Dedication Ceremony for RIKEN-BNL Research Center's Supercomputer To be Held at Brookhaven Lab, May 26

May 16, 2005

EVENT: Dedication ceremony for the RIKEN-BNL Research Center's new supercomputer for use in physics research.

WHEN: Thursday, May 26, 10 a.m. to noon

WHERE: Brookhaven National Laboratory, located on William Floyd Parkway, one-and-a-half miles north of Exit 68 of the Long Island Expressway. 10 a.m. -11 a.m. Bldg. 510, remarks by key speakers 11:30 a.m. - noon Bldg. 515, dedication of supercomputer 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. Bldg. 510, scientific symposium

Edward McFadden (left, BNL Informtaion Technology Division) and Nicholas Samios (Physics Department) in front of the QCDOC supercomputer.

DETAILS: A new computer - the RIKEN BNL Research Center supercomputer - will be unveiled at a dedication ceremony attended by physicists from around the world. It is called QCDOC for quantum chromodynamics on a chip, and it was designed and built by groups from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia University, IBM, RIKEN - The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan, and the University of Edinburgh. The computer has 10 teraflops of peak computing power, which makes it capable of performing 10 trillion arithmetic operations per second, with sustained speeds of five teraflops. Ninety percent of the time, the computer will be used for physics research — in particular, to perform the numerical calculations of quantum chromodynamics, the physics theory that describes the interactions of quarks and gluons, the basic building blocks of matter. In addition, QCDOC will perform calculations related to research on the properties of a state of matter under intense study at Brookhaven's premiere accelerator, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Researchers pursing other scientific projects in various fields will use the computer the remaining 10 percent of its operating time.

This event is open to the public. All visitors age 16 and older must bring a photo ID to be admitted to the Laboratory site. For more information: Call 631 344-2345. Media who wish to attend the event: Call Diane Greenberg, 631 344-2347.

2005-10320  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom