Involvement of Industry in the National High Performance Computing and Communication Enterprise

We discuss aspects of a national computer science agenda for High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC). We agree with the general direction and emphasis of the current program. In particular, the strong experimental component and linkage of applications with computer science should be continued. We recommend accelerating the emphasis on national challenges with more applications and technologies from the information, as compared to simulation areas. We suggest modifying the grand challenge concept to complement the current teaming of particular computer science and applications researchers. We would emphasize better linking of each application group to the entire (inter) national computer science activity. We express this in terms of a virtual corporation metaphor. The same approach can be used to involve industry in HPCC for both the consumers of HPCC technology (application industries) and producers---Independent Software Vendors (ISV) and the hardware system companies. We illustrate this approach with InfoMall, a HPCC technology transfer program funded by New York State. The federal program should have greater incentives for the involvement of both ISV’s and their products