Intel recently launched its first Intel Parallel Computing Center (IPCC) in China, an effort that will see the chipmaker collaborate with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), according to HPC Wire. The announcement marks the company’s attempt to increase its investment in the region at a time when it has been prohibited by U.S. authorities from selling high-end technology to China.
IPCC to focus on developing LAMMPS
According to Charlie Wuischpard, vice president of Data Center Group and general manager of Workstations and HPC at Intel, IPCC is a 2-year long program, and will help develop code-related projects such as LAAMPS (Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator) used extensively by scientists around the globe.
Furthermore, Intel’s Developer Zone documents that IPCC China projects are working on two typical mesoscopic simulation techniques, namely the Phase Field method and the Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD), along with creating efficient algorithms and codes for Intel Xeon and Xeon Phi Co-processors. In addition, the company will also develop effective DPD simulation code on the basis of Intel Many Integrated Core Architecture. Such methods to develop software codes will immensely aid LAMMPS, which refers to a technique commonly used in molecular dynamics.
Intel increasing investment in China
Intel first made the announcement of an upcoming IPCC in China on April 7. The very next day, HPC Wire reporte news suggesting that various supercomputing centers in China had been placed in the U.S.‘Denial List’, which forbids the sale of any “high end technology from the USA” to these facilities.
Intel did not comment on the announcement and suggested that it will continue to partner with and serve HPC’s customers. Moreover, the chipmaker claimed that CAS is a prominent science and technology institution, and the company has chosen it for the quality of its research, and also because to its association with a wide network of scientists and resources.
In addition, Intel also stated that IPCC constitutes a part of its global expansion plans, and is aimed at coming up with advanced parallel computing, enhancing software for its multiple-core architecture, and planning for the forthcoming exascale computing. For now, Intel counts more than 50 IPCCs in 14 countries, which exist across various scientific disciplines carrying out research on open-source scientific codes.
