Corning Incorporated and IBM have teamed up with the US Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on a $20 million project to develop high-speed, optically switched interconnects for supercomputers. Supercomputers allow researchers to experiment with virtual systems and processes that are too dangerous, big, or unpredictable to control in reality. Commercial applications of supercomputing include drug design, weather forecasting and film animation.
The program will accelerate the development of high speed optical technology aimed at increasing network bandwidth by 50 times while reducing the cost of supercomputers, all of which are attributes required to surpass electronic interconnect technologies. IBM (www.ibm.com), the largest technology employer in the RTP, will deploy its research labs in the United States and Switzerland to help with the project.
IBM has been a CED member since 2001.