Large scale computing in the Energy Research Programs

The Energy Research Supercomputer Users Group (ERSUG) comprises all investigators using resources of the Department of Energy Office of Energy Research supercomputers. At the December 1989 meeting held at Florida State University (FSU), the ERSUG executive committee determined that the continuing rapid advances in computational sciences and computer technology demanded a reassessment of the role computational science should play in meeting DOE's commitments. Initial studies were to be performed for four subdivisions: (1) Basic Energy Sciences (BES) and Applied Mathematical Sciences (AMS), (2) Fusion Energy, (3) High Energy and Nuclear Physics, and (4) Health and Environmental Research. The first two subgroups produced formal subreports that provided a basis for several sections of this report. Additional information provided in the AMS/BES is included as Appendix C in an abridged form that eliminates most duplication. Additionally, each member of the executive committee was asked to contribute area-specific assessments; these assessments are included in the next section. In the following sections, brief assessments are given for specific areas, a conceptual model is proposed that the entire computational effort for energy research is best viewed as one giant nation-wide computer, and then specific recommendations are made for the appropriate evolution of the system