Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has achieved a remarkable feat by securing five finalist spots for the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize, awarded by the Association for Computing Machinery. The recognition comes as a result of groundbreaking simulation projects conducted on ORNL’s Frontier supercomputer. Four of these projects are vying for the main prize, which honors exceptional achievements in high-performance computing (HPC), while one project is contending for a special prize. The awards will be presented at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC25) in St. Louis, Missouri, from November 16 to 21.
The announcement underscores ORNL’s leadership in HPC, a field critical for advancing scientific research and technological innovation. The projects, each pushing the boundaries of computational capabilities, highlight the potential of exascale computing to solve complex scientific problems.
Revolutionizing Quantum Physics with BerkeleyGW
One of the main prize finalists, BerkeleyGW, involves researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Southern California. This project leverages Frontier’s exascale power to explore the quantum many-body problem, a fundamental concept in quantum physics. Using their first-principles code, the team simulated the coupling of correlated electrons and phonons, achieving speeds of more than an exaflop, or a quintillion calculations per second.
The simulations modeled interactions within systems of up to 17,574 lithium hydride atoms, paving the way for advancements in quantum computing, sensing, and communications technologies. According to ORNL Distinguished Research Scientist Trey White, the methods developed for BerkeleyGW open new possibilities for controlling quantum materials more efficiently.
Simulating the Universe: HACC’s Astrophysical Breakthrough
Another finalist, the Hardware/Hybrid Accelerated Cosmology Code (HACC), represents a significant leap in astrophysical simulations. Conducted by researchers from Argonne National Laboratory, this project achieved the largest-ever simulation of the universe using Frontier. The simulation tracked 4 trillion particles across 15 billion light-years of space, setting a new benchmark for cosmological hydrodynamics simulations.
By pushing Frontier to its limits, the team, including ORNL Applied Mathematician Antigoni Georgiadou, has provided a new foundation for understanding the physics of atomic and dark matter. This achievement aligns with the capabilities of large telescope observatories, offering unprecedented insights into the universe’s evolution.
Advancing Rocket Design with MFC/IGR
The Multicomponent Flow Code (MFC) project, in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology and New York University, conducted the largest-ever computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of high-speed compressible fluid flows. This research is crucial for the aerospace industry, particularly in designing rocket engines with clustered configurations, like those used by SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy Booster.
By simulating a 33-engine configuration at speeds ten times the speed of sound, the team achieved new levels of performance in CFD. Their approach, which included a novel computational technique called information geometric regularization, was supported by ORNL scientific liaison Reuben Budiardja.
QuaTrEx: Pioneering Nanoscale Transistor Simulations
Researchers from ETH Zurich have also been recognized for their work on Quantum Transport Simulations at the Exascale and Beyond (QuaTrEx). This project simulated interactions in nanoribbon field-effect transistors (NRFETs) made of 42,240 atoms, marking a significant advancement in the field of nanoscale electronics.
The QuaTrEx simulations, conducted at 1.15 exaflops, provide semiconductor engineers with more reliable predictions for designing next-generation transistors. This work represents a tenfold increase in performance compared to previous simulations, highlighting the potential for quantum mechanical effects in realistic structures.
ORBIT-2: Transforming Weather Prediction
The special prize finalist, ORBIT-2, is a testament to the power of artificial intelligence in weather forecasting. Building on the original ORBIT model, this project uses Frontier to deliver highly accurate, doorstep-level forecasts with unprecedented speed and precision.
ORBIT-2’s ability to evaluate predictions for accuracy and rate confidence levels marks a significant improvement over traditional methods, which required extensive computational resources. The team, comprising experts from ORNL, AMD, and the Riken Center for Computational Science, has pushed the boundaries of AI in meteorology.
The success of these projects underscores the transformative potential of exascale computing. As ORNL continues to lead in HPC, the implications for scientific discovery and technological advancement are profound. The Gordon Bell Prize finalists represent a new era of computational capability, promising to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
