Astronomy and
Astrophysics Advisory Committee.
Section 6. Removal of Sunset Provision from Savings in Construction Act
of 1996
Repeals Section 14(e) of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975
(15 U.S.C. 205 l(e)) so as to remove a sunset provision from
the Savings in Construction Act of 1996; by so doing, it
continues requirements that specifications for masonry and
light fixtures for use in Federal facilities shall not be
written so as to be satisfied only with metric versions unless
the need for such ``hard metric'' specifications is certified
by the head of the relevant Federal agency.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations Including Congressional Budget Office
Estimates
The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 4516--Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act
of 2004
Summary: H.R. 4516 would authorize the appropriation of
$165 million to the Department of Energy (DOE) over fiscal
years 2005 through 2007 for certain activities related to high-
end computing systems. The act would direct DOE to conduct
research and development (R&D) on ways to advance the
capabilities of high-end computing systems and to establish and
operate leadership-class facilities, as well as to establish at
least one High-End Software Development Center for the purpose
of developing and supporting associated software. The act would
define high-end computing systems to include those computing
systems that substantially exceed the performance of systems
commonly available for scientific and engineering applications.
Leadership systems would be those whose performance is among
the most advanced in the world.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4516 would cost $165
million over the 2005-2009 period, assuming appropriation of
the authorized amounts. Enacting H.R. 4516 would have no effect
on direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 4516 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, and tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 4516 is shown in the following table.
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be
enacted near the start of 2005 and that the amounts specified
in the act will be appropriated near the beginning of each
fiscal year. We assume that outlays will follow historical
patterns for DOE research and development activities. The costs
of this legislation fall within budget function 250 (general
science, space, and technology).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Spending under current law
for DOE R&D on certain high-
end computing systems:
Budget authority \1\.... 38 0 0 0 0 0
Estimated outlays....... 19 17 2 0 0 0
Proposed changes:
Authorization level..... 0 50 55 60 0 0
Estimated outlays....... 0 25 50 57 30 3
Spending under H.R. 4516:
Authorization level \1\. 38 50 55 60 0 0
Estimated outlays....... 19 42 52 57 30 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2004 level is the amount that the Office of Management and
Budget estimates was appropriated for activities similar to those
authorized in H.R. 4516.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 4516
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, and
tribal governments.
Previous CBO Estimate: On June 24, 2004, CBO transmitted a
cost estimate for H.R. 4516 as ordered reported by the House
Committee on Science on June 16, 2004. The two versions of the
legislation are similar. However, the Senate version would add
the requirement to establish at least one High-End Software
Development Center while leaving the authorized appropriation
levels the same as in the House version.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Mike Waters; Impact on
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Greg Waring; and Impact
on the Private Sector: Jean Talarico.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out H.R. 4516.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of H.R. 4516.
Executive Communications
On September 20, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
Energy and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth
Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 4516. These reports
had not been received when this report was filed.
The following testimony was presented on behalf of the
Executive Branch at the June 22, 2004 Subcommittee Hearing by
Dr. James Decker, Principal Deputy Director of the Office of
Science of the Department of Energy.
Statement of Dr. James F. Decker, Principal Deputy Director, Office of
Science, U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I commend you
for holding this hearing--and I appreciate the opportunity to
testify on behalf of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of
Science, on a subject of central importance to this Nation:
advanced supercomputing capability for science.
The Bush Administration has recognized the need for the
U.S. to emphasize the importance of high-end computing and is
working as a team to address it. The Administration
commissioned an interagency study by the High End Computing
Revitalization Task Force (HECRTF). The HECRTF report (http://
www.itrd.gov/pubs/2004_hecrtf/20040510_hecrtf.pdf) reinforces
the idea that no one agency can--or should--be responsible for
ensuring that our scientists have the computational tools they
need to do their job, but duplication of effort must be
avoided.
Through the efforts of DOE's Office of Science and other
federal agencies, we are working to implement the
recommendations of the HECRTF Report by investing in the
development of the next generation of supercomputer
architectures, as well as the networks to enable widespread
access to these new supercomputers.
On May 12th of this year, Secretary Spencer Abraham
announced that the DOE will grant Oak Ridge National Lab
(ORNL), Argonne National Lab, Pacific Northwest National Lab
and its development partners, Cray, IBM and SGI, $25 million in
funding to begin to build a new supercomputer for scientific
research. The Department selected ORNL from four proposals
received from its non-weapon national labs. The Department is
in the final stages of completing this award and expects to
start the project before the end of this fiscal year.
Computational modeling and simulation rank among the most
significant developments in the practice of scientific inquiry
in the latter half of the 20th century and are now a major
force for discovery in their own right. In the past century,
scientific research was extraordinarily successful in
identifying the fundamental physical laws that govern our
material world. At the same time, the advances promised by
these discoveries have not been fully realized, in part because
the real-world systems governed by these physical laws are
extraordinarily complex. Computers help us visualize, test
hypotheses, guide experimental design, and most importantly
determine if there is consistency between theoretical models
and experiment. Computer-based simulation provides a means for
predicting the behavior of complex systems that can only be
described empirically at present. Since the development of
digital computers in mid-century, scientific computing has
greatly advanced our understanding of the fundamental processes
of nature, e.g., fluid flow and turbulence in physics,
molecular structure and reactivity in chemistry, and drug-
receptor interactions in biology. Computational simulation has
even been used to explain, and sometimes predict, the behavior
of such complex natural and engineered systems as weather
patterns and aircraft performance.
Within the past two decades, scientific computing has
become a contributor to essentially all scientific research
programs. It is particularly important to the solution of
research problems that are (i) insoluble by traditional
theoretical and experimental approaches, e.g., prediction of
future climates or the fate of underground contaminants; (ii)
hazardous to study in the laboratory, e.g., characterization of
the chemistry of radionuclides or other toxic chemicals; or
(iii) time-consuming or expensive to solve by traditional
means, e.g., development of new materials, determination of the
structure of proteins, understanding plasma instabilities, or
exploring the limitations of the ``Standard Model'' of particle
physics. In many cases, theoretical and experimental approaches
do not provide sufficient information to understand and predict
the behavior of the systems being studied. Computational
modeling and simulation, which allows a description of the
system to be constructed from basic theoretical principles and
the available experimental data, are keys to solving such
problems.
We have moved beyond using computers to solve very
complicated sets of equations to a new regime in which
scientific simulation enables us to obtain scientific results
and to perform discovery in the same way that experiment and
theory have traditionally been used to accomplish those ends.
We must think of computation as the third of the three pillars
that support scientific discovery, and indeed there are areas
where the only approach to a solution is through high-end
computation.
Combustion is the key source of energy for power
generation, industrial process heat and residential
applications. In all of these areas, combustion occurs in a
turbulent environment. Although experimental and theoretical
investigations have been able to provide substantial insights
into turbulent flame dynamics, fundamental questions about
flame behavior remain unanswered. Current limitations in
computational power do not allow combustion scientists to
address the range of conditions needed to have environmental
and economic impact. Leadership class computers should enable
us to model more complex fuels with emission chemistry under
conditions typical of industrial settings. These computations
should make it possible to design new low-emission burners that
could dramatically reduce NOX emissions.
The Fusion Program must be able to model an experiment the
size of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
(ITER) through the duration of a discharge that may last on the
order of hundreds of seconds. Current codes are able to model a
variety of the physical phenomena that occur in small
experiments operating on a millisecond time scale. Leadership
class computers should enable scientists to simulate burning
plasmas in ITER and include new physics such as more realistic
treatment of electron dynamics and multiple species of fusion
products such as high energy alpha particles.
High-end computing must be coupled with high-performance
networks to fully realize its potential. These networks play a
critical role because they make it possible to overcome the
geographical distances that often hinder science. They make
vast scientific resources available to scientists, regardless
of location, whether they are at a university, national
laboratory, or industrial setting. We work with the National
Science Foundation and university consortia such as Internet 2
to ensure that scientists at universities can seamlessly access
unique DOE facilities and their scientific partners in DOE
laboratories.
In addition, the emergence of high-performance computers as
tools for science, just like our light sources, accelerators
and neutron sources, has changed the way in which science is
conducted. Today and in the future, large multidisciplinary
teams are needed to make the best use of computers as tools for
science. These teams need access to significant allocations of
computer resources to perform leading edge science. In the
Office of Science we are building on the experience of the
National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Advanced
Simulation and Computing program to build and manage these
teams.
The astonishing speeds of new high-end machines, including
the Earth Simulator, should allow computation to inform our
approach to science. We are now able to contemplate exploration
of worlds never before accessible to mankind. Previously, we
used computers to solve sets of equations representing physical
laws too complicated to solve analytically. Now we can simulate
systems to discover physical laws for which there are no known
predictive equations. We can model physical structures with
hundreds of thousands, or maybe even millions, of ``actors''
interacting with one another in a complex fashion. The speed of
our new computational environment allows us to test different
inter-actor relations to see what macroscopic behaviors can
ensue. Simulations can help determine the nature of the
fundamental ``forces'' or interactions between ``actors.''
The ASCR program mission is to discover, develop, and
deploy the computational and networking tools that enable
scientific researchers to analyze, model, simulate, and predict
complex phenomena important to the Department of Energy--and to
the U.S. and the world.
Advanced scientific computing is central to DOE's missions.
It is essential to simulate and predict the behavior of nuclear
weapons and aid in the discovery of new scientific knowledge.
As the lead government funding agency for basic research in
the physical sciences, the Office of Science has a special
responsibility to ensure that its research programs continue to
advance the frontiers of science. This requires significant
enhancements to the Office of Science's scientific computing
programs. These include both more capable computing platforms
and the development of the sophisticated mathematical and
software tools required for large-scale simulations.
Existing highly parallel computer architectures, while
extremely effective for many applications, including solution
of some important scientific problems, are only able to operate
at 5-10% of their theoretical maximum capability on other
applications. For most vendors, today's high performance
computer market is too small a fraction of the overall market
to justify the level of R&D needed to ensure development of
computers that can solve the most challenging scientific
problems or the substantial investments needed to validate
their effectiveness on industrial problems.
Therefore, we are working in partnership with the National
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the National Security
Agency (NSA), and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency
(DARPA) to identify architectures which are most effective in
solving specific types of problems; to evaluate the
effectiveness of various different existing computer
architectures; and to spur the development of new architectures
tailored to the requirements of science and national security
applications.
This partnership is working to ensure the development of
computers that can meet the most demanding Federal missions in
science and national security. We are also working to transfer
the knowledge we develop to U.S. industry to enable a vibrant
U.S. high performance computing industry, which can provide the
impetus for economic growth and competitiveness across the
nation. The Office of Science plays a key role in providing
these capabilities to the open science community to support
U.S. scientific leadership, just as we do with other facilities
for science.
Advanced scientific computing will continue to be a key
contributor to scientific research in the 21st century. Major
scientific challenges in all Office of Science research
programs will be addressed by advanced scientific
supercomputing. Designing materials atom-by-atom, revealing the
functions of proteins, understanding and controlling fusion
plasma turbulence, designing new particle accelerators, and
modeling global climate change, are just a few examples.
In fact, in fulfilling its mission over the years, the
Office of Science has played a key role in maintaining U.S.
leadership in scientific computation and networking worldwide.
Consider some of the innovations and contributions made by
DOE's Office of Science:
Helped develop the Internet;
Pioneered the transition to massively parallel
supercomputing in the civilian sector;
Began the computational analysis of global climate
change;
Developed many of the computational technologies
for DNA sequencing that have made possible the unraveling of
the human genetic code.
Various computational scientists have said that discovery
through simulation requires sustained speeds starting at 50
teraflops to examine a subset of challenging problems in
accelerator science and technology, astrophysics, biology,
chemistry and catalysis, climate prediction, combustion,
computational fluid dynamics, computational structural and
systems biology, environmental molecular science, fusion energy
science, geosciences, groundwater protection, high energy
physics, materials science and nanoscience, nuclear physics,
soot formation and growth, and more.
The Office of Science also is a leader in research efforts
to capitalize on the promise of nanoscale science and
biotechnology. This revolution in science promises a revolution
in industry.
To develop systems capable of meeting the challenges faced
by DOE, universities, and industry, the Office of Science
invests in several areas of computation: high-performance
computing, large-scale networks, and the software that enables
scientists to use these resources as tools for discovery. The
FY 2005 President's Request for the Office of Science includes
$204 million for ASCR for IT R&D and approximately $20 million
in the other Offices to support the development of the next
generation of scientific simulation software for SC mission
applications.
As a part of this portfolio the Office of Science supports
basic research in applied mathematics and the computer science
needed to underpin advances in high performance computers and
networks for science.
In FY 2001 the Office of Science initiated the Scientific
Discovery through Advanced Computing (www.science.doe.gov/
SciDAC/) effort to leverage our basic research in mathematics
and computer science and integrate this research into the
scientific teams that extend the frontiers of science across
DOE-SC. We have assembled interdisciplinary teams and
collaborations to develop the necessary state-of-the-art
mathematical algorithms and software, supported by appropriate
hardware and middleware infrastructure, to use terascale
computers effectively to advance fundamental scientific
research at the core of DOE's mission.
All of these research efforts, as well as the success of
computational science across SC, depend on a portfolio of high
performance computing facilities and test beds and on the high
performance networks that link these resources to the
scientists across the country. DOE and the Office of Science
have been leaders in testing and evaluating new high
performance computers and networks and turning them into tools
for scientific discovery since the early 1950s. The Office of
Science established the first national civilian supercomputer
center, the Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center, in 1975. We
have tested and evaluated early versions of computers ranging
from the first Cray 1s to the parallel architectures of the
1990s to the Cray X1 at ORNL. In many cases these systems would
not have existed without the Office of Science as a partner
with the vendors. Our current facilities and test beds include:
The Center for Computational Sciences (CCS) at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, has been testing and evaluating
leading edge computer architectures as tools for science for
over a decade. The latest evaluation is on a Cray X1 formed the
basis for ORNL's successful proposal to begin developing a
leadership class computing capability for the U.S. open
scientific community. In his remarks announcing the result of
this competition, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham stated,
``This new facility will enable the Office of Science to
deliver world leadership-class computing for science,'' and
``will serve to revitalize the U.S. effort in high-end
computing.'' This supercomputer will be open to the scientific
community for research.
The National Energy Research Scientific Computing
Center (NERSC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which
provides leading edge high-performance computing services to
over 2,000 scientists nationwide. NERSC has a 6,000 processor
IBM SP3 computer with a peak speed of 10 TeraFLOPS. We have
initiated a new program at NERSC, Innovative and Novel
Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE), to
allocate substantial computing resources to a few,
competitively selected, research proposals from the national
scientific community. Last year, I selected three proposals for
INCITE. One of these has successfully simulated the explosion
of a supernova in 3-D for the first time.
The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), which links
DOE facilities and researchers to the worldwide research
community. ESnet works closely with other Federal research
networks and with university consortia such as Internet 2 to
provide seamless connections from DOE to other research
communities. This network must address facilities that produce
millions of gigabytes (petabytes) of data each year and deliver
these data to scientists across the world.
We have learned important lessons from these test beds. By
sharing our evaluations with vendors we have enabled them to
produce better products to meet critical scientific and
national security missions. Our spending complements commercial
R&D in IT which is focused on product development and on the
demands of commercial applications which generally place
different requirements on the hardware and software than do
leading edge scientific applications.
The Office of Science coordinates with other federal
agencies to avoid duplication of efforts. In the areas where
the Office of Science (DOE-SC) focuses its research--High-End
Computing and Large Scale Networking--DOE-SC co-chairs the
relevant federal coordinating group. In addition to this
mechanism, DOE-SC has engaged in a number of other joint
planning and coordination efforts.
DOE-SC participated in the National Security
community planning effort to develop an Integrated High End
Computing plan.
DOE-SC and DOD co-chaired the HECRTF.
DOE-SC and NSF co-chair the Federal teams that
coordinate the engineering of Federal research networks and the
emerging GRID Middleware.
DOE-SC is a partner with DARPA in the High
Productivity Computing Systems project, which will deliver the
next generation of advanced computer architectures for critical
science and national security missions through partnerships
with U.S. industry.
DOE-SC works closely with NNSA on critical
software issues for high performance computing.
DOE-SC, DOE-NNSA, DOD-ODDR&E, DOD-NSA, and DOD-
DARPA have developed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly
plan our research in high performance computing. This MOU will
enable us to better integrate our substantial ongoing
collaborative projects.
High-end computing is a key tool in carrying out Federal
agency missions in science and technology, but the high end
computer market is simply not large enough to divert computer
industry attention from the much larger and more lucrative
commerce and business computing sector. The federal government
must perform the research and prototype development on the next
generation of tools to meet those needs. This next generation
of computers, however, might also serve to benefit industry.
Mr. Chairman, high-performance computing provides a new
window for researchers to understand the natural world with a
precision that could only be imagined a few years ago. Research
investments in advanced scientific computing will equip
researchers with premier computational tools to advance
knowledge and to help solve the most challenging scientific
problems facing the Nation.
With vital support from this Committee, the Congress and
the Administration, we in the Office of Science hope to
continue to play an important role in the world of scientific
supercomputing.
Thank you very much.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
H.R. 4516, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing
law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
Public Law 107-368, 107th Congress
AN ACT To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005,
and 2007 for the National Science Foundation, and for other purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Science Foundation
Authorization Act of 2002''.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 23. ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Foundation [and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration], the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, and the Department of Energy shall
jointly establish an Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory
Committee (in this section referred to as the ``Advisory
Committee'').
(b) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall--
(1) assess, and make recommendations regarding, the
coordination of astronomy and astrophysics programs of
the Foundation [and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration], the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, and the Department of Energy;
(2) assess, and make recommendations regarding, the
status of the activities of the Foundation [and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration], the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the
Department of Energy as they relate to the
recommendations contained in the National Research
Council's 2001 report entitled ``Astronomy and
Astrophysics in the New Millennium'', and the
recommendations contained in subsequent National
Research Council reports of a similar nature; and
(3) not later than March 15 of each year, transmit a
report to the Director, the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space [Administration, and]
Administration, the Secretary of Energy, the Committee
on Science of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
the Senate, and the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate on the Advisory
Committee's findings and recommendations under
paragraphs (1) and (2).
(c) Membership.--The Advisory Committee shall consist of 13
members, none of whom shall be a Federal employee, including--
(1) [5] 4 members selected by the Director;
(2) [5] 4 members selected by the Administrator of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
[and]
(3) 3 members selected by the Secretary of Energy;
and
[(3)] (4) [(3)] 2 members selected by the Director of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
(d) Selection Process.--Initial selections under
subsection (c) shall be made within 3 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act. Vacancies shall be
filled in the same manner as provided in subsection
(c).
(e) Chairperson.--The Advisory Committee shall select
a chairperson from among its members.
(f) Coordination.--The Advisory Committee shall
coordinate with [the advisory bodies of other Federal
agencies, such as the Department of Energy, which may
engage in related research activities] other Federal
advisory committees that advise Federal agencies that
engage in related research activities.
* * * * * * *
---------- --
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Public Law 94-168, as Amended by Public Law 104-289
AN ACT To declare a national policy of coordinating the increasing use
of the metric system in the United States, and to establish a United
States Metric Board to coordinate the voluntary conversion to the
metric system
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this
Act may be cited as the ``Metric Conversion Act of 1975''.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 14. IMPLEMENTATION IN ACQUISITION OF CONSTRUCTION SERVICES AND
MATERIALS FOR FEDERAL FACILITIES.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(e) Expiration.--The provisions contained in subsections
(b) and (c) of this section shall expire 10 years from the
effective date of the Savings in Construction Act of 1996.]
* * * * * * *