CEA : The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission
High performance computing (HPC) for numerical simulation has become an essential tool in scientific and technological research, as well as for industrial applications. Simulation can replace experiments that are too dangerous (accidental situations), beyond reach in terms of time or scale (climate, astrophysics) or banned (nuclear tests). Simulation is also time-saving and leverages productivity in many situations.
CEA, a major player in research and innovation, has been recognized as an expert in HPC through the momentum of the “Simulation Programme” supported by its Direction des Applications Militaires (CEA / DAM). The major challenges that the HPC will face in the coming years are manifold, such as the development of hardware and software architectures able to deliver very high computing power, modelling methods combining different scales and physical models and the management of huge volumes of numerical data.
The complexity of these issues has led CEA to identify the following strategic axes:
- the definition and implementation of computing resources relying on architectures that fulfil the high-end simulation requirements,
- the development of suited simulation software,
- a significant investment in terms of research and development.
To tackle these challenges, CEA relies on many collaborations with research organizations and with industrial partners in the field of HPC, through national and international projects.