California unveils plan for revolutionary supercomputing initiative
A new supercomputer, christened "Doudna" in honor of Nobel Prize-winning chemist Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, is set to revolutionize artificial intelligence (AI) technology and scientific discoveries. The system, slated for operation next year, will reside at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright unveiled the project during a joint press conference with Dell Technologies and Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday. The yet-to-be-activated Doudna computing system will be approximately ten times more potent than the current Perlmutter supercomputer, ranking it among the top 20 most powerful in the world.
With a primary focus on genomics research, the new supercomputer acknowledges Doudna's contributions to the field, particularly her development of CRISPR gene-editing technology, which earned her the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.
Dell has been contracted by the US Department of Energy to construct the new machine, making it the latest addition to the Berkeley Lab's NERSC endeavors. Previous computing systems at NERSC have borne the names of other Nobel laureates: astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter and biochemist Gerty Cori.
In a separate development, US senators Jim Banks and Elizabeth Warren have expressed concerns over Nvidia's planned opening of a research facility in Shanghai, citing potential national security and economic implications. The senators' reaction follows a Financial Times report indicating that Nvidia aims to establish a research-and-development center in the Chinese city, with the facility intended for both expansion and existing employees, as well as recruiting AI talent locally.
Nvidia has since disputed the report, stating that the new space will only accommodate existing employees requiring extra space in the post-COVID-19 transition back to the office. The company maintains that the scope of work will remain unchanged.
The new supercomputer, Doudna, is designed to advance artificial-intelligence technology by facilitating significant improvements in genomics research, largely due to its development by Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist in the field. In contrast, US senators Jim Banks and Elizabeth Warren have raised concerns over Nvidia's proposed research facility in Shanghai, expressing apprehensions about potential national security and economic implications, particularly with regard to artificial intelligence.
