Path: utzoo!dptcdc!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!rbthomas From: rbthomas@athos.rutgers.edu (Rick Thomas) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cdc,comp.arch Subject: Re: Control Data Closes ETA Systems, Inc. Keywords: supercomputers Message-ID: Date: 18 Apr 89 07:17:13 GMT References: <492@hydra.gatech.EDU> Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 60 Press Release 17 April 1989 The John von Neumann National Supercomputer Center (JvNC) today acknowledged the announcement by Control Data Corporation of the discontinuance of its supercomputer business, ETA Systems, Inc. "Naturally, we are disappointed with the announcement," said Dr. Doyle Knight, President of the Consortium for Scientific Computing and Director of the JvNC. "However, the JvNC will continue to support its more than 1300 academic and industrial users with the ETA10 and CYBER 205 supercomputers currently in operation at the Center. Control Data Corporation has indicated that it will continue to support its current ETA customers," Knight added, "and therefore, the JvNC remains fully operational and capable of supporting the research needs of its national community of academic and industrial scientists." As a result of the Control Data Corporation announcement, the JvNC will work closely with the National Science Foundation to revise its long term program plan for supercomputer systems. "We serve a large national community of supercomputer users, and our first commitment will be to continue to provide them with leading edge supercomputing technology," said Dr. Bruce Ekstrand, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Consortium for Scientific Computing and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Colorado. "We will have to modify our long range plan for hardware, but our overall mission remains unchanged. The JvNC has provided outstanding service and has made significant contributions to software development, education, training, technology transfer, and science. The announcement by Control Data Corporation will simply require evaluation of other vendors for future supercomputer systems at the JvNC." The JvNC currently operates four supercomputers: an eight-processor ETA10, a four-processor ETA10, and two CYBER 205s. Major research projects are supported by these systems in a wide range of scientific disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and mathematics. "There is a great amount of exciting research being performed on the JvNC super- computers," said Knight. "For example, Prof. Juri Toomre of the University of Colorado is investigating the nature of solar turbulence using the ETA10. This work has provided new insights into the mechanics of solar activity. Prof. Ronald Levy of Rutgers University utilizes the ETA10 to explore the structure and dynamics of biopolymers in solution, leading to improved knowledge of protein structure, which is critical to the design of new drugs. Established in 1985, the JvNC is funded by the National Science Foundation and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. The JvNC is managed by the Consortium for Scientific Computing, an organization of thirteen academic research institutions including the University of Arizona, Brown University, University of Colorado, Columbia University, Harvard University, Institute for Advanced Study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, University of Rochester and Rutgers University -- The State University of New Jersey. * For further information, contact Dr. Doyle Knight, President, Consortium for Scientific Computing, the John von Neumann National Supercomputer Center, -- Rick Thomas uucp: {ames, cbosgd, harvard, moss, seismo}!rutgers!caip.rutgers.edu!rbthomas arpa: rbthomas@CAIP.RUTGERS.EDU