Communications of the ACM
.s. Supercomputing Lead Rings Sputnik-Like Alarm For Russia
"A huge number of entrepremeurs, not to mention officials, do not know what supercomputers are," says Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Credit: Voice of Russia
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently criticized his country's information technology industry for failing to develop supercomputing technology, and urged a drastic change in the country's use of high-performance computing.
At a Security Council Meeting on Supercomputers in Moscow, Medvedev pointed out that 476 of the world's top 500 supercomputers were manufactured in the United States. "If we are talking seriously, a huge number of entrepreneurs, not to mention officials, do not know what supercomputers are," Medvedev says. "Today, businesses and federal agencies do not manifest their interest in supercomputer technology." He says that Western countries are using supercomputers to design products, such as aircraft, but in Russia, most design is still done on paper, and only a digital approach can create a "breakthrough effect" that will significantly improve the quality of life in Russia.
Medvedev has promised to invest in supercomputing technology, and warned that without it Russian products will not be competitive or of interest to buyers. Russia does have some advantages, such as the engineering and mathematical expertise that helped it launch the Russian space program and which still continues today. Western companies have established research and development facilities in Russia to use that talent.
From Computerworld
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