A New Arms Race to Build the World’s Mightiest Computer

August 19, 2005 | Source: New York Times

A global race is under way to reach the next milestone in supercomputer performance, many times the speed of today’s most powerful machines.

But the fastest American machines are used primarily for military applications at the nation’s weapons laboratories. Many scientists and technology executives in the United States are concerned about losing out in crucial markets like oil and gas exploration, automobile design and manufacturing unless they, too, have access to the fastest supercomputers. They contend that a public-private partnership is needed to develop supercomputers whose applications are not limited to the military.