Transformational Center to House the First Cray XMT^TM Supercomputer in the U.S. Outside of a Federal Lab or University

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that Noblis, a leading nonprofit science, technology and strategy organization, in collaboration with Cray, a global leader in supercomputing, will establish the Center for Applied High Performance Computing (CAHPC) in Danville, VA.

The CAHPC will be a world-class center for high-performance computing (HPC) that accelerates the development and commercialization of applications requiring graph analytics for the benefit of the U.S. The Center will host the first next-generation XMT supercomputer in the U.S. outside of a federal laboratory or academic facility. CAHPC will use this high-performance computer to solve complex problems requiring access to large amounts of data.

“We are excited to be a part of this dynamic partnership,” said H. Gilbert Miller, Corporate Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Noblis. “The Center will provide unprecedented access to supercomputing in the private sector. We believe that this amazing cross section of innovation and technology will help achieve new breakthroughs in high-performance computing and drive future progress.”

Noblis uses science and technology to solve complex scientific, systems, process, and infrastructure problems in ways that benefit the public. “Building this Center supports Noblis’ mission,” says Miller. “By making this technology accessible to researchers and small businesses, we hope to accelerate the development of high-performance applications and push the boundaries of supercomputing in ways that will help solve problems of national importance.”

The Center is being created to promote the development of HPC applications and train the next generation of developers to innovate using high performance computing with the hope of increasing U.S. competitiveness and creating sustainable high-tech jobs. The vision of the Center is to enable small businesses to innovate using HPC capabilities, promote interoperability of HPC architectures and middleware and enhance access to legacy systems and data, and reduce to the cost barriers associated with entry to HPC.

One of the goals of the Center is to draw other high-tech companies to the Danville area and help revitalize the economy. The project will create 15 new jobs, paying significantly above the average prevailing wage in Danville.