On May 27 2021, a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the Berkeley Lab’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) officially launching the worlds fastest supercomputer, Perlmutter.
The system is named after Saul Perlmutter , an astrophysicist at Berkeley Lab who shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to research showing that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
The Perlmutter system will help map out the map of the entire visible universe spanning 11 billion light years by processing data from DESI, which is capable of capturing as many as 5,000 galaxies in a single exposure.
“In one project, the supercomputer will help assemble the largest 3D map of the visible universe to date. It will process data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), a kind of cosmic camera that can capture as many as 5,000 galaxies in a single exposure,”
Dion Harris (NVIDIA) wrote in a blog post
The map of the universe isn’t the only project set up for Perlmutter. The supercomputer will also study atomic interactions to foster clean energy tech like biofuels.
