Originally appeared in Wednesday, April 21, 2004 Oak Ridger
http://www.oakridger.com/stories/042104/new_20040421022.shtml

Lab chief wants supercomputer

VIEW ON COMPETITION: 'We intend to win it.'
By: Paul Parson, Oak Ridger Staff

Jeff Wadsworth made it quite clear Tuesday that he'd like for Oak Ridge National Laboratory to house the fastest computer in the world.

ORNL is currently in the middle of what Wadsworth, the facility's director, described as an "intense competition" for the opportunity to build the machine.

"We intend to win it," Wadsworth said during a Lunch with the League speaking engagement.

Jeff Wadsworth, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, talks about what is on the horizon for his facility during Tuesday's Lunch with the League.

Though ORNL teased the media early last week with an advisory that the announcement could be made "on or about April 15," that has yet to happen as of this morning. Wadsworth suggested Tuesday that the winning proposal could be named by the Department of Energy this week, but there's no guarantee.

"Lots of places want to win that proposal," the lab chief said.

Despite that fact, Wadsworth joked that ORNL has a new computer facility with space to be filled.

Proposals for the supercomputer effort were submitted earlier this month. ORNL officials said the new supercomputer is expected to exceed 100 trillion calculations per second - nearly three times more powerful than Japan's Earth Simulator, which is currently ranked as the world's fastest supercomputer.

Much of Wadsworth's Tuesday talk was similar in content to his recent State of the Laboratory address. He discussed ORNL's role in various areas of science and also noted the lab's commitment to the community, including the effort to modernize Oak Ridge High School.

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