From the Center

Along with two other national laboratories, Los Alamos is responsible for assessing and certifying the nation's nuclear stockpile. Because the United States no longer conducts live nuclear tests, the best way to verify the safety, reliability, and performance of the stockpile is through computer simulations of explosions-and those simulations demand tremendous computing power. The conference brought together some 100 participants-scientists, economists, sociologists, political scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, and others-to consider the ramifications of supercomputing for many facets of human life, from culture and ethics to economics and politics: Discussion focused on near-term practical concerns, such as how supercomputing can help us retrieve information, forecast economic trends, and create precise maps.