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WHITE HOUSE: 'GIVE HPC PRIORITY IN 2006'

Building on recent suggestions from Congress to increase supercomputing endeavors, the Bush administration is pushing for more research and development in the area for fiscal 2006. Nanotechnology is also becoming a focus for the administration.

Josh Bolten, director for the Office of Management and Budget, and John Marburger, director for the Science and Technology Policy Office, sent a memo to officials urging them to build 2006 budgets around high-end computing research and development. The August 12 memo calls for executives to find programs to benefit multiple government agencies.

"While the importance of each networking and IT research and development program areas continues, high-end computing and cyberinfrastructure R&D should be given higher relative priority due to the potential of each in furthering progress across a broad range of scientific and technological application areas," the memo said. "Agency requests should reflect these two program priorities by reallocating funds from low priority efforts."

The government focus on high-end computing is not really a new development. A recent report from the High-End Computing Revitalization Task Force also called for more government attention to HPC. The August 12 memo urges executives to work within the Task Force's guidelines. Cyberinfrastructure R&D should include research on hardware and software tools that can strengthen the connections between new and existing computers, databases, scientific instruments, researchers, and facilities.

Cyberinfrastructure and nanotechnology are also of increasing importance, according to the White House. The National Science Foundation has suggested that Congress invest more than $1 billion in R&D in these areas. NSF requested $90 million in the fiscal 2005 budget submission for a cyberinfrastructure program.

The White House hopes to increase the United States' competitiveness in the scientific arena by tapping more funds for nanotechnology as well. The administration urges agencies to research human health and environmental issues related to nanotechnology in order to formulate ways to fund and implement future initiatives.

Recent bills have reflected this shift toward increased HPC efforts. H.R. 4218 and H.R. 4516 would require the National Science Foundation and Energy Department to grant U.S. researchers access to high-end computers, and would mandate that the department build supercomputing facilities for academic and government researchers.