VIRTUAL
 
Thursday, February 11th  2021
3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
WEBEX
 
Speaker:  Danny Perez
 
Theoretical Division T-1- Physics and Chemistry of Materials
Los Alamos National Laboratory
 
 
“The promises and challenges of exascale computing for atomistic simulations of materials: a perspective from the EXAALT project”
 
 
 
Abstract: 
Thirteen years after entering the petascale era with LANL’s Roadrunner, we now find ourselves at the dawn of the exascale era. Exascale computers, which will deliver in excess of 1018operations per second, will offer a unique opportunity to further the scale and fidelity of a wide range of numerical simulations. However, efficiently exploiting such massively-parallel resources also presents significant challenges. I will discuss these opportunities and challenges from the point of view of the EXAALT project, a LANL-led effort supported by DOE’s Exascale Computing Project to develop a new generation of atomistic simulation tools for materials. I will especially focus on the fact that, while larger computers offer a natural path to increasing the size and accuracy of simulations, is it typically much harder to increase simulation times, which is often key to understand the behavior of materials in operation. I will present our strategy to address this problem and discuss the current status and future plans of EXAALT.