In a daring transfer to propel American science and innovation to new heights, the USA Division of Vitality (DOE) has introduced the event of its subsequent flagship high-performance computing system: the Doudna supercomputer.
Slated for deployment in 2026 on the Nationwide Vitality Analysis Scientific Computing Heart (NERSC) at Lawrence Berkeley Nationwide Laboratory, Doudna guarantees to ship a transformative leap in computing energy, scientific functionality, and AI integration.
Named after Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Jennifer Doudna – co-inventor of the revolutionary CRISPR gene-editing technology – the system symbolises the fusion of groundbreaking organic analysis with cutting-edge computational energy.
Because the successor to Perlmutter, the Doudna supercomputer will redefine what’s potential in fields starting from local weather science and fusion vitality to quantum computing and synthetic intelligence.
Doudna: Breaking boundaries with unmatched efficiency
The Doudna supercomputer will ship over ten instances the efficiency of NERSC’s present flagship, Perlmutter.
Developed via a brand new contract with Dell Applied sciences, Doudna will likely be powered by NVIDIA’s next-generation Vera Rubin platform and constructed on Dell’s newest liquid-cooled ORv3 server infrastructure.
This efficiency improve will allow researchers to run vastly extra complicated simulations and analyses in considerably much less time, drastically accelerating the tempo of scientific discovery.
At its core, the system is designed to help the DOE’s most computationally demanding workloads – together with molecular dynamics, high-energy physics, and large-scale AI coaching.
By integrating simulation, knowledge evaluation, and AI right into a single, high-efficiency setting, Doudna represents a strong step ahead in multidisciplinary science.
Architected for future science
Doudna’s infrastructure combines Dell Built-in Rack Scalable Methods with PowerEdge servers and NVIDIA accelerators, delivering optimised efficiency for each AI-centric and conventional computing duties.
Excessive-speed knowledge motion will likely be enabled by the NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand network, guaranteeing seamless communication throughout the system’s 1000’s of compute nodes.
Storage options will characteristic a high-performance parallel file system and sensible knowledge tiering, providing researchers strong, real-time entry to huge datasets.
The system’s heterogeneous workflow setting will permit it to adapt dynamically to evolving analysis wants, from conventional simulations to AI inference and coaching.
Empowering breakthroughs in AI, quantum, and vitality
One in all Doudna’s standout capabilities lies in its capacity to help AI-driven science at scale.
Researchers will be capable of combine machine studying fashions into simulation workflows, enhancing accuracy and decreasing computation time throughout fields like supplies discovery, local weather modelling, and biomolecular design.
The system can even advance quantum computing analysis, providing instruments corresponding to NVIDIA’s CUDA-Q platform to simulate and develop quantum algorithms.
It will help the co-design of future hybrid quantum-HPC techniques, making Doudna a testbed for scalable quantum innovation.
Crucially, Doudna will assist fulfil NERSC’s foundational mission of enabling breakthroughs in fusion vitality analysis.
By offering the computational muscle to simulate complicated plasma physics and reactor designs, the Doudna supercomputer may speed up the journey towards sensible, sustainable fusion energy.
Nationwide collaboration in real-time
By means of its integration with the Vitality Sciences Community (ESnet), Doudna will allow researchers throughout the US to stream experimental and observational knowledge straight into the system from DOE person amenities nationwide.
This functionality will permit real-time knowledge evaluation, enhancing responsiveness to new scientific insights and experimental outcomes.
With greater than 11,000 customers counting on NERSC’s sources, preparations are already underway to make sure researchers can absolutely harness Doudna’s capabilities as soon as operational.
The system will help automated, AI-driven workflows and interactive computing environments tailor-made for data-intensive science.
Pioneering the way forward for scientific computing
The launch of the Doudna supercomputer marks a pivotal chapter within the evolution of US scientific infrastructure.
By combining the strengths of Dell Applied sciences, NVIDIA, and the DOE, this next-generation platform is poised to turn into a catalyst for world-changing discoveries.
Whether or not unravelling the mysteries of the universe or pioneering next-generation vitality options, Doudna will empower researchers to realize extra – quicker and with higher precision than ever earlier than.
