New Doudna supercomputer to enhance AI research by 2027

In a significant development for artificial intelligence research, a new supercomputer named Doudna is set to be constructed for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in collaboration with the Department of Energy, Dell Technologies, and Nvidia. This announcement was made by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who emphasized the project's importance for advancing technology in the U.S. and enhancing national defense capabilities. The Doudna supercomputer is expected to represent a substantial leap in high-performance computing, with capabilities surpassing the current Perlmutter supercomputer. Set to go live in 2027, Doudna is anticipated to be at least ten times faster than Perlmutter, which currently ranks as the 19th fastest supercomputer globally. This project underscores the merging of biological research and computational power, as highlighted by UC Berkeley professor Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel Prize laureate known for her work in gene editing technology, CRISPR. The supercomputer is anticipated to lead to breakthroughs in various scientific fields, including nuclear fusion simulations, climate projections, and biological research. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, part of the National Energy Research Supercomputing Center, is dedicated to providing significant computational resources to scientists tackling problems aligned with the Department of Energy's mission. As the importance of artificial intelligence continues to rise, the Doudna project signifies the U.S. commitment to maintaining leadership in this crucial domain.