Argonne Leadership Computing Facility
Stored: Argonne Leadership Computing Facility
| Type | Program |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Organization | Argonne National Laboratory |
| Top Organization | Department of Energy |
| Creation Legislation | Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2005 |
| Website | Website |
| Purpose | Argonne Leadership Computing Facility gives researchers top supercomputing tools to tackle energy, environment, and security challenges, speeding discovery with high-performance computing and AI globally. |
| Program Start | 2006 |
| Initial Funding | $120 million (for initial systems) |
| Duration | Ongoing |
| Historic | No |
Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) is a Department of Energy program operated by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to deliver cutting-edge supercomputing resources for transformative scientific research. The facility provides researchers with world-class high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to solve grand challenges in energy, environmental science, and national security, supporting a broad user community from academia, industry, and government with systems like Aurora, one of the world’s first exascale supercomputers operational in 2025. Established as part of DOE’s Leadership Computing Facility initiative, ALCF has driven advancements in fields like materials science and climate modeling since its inception.
Goals
- Deliver exascale computing power (10^18 calculations per second) to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.
- Support open science by providing access to HPC resources, targeting thousands of research projects annually.
- Advance AI and data analytics integration, with success measured by computational efficiency and discovery impact.
Organization
The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility is managed by Argonne National Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science laboratory, with funding from DOE appropriations. It operates supercomputers like Theta, Polaris, and Aurora, maintained by a staff of computational scientists and engineers. Governance falls under DOE’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program, with user allocations managed via competitive processes like INCITE. Industry partners like Intel and HPE collaborate on system development.
The leader of the program holds the title of ALCF Director, currently Michael E. Papka as of 2025.
History
The ALCF was established in 2006 following the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2005, which funded DOE’s Leadership Computing Facilities at Argonne and Oak Ridge to bolster U.S. computational science. It began with the IBM Blue Gene/L, scaled to petascale with Theta in 2017, and achieved exascale with Aurora’s deployment in 2025 after delays from its initial 2021 target. Key milestones include supporting Nobel-worthy research, like protein folding simulations, and transitioning to AI-driven workflows. The facility plans to sustain leadership in HPC through future system upgrades.
Funding
The ALCF received an initial $120 million for its first systems in 2006, funded through DOE appropriations under the Office of Science.[1] Funding began in 2006 and continues annually, with no end date; for example, Aurora’s development involved hundreds of millions from DOE and vendor contracts with Intel and Cray/HPE. Additional funding supports operations, user programs, and system enhancements.
Implementation
ALCF carries out its mission by deploying and maintaining supercomputers, offering user support, and managing access through programs like INCITE and Director’s Discretionary awards. Implementation includes phased system upgrades—e.g., Theta (2017), Polaris (2021), and Aurora (2025)—using strategies like co-design with vendors for energy efficiency and scalability. The program has no defined end date, focusing on sustained HPC leadership and adapting to emerging computational needs.
Related
- Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility
- Collaboration of Oak Ridge, Argonne, and Livermore
- Advanced Scientific Computing Research
External links
- https://www.alcf.anl.gov
- https://www.energy.gov/science/leadership-computing-facilities
- wikipedia:Argonne Leadership Computing Facility
Social media
References
- ↑ "About ALCF". Argonne Leadership Computing Facility. https://www.alcf.anl.gov/about.