Processing data to get actionable results fast is more crucial than ever in today's complicated, dynamic world. Supercomputers will be crucial in this, as Justin Hotard is well aware of.
He is the executive vice president and general manager in charge of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's labs and business group for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. His work makes it possible for scientists, technologists, and researchers to improve the world by delivering cutting-edge innovations. Hotard, who recently helped the company invest more than $22 million in a unique Global Center of Excellence for High-Performance Computer Manufacturing Center in the US, spoke with Agenda about the important things we need to know about this technology and how it might be used to address some of the most difficult issues the world has to deal with.
What is a supercomputer, exactly?
The world's biggest and most potent computers are called supercomputers. These computers use memory blocks and several central processor units arranged into "compute nodes," which can number in the tens of thousands. Imagine having not just one laptop, but 50,000 laptops connected to each other and running a single piece of software that required the simultaneous operation of all 50,000 machines.
Agenda: What are the advantages of supercomputers?
It is simply too time-consuming or expensive to solve problems and analyze data with traditional computers, according to Justin Hotard.
Agenda : What distinguishes supercomputers from quantum computers?
Jeremy Hotard Using the most cutting-edge methodologies, super computing leverages the same core technology that we currently use in laptops or graphics accelerators from firms like Invidia and AMD, whereas quantum computing is fundamentally a different manner of computing.
Agenda: What distinguishes supercomputers?
Jeremy Hotard Supercomputers are exceptional in that we can't power and cool them using conventional techniques; instead, we utilize highly specialized systems that can consume a lot of power and actually cool them using water, which is considerably more thermally and energy-efficient. This is what enables us to achieve amazing achievements, such as the discovery of effective treatments for diseases, the resolution of complicated energy-related issues, and the advancement of material science.
What significant impact has super-computing had on the world?
Jeremy Hotard Scientists were able to extract and identify the COVID-19 spike protein with the use of an HPE supercomputer during the epidemic. Researchers lacked a method to characterize the protein prior to using the supercomputer. Following that, businesses and nations might create, develop, and eventually take them to be able to test and apply vaccines. The computer was able to investigate millions of various data sets using proteins from around the globe and compare them to the COVID-19 protein in order to comprehend the characteristics of spike proteins.
Agenda: How does supercomputing influence global warming?
Jeremy Hotard What we're doing with wind farms is a perfect example. In order to enhance the effectiveness of those wind turbines, our newest supercomputers will help us optimize and more precisely predict the behavior of wind farms by combining climatic patterns, local turbulence from the wind turbines themselves, and other elements.
Agenda: In 20 years, what effects will supercomputing have on the world?
Jeremy Hotard These robust supercomputers will facilitate expanded scientific research and new educational opportunities. Hopefully, some of the cancers that we have been battling for years may find a cure. Together with improved energy efficiency, I predict that material technologies will make unprecedented strides.
We can simulate on these machines in ways that we can use to create software. As a result, during an immersive encounter, a person may discern the difference between walking on carpet and a wooden floor. They are able to distinguish between temperatures while the air conditioner is on and when it is off. And when you consider building a really immersive experience as opposed to augmented reality, that's incredibly important.
Agenda: How would the metaverse change if supercomputers didn't exist?
Jeremy Hotard It would grow much more gradually. You would solve one problem before moving on to the next one in a much more linear fashion. Most likely, you wouldn't have that integration and user experience speed. Beyond only consumer entertainment use cases, supercomputing opens up a whole new range of possibilities for use cases, including those in industry or defense.
Supercomputers may also enable individuals to see a fully immersive view of space. Alternatively of teleporting somewhere and possibly holding a conference like the World Economic Forum with everyone actually participating electronically. This would give us the feeling of sitting across from each other, even though we are all located in separate locations. It's a genuine experience.
You may also picture any form of physical training, such as a team rehearsing for a match and needing to react to a simulation of the opponent's conduct.
What is required to grow this technology, then?
Jeremy Hotard This business has come a long way thanks in large part to public-private partnerships. It must also grow since there is too much to invest in with just one or a few large nations. Everyone must contribute to and support these collaborations in order for them to ultimately serve their interests, including those related to science, sovereignty, the economy, and other areas. We must witness cooperation.
The LUMI (Large Unified Modern Infrastructure) coalition of governments from around Europe, which has banded together to develop a supercomputer, is a fantastic customer of ours in Finland. And it's a remarkable example because these states haven't only joined forces to create something that none of them could have created on their own; they're also allowing access to their scientists, businesses, and entire economies to benefit from this capability. That's just one tiny illustration of the kind of advantage that a P3 can bring.
We also require ongoing community cooperation. We frequently discuss open source development, but this community goes above and beyond that, with people that genuinely assist one another. And I believe that needs to grow and develop. By working together, we can overcome technological constraints. It advances scientific knowledge and offers the public suggestions on how to design and implement our systems in the long run. I believe that community is crucial because our prosperity is heavily based on it.
The last thing I'll say is that in order to raise the future generation, we need scientists and engineers who are knowledgeable about this technology. Throughout the past 30 to 40 years, our area has benefited from numerous visionaries. In order to overcome difficult issues and improve the planet, we now need to nurture the next generation. For the generation currently in school and eventually entering the workforce, we must communicate this vision and this future.