Buzz
This supercomputer is named after astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter.
Nvidia unveils a new supercomputer touted as the fastest in the world for AI at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) in California.
This supercomputer is named after astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter. Initially, it was tasked with constructing the world's largest 3D universe map using over 6,000 Nvidia A100 Tensor Core GPUs on the motherboard.
Presently, the Perlmutter supercomputer is capable of delivering nearly 4 exaFLOPS of AI performance, making it the 'fastest AI mathematical computing system on the planet based on 16 and 32-bit mixed-precision computations', according to Nvidia. Its performance will be further enhanced as part of 'phase two', with the introduction of a second CPU core group.
Upon completion, it is projected to be among the top five supercomputers in the Top 500 rankings, assessing overall performance using the High Performance Linpack (HPL) benchmark.
According to Nvidia, the Perlmutter system operates based on the contributions of over 7,000 researchers. Additionally, dozens of applications are also 'on board' this project with the aim of advancing astronomy and climate science.
It is hoped that upon completion, the universe map will help researchers further understand dark energy, the force behind the universe's ever-accelerating expansion. The discovery of dark energy in 2011 earned Saul Perlmutter the Nobel Prize.
Other projects set to run on the Perlmutter supercomputer also have similarly ambitious goals. Some of them will utilize the unique features of the Tensor cores in the A100 to simulate interactions between atoms, something that was previously impossible.
This research endeavor could demonstrate marvels in the field of materials science, by potentially uncovering more efficient ways to develop batteries, biofuels, and similar entities.
(Source: QTM)
