DARPA SELECTS SGI TO CONDUCT CONCEPT STUDY FOR NEW GEN HIGH-PRODUCTIVITY COMPUTING SYSTEMS.

Latest Grant Comes 20 Years After DARPA Grant Founded SGI 

SGI Federal, an SGI company (NYSE: SGI), has announced that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected SGI to conduct a concept study for a new vision of high-performance computing. The 12-month concept study is the first phase of a three-phase DARPA program designed to create a new generation of economically viable, scalable high-productivity computing systems (HPCS) for the national security and industrial user communities by 2010.

"DARPA-funded research and development has enabled major advances in computing, including a DARPA grant 20 years ago which formed the basis of SGI as a company and lead to a revolution in computer graphics. Twenty years later, DARPA and SGI have teamed again to investigate a new generation of high-productivity computing systems," said Bob Bishop, chairman and CEO, SGI.

DARPA's HPCS program seeks to address ongoing technical challenges such as low efficiency, scalability, software tools and environments, and the growing physical constraints of current high-end systems and applications that are hindering today's high-performance computing environment. By the latter part of this decade, the HPCS program intends to improve the computational efficiency and performance of critical national security applications by a factor of 10 to 40; reduce the cost of developing, operating and maintaining application solutions; insulate research and operational application software from system specifics; and develop techniques to protect against outside attacks, hardware faults and programming errors.

The HPCS program will significantly contribute to U.S. Department of Defense and industry information superiority in the following critical applications: operational weather and ocean forecasting; planning exercises related to analysis of the dispersion of airborne contaminants; cryptanalysis; military platform analysis; survivability/stealth design; intelligence/surveillance/ reconnaissance systems; manufacture/failure analysis of large aircraft, ships and structures; and emerging biotechnology.

SGI is one of four vendors selected for the Phase 1 concept study of the HPCS program. Phase 2 will consist of research and development and Phase 3 will be full-scale development. The Phase 1 concept study is focused on the identification of critical revolutionary technologies and candidate system concepts required for the follow-on R&D and full-scale development phases. The ultimate long-term program objective is to provide pilot HPCS systems by the end of this decade.

DARPA's Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO) manages the HPCS program. The IPTO is chartered with creating information-processing technology for new generations of intelligent systems and transforming the U.S. national infrastructure to enhance global stability.

SGI Federal, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, is an SGI company. It specializes in providing high-performance computing applications and solutions to civilian and defense government agencies. Celebrating its 20th year, SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is the world's leader in high-performance computing, visualization and the management of complex data. SGI products, services and solutions enable its technical and creative customers to gain strategic and competitive advantages in their core businesses. Whether being used to design and build safer cars and airplanes, discover new medications and oil reserves, predict the weather, entertain us with thrilling movie special effects or provide mission-critical support for government and defense, SGI systems and expertise are empowering a world of innovation and discovery.