The worlds fastest supercomputer will be built in the US by 2021, the US Department of Energy announced today.

The machine, dubbed Frontier, will be built by chip designer AMD and supercomputer manufacturer Cray for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Its expected to produce more than 1.5 exaflops of processing power, and will be used for a range of tasks, performing advanced calculations in areas like nuclear and climate research.

Frontiers record-breaking performance will ensure our countrys ability to lead the world in science that improves the lives and economic prosperity of all Americans and the entire world, said Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in a press statement. Frontier will accelerate innovation in AI by giving American researchers world-class data and computing resources to ensure the next great inventions are made in the United States.

When constructed, Frontier should be the most advanced example of whats known as exascale computing. This is the next-generation of computing capacity, in which processing power is measured in exaflops, or quintillions of calculations per second. A quintillion is a one with a whopping eighteen zeros behind it: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.

To give an idea of the scale of this sort of machine, AMD says Frontier will have as much processing power as the next 160 fastest supercomputers combined. Itll be able to handle an astonishing amount of data, with a bandwidth 24,000,000 times greater than the average home internet connection, capable of processing 100,000 HD movies in a second. Itll also have a correspondingly huge footprint, taking up 7,300 square feet of space (roughly equivalent to two basketball courts) and containing 90 miles of cabling.

Frontier isnt the only exascale computer the US is currently building either. Earlier this year, the Department of Energy announced a similar project: the supercomputer Aurora, which is being constructed by Intel and Cray at Argonne National Laboratory. Aurora will likely be the first exascale supercomputer in the US, but Frontier will have greater processing power.

These machines dont necessarily mean the US is the worlds greater computing power, though. China is expected to have its own exascale supercomputer up and running by 2020 a year ahead of America. China is also the worlds leader in terms of supercomputer volume, and is currently home to 227 of the worlds fastest computers (compared to just 109 operated by the US). Japan and the European Union are the other main contenders.

The news is a particularly big deal for AMD, says Patrick Moorhead, semiconductor analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. The contract is worth $600 million and Frontier will use scores of AMDs EPYC CPUs, each connected to four of the companys Radeon Instinct GPUs.

The world of supercomputer chips is mostly in the hands of Intel, and AMD hasnt supplied the processors for the worlds fastest supercomputer since 2012, when AMD Opteron CPUs were used to push ORNLs Titan computer to a benchmark of 17.59 petaflops per second.

Moorhead told The Verge that the Department of Energy likely chose AMD for a number of reasons, including the performance of its processors, and its recent successes designing semi-custom silicon for Microsoft and Sony. This bodes well for AMDs future as this is technology that should be in the mainstream market after 2021, said Moorhead.

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Worlds fastest supercomputer will be built by AMD and ...

The White House's team recently added the world's fastest computer to its informal network of more than 40.

The worlds fastest supercomputer teamed up with the White Houses expanding supercomputing effort to fight the novelcoronavirus.

Japans Fugakuwhichsurpassedleading U.S. machines on the Top 500listof global supercomputers in late Junejoinedthe COVID-19 High Performance ComputingConsortium.

Jointlylaunchedby the Energy Department, Office of Science and Technology Policy and IBM in late March, the consortium currently facilitates more than 65 active researchprojectsand envelops a vast supercomputer-powered search for new findings pertaining to the novel coronavirus spread, how to effectively treat and mitigate it, and more. Dozens of national and internationalmembersare volunteering free compute time through the effort, providing at least 485 petaflops ofcapacityand steadily growing, to more rapidly generate new solutions againstCOVID-19.

What started as a simple concept has grown to span three continents with over 40 supercomputer providers, Dario Gil, director of IBM Research and consortium co-chair, toldNextgovlast week. In the face of a global pandemic like COVID-19, hopefully a once-in-a-lifetime event, the speed at which researchers can drive discovery is a critical factor in the search for a cure and it is essential that we combineforces.

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Gil and other members and researchers briefedNextgovon how the work is unfolding, how theyre measuring success and the research the consortium is increasinglyunderpinning.

The ConsortiumsEvolution

Energys Office of Science Director Chris Fall toldNextgovlast week that since the consortiumsfounding, its resources have been used to sort through billions of molecules to identify promising compounds that can be manufactured quickly and tested for potency to target the novel coronavirus, produce large data sets to study variations in patient responses, perform airflow simulations on a new device that will allow doctors to use one ventilator to support multiple patientsand more. The complex systems are powering calculations, simulations and results in a matter of days that several scientists have noted would take a matter of months on traditionalcomputers.

From a small conversation three months ago, we overcame a myriad of institutional and organizational boundaries to establish the consortium, Fall said, adding that the effort is building an international team of COVID-19 researchers that are sharing their best ideas, methods and results to understand the virus and its effects on humans which will [allow] the world to ultimately conquer or confine thevirus.

In a recent interview, Energys Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbarexplainedthat any researcher interested in tapping into advanced computing capabilities can submit relevant research proposals to the consortium through an onlineportalthatll then be reviewed for selection. An executive committee supports the groups organization and helps steer policies, while a science committee is tasked with evaluating research proposals submitted to the consortium for potential impact upon selection. And a third committee allocates the time and cycles on the supercomputing machines once theyrechosen.

Whats really interesting about this from an organizational point of view is that its basically a volunteer organization, Dabbarnoted.

As of July 1, the consortium had received more than 148 COVID-19 research proposals with 78 approved and 68 up and running via the involved supercomputing resources, Energy confirmed. Though researchers are tapping into the assets free of charge, the work doesnt come without cost. Dabbar said the consortium taps into some of the departments user facilities and resources that were built and funded by taxpayer dollars. The effort induces operating costs such as runtime, electricity and cooling for the machines, which Dabbar said are relatively minor compared to actually building the capacity to beginwith.

It does absolutely cost money, Dabbar said. But at the end of the day, a lot of this is taking advantage of what the American people invested in, and using the flexibility, and shifting it towards thisproblem.

The combined, supercomputing resources are speeding up the chase for answers and solutions against COVID-19, but that faster pace isnt the only metric for success. IBMs Gil said in the early days, the establishment of the consortium and the efficiency we have achieved in expedited expert review of proposals and rapid matching of approved proposals to supercomputing systems, along with rapid on-boarding onto those systems would have to be considered our first majorsuccess.

Those involved also measure success by the number of up-and-running research projects, and highlighted that 27 projects already have experimental, clinical or policy transition plans in place. Insiders also consider the fact that they were able to quickly bring together industry players, as Gil noted many of whom are competitors, labs, federal agencies, universities and several international partners to share their systems to be a majorachievement.

NASA is one consortium member thats been involved in the initiative from the very beginning when it was invited by OSTP, Piyush Mehrotra, chief of NASAs Advanced Supercomputing, or NAS Division toldNextgovThursday.

The division, at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, hosts the space agencys supercomputers, which Mehrotra noted are typically used for large-scale simulations supporting NASAs aerospace, earth science, space science and space exploration missions. But, a selection of the agencys supercomputing assets are also reserved for national priorities that transcend beyond the agencysscope.

In order to understand COVID-19, and to develop treatments and vaccines, extensive research is required in complex areas such as epidemiology and molecular modelingresearch that can be significantly accelerated by supercomputing resources, Mehrotra explained. We are therefore making the full reserve portion of NASA supercomputing resources available to researchers working on the COVID-19 response, along with providing our expertise and support to port and run their applications on NASAsystems.

Amazon Web Services is another that joined among the consortiums first wave of members and participated in the initial roundtable discussion at the White House where the concept emerged in March. The companys Vice President of Public Policy Shannon Kellogg toldNextgovin late May that, in joining, AWS saw a clear opportunity to bring the benefits of cloud to bear in the race for treatments and a vaccine. The company has since provided cloud computing resources to more than a dozen of the consortiums active projects, and according to Kellogg, provides in-kind credits to the research teams, which provide them with cloud computing resources. The tech-giants team then communicates regularly with the researchers to help address technicalquestions.

This effort has shown how collaboration and commitment from leaders across government, business, and academia can empower researchers and accelerate the pace of their work, Kelloggsaid.

Outside of IBM, NASA and AWS, other early members of the consortium include Google Cloud, Microsoft, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the National Science Foundation, as well as Argonne, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Sandia National laboratories. And as the consortium progresses, its alsoexpandingalong the way. In April, the National Center for Atmospheric Researchs Wyoming Supercomputing Center, chipmaker AMD and graphics processing units-maker NVIDIA joined, amongothers.

Dell Technologies also began the process to participate in April, according to Janet Morss, senior consultant, high performance computing. It took about a month for the involvement to come into fruition and the company is now donating cycles from the Zenith supercomputer and otherresources.

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Inside the Volunteer Supercomputer Team That's Hunting for COVID Clues - Defense One

Samples of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine were tested at a vaccine production plant (Sinopharm) in Beijing earlier Image Credit: AP

Abu Dhabi: On Thursday, Abu Dhabi announced the launch of the worlds first Phase III trials of an inactivated vaccine against the coronavirus. The trials will continue over the next few months, and are expected to enroll thousands of volunteers from across the country.

This is a new step in the UAEs fight against COVID-19. Having already registered the second highest COVID-19 testing rate in the world, and after reporting no deaths in 24 hours on Wednesday, there is cause for excitement, even as the number of COVID-19 cases around the world continues to rise.

Heres everything you need to know about the trials:

Who developed this vaccine?

The vaccine has been developed by Chinese pharmaceutical giant, Sinopharm China National Biotec Group (Sinopharm). The Chinese state-run firm is the worlds sixth largest vaccine manufacturer, and its vaccine is an inactivated vaccine.

What is an inactivated vaccine?

An inactivated vaccine uses a killed virus to trigger an immune response in the human body.

So in essence, administration of this vaccine means the killed novel coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 will be given to recipients. This, in turn, will induce the human body to produce antibodies to kill the virus in a process known as immune response.

Later, if a vaccinated individual comes into contact with a live virus, the body will know how to launch the same immune response to keep the individual safe.

This in contrast to vaccines that use:

-Live, weakened viruses (live-attenuated vaccines against measles, chickpenpox and yellow fever)

-Parts of the antigen (subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide or conjugant vaccines against Hepatitis B, HPV, pneumococcal disease and meningitis)

-Toxins produced by the antigen to cause the disease (toxoid vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus).

Is it dangerous to inject the same virus that causes the disease?

There are no known risks of using a killed virus or inactivated vaccine. The virus is grown in lab cultures under strict, top-level biosecurity standards, and then killed with heat, radiation or formaldehyde. This killing eliminates the virus ability to trigger the disease, in this case, COVID-19.

All of this is done under strict safety conditions so that even the bio-engineers and lab technicians do not contract the virus.

An inactivated vaccine [such as this] cannot cause the disease. Sinopharm, and indeed many other vaccine manufacturers have been producing vaccines in this manner for years, assured Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, UAE principal investigator, chief medical officer at Abu Dhabis Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) and chairperson of the National COVID-19 Clinical Management Committee.

What other vaccines use killed viruses in them?

Currently, inactivated vaccines are used to protect against Hepatitis A, the flu via the flu shot, rabies and polio via the polio shot.

What are the stages of vaccine development?

Under international protocols, vaccine development goes through four different clinical stages. These happen after animal testing, and studies into the drugs ability to elicit an immune response. The first three stages are pre-marketing, and the final stage is conducted post-marketing.

In Phase I, safety and immunogenicity studies are performed on a small number of closely monitored subjects. Researchers look at safe dosage levels and side effects.

In Phase II, hundreds of human subjects receive the vaccine to determine its efficacy and safety in a wider group of people.

In Phase III, thousands of individuals are enrolled. The vaccines efficacy is studied, it is compared to other interventions in use, and adverse effects, if any, are noted so that the vaccine can be safely licensed.

In Phase IV, the administration and impact of the vaccine is studied in the general population, and reports of side effects after widespread use are collected.

How safe and effective is the Sinopharm vaccine?

Sinopharms vaccine has undergone Phase I and Phase II trials in China, and the company reported that the vaccine triggered a strong neutralising antibody response.

A total of 1,120 volunteers participated in PhaseI/II. They received two doses of the vaccine either 14, 21 or 28 days apart at low, medium or high dosing strengths, or a placebo. The company reported in June that all patients who received the medium-strength vaccine 28 days apart produced detectable levels of antibodies against the vaccine, known as seroconversion rate. Also, 97.6 per cent of those who received low or high doses 28 days apart produced detectable levels of antibodies.

No adverse effects were reported.

When did the Phase III trials begin in the UAE?

The trials were effectively kicked off on Wednesday, July 15 when Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, chairman at Abu Dhabis healthcare regulator, the Department of Health (DoH), and Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, DoH acting undersecretary, were assessed and administered the vaccine at SKMC.

By taking the vaccines themselves, the senior officials demonstrated their confidence in the safety of the trials, and also the UAEs keenness to advance the fight against COVID-19.

Dr Jamal Al Kaabi also told Gulf News he was feeling fine after 24 hours, and that he had a great feeling about the trials.

Public recruitment for the trials is expected to start next week.

Who is running the trials?

Sinopharm has partnered with G42 Healthcare, a privately-held artificial intelligence and cloud computing firm based in Abu Dhabi.

Ashish Koshy, chief executive officer at G42 Healthcare, said the company is sponsoring the trials, with the medical portion, including medical assessment, vaccine administrations and follow-ups, to be run by Abu Dhabi public health provider, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company.

He said the company has set up a massive throughput laboratory to speed up the detection of the disease, which can process 15,000 to 20,000 samples a day.

We also have the 32nd fastest supercomputer, which can build models to accelerate the clinical trial, Koshy said.

In addition, G42 has manufactured essential PPE, conducted research into new vaccines and drug therapies, and used AI capabilities to map and predict trends in the outbreak and virus mutations.

How many people will be recruited for the Phase III trials?

UAE health authorities have issued a permit for 15,000 participants in the Phase III trials, with 5,000 in the first stages to be conducted in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Who can participate in the trial?

People of all nationalities aged between 18 and 60 years, and living in the UAE, are eligible to participate in the trials, as long as they meet other inclusion criteria.

Dr Al Kaabi explained that there are strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, in accordance with international standards.

So anyone who is suffering from a severe disease like cancer, is immunocompromised, has received a recent live vaccine or blood products, or suffered from COVID-19, will be excluded, Dr Al Kaabi told Gulf News.

In the first stages, people will be recruited from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain alone.

Again, who cannot participate?

Quite a few groups of people cannot participate in the trials, in accordance with standards set by the WHO and the United States Food and Drug Administration.

-People who have contracted COVID-19 in the past or are suffering from it

-People suffering from severe diseases like cancer

-People who are immunocompromised

-People who have recently received a live vaccine or blood products

-People who are younger than 18 years, or older than 60 years

How can I participate in the trial?

Officials said a dedicated website will soon be launched to allow people to register. They can do so on 4humanity.ae. The dedicated website requires potential volunteers to submit their personal details and contact information. A special hotline has also been set up at 02 8191111 to respond to volunteer queries about the trials.

What happens after I register for the trials?

Participants will be asked to come down to one of five Seha facilities in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and will undergo a physical exam. Tests will be conducted to ensure that they are fit for the trials.

If approved, the volunteer will be administered a vaccine shot, akin to the flu shot. They will then be given a vaccine diary to record all signs and symptoms, and a healthcare team will follow up via in-person consultations and teleconsultations.

Three weeks later, a second shot of the vaccine will be administered.

Why are two vaccine shots required?

Dr Al Kaabi said that in the case of inactivated vaccines, more than one dose is required to trigger an immune response.

How long does the trial last?

For each individual, the trial will last 42 days.

The overall trial period in the UAE is expected to be between three to six months.

Who will ensure my safety during the trials?

Healthcare teams from Seha will follow up with trial volunteers during the trial itself, and on a monthly basis for a year after it concludes.

The trials also follow all international guidelines stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food & Drug Authority (USFDA).

Why has the UAE been chosen for these Phase III trials?

The UAE was the preferred choice for the cooperation partnership to conduct the Phase III trials for the inactive vaccine as the nation is home to over 200 nationalities, allowing for robust research across multiple ethnicities and increasing its feasibility for global application on the success of the trials.

The study, if successful, will be approved and accredited by the Ethics Committee for Scientific Research in the wmirate of Abu Dhabi.

Authorities said the Sinopharm-G42 partnership will also allow UAE residents to gain quick access to a vaccine, if it proves safe and effective.

Who will produce the vaccine, if all goes well?

Dr Walid Abbas Zaher, group research director at G42 Healthcare, said the agreement with Sinopharm also allows for the vaccine, if it passes the third phase successfully, to be produced in Abu Dhabi.

The agreement allows for production in Abu Dhabi, and a production plan will be announced after the end of the trial, he said.

How can I be sure that my patient data will be safe?

All patient data will only be held by Seha healthcare facilities, and any information shared with external parties will be de-identified, as per international standards.

Koshy said entire process will be monitored by two clinical research organisations one local and other international.

When can this vaccine be ready for mass marketing?

G42 and Sinopharm are hoping to accelerate the development of a safe and effective vaccine that could enter the market by the end of 2020 or early 2021.

What do the officials say?

Our participation in this trial enables us to make a major contribution in the global fight to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a matter of national pride that we are able to help facilitate the trial process that could have a worldwide impact and help people around the world to benefit from research and if successful the manufacture of a vaccine to fight back against this disease, said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, UAE principal investigator, chief medical officer at Abu Dhabis Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) and chairperson of the National COVID-19 Clinical Management Committee.

I am really excited about this trial as a physician. I have always believed in the importance of developing a research ecosystem, and personally supported research initiatives. Fortunately, we received support from our leadership for these trials. It is the beginning of a historic moment, and God willing, we will have a great conclusion to these trial. I have a good feeling, said Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, acting undersecretary at the Abu Dhabi Department of Health and the second person to participate in the Phase III trials.

This partnership highlights the UAEs broad multifaceted approach to combating the virus, which includes innovative research into effective treatments, enhanced testing capabilities, and continuous cooperation with the international community. The UAE will spare no effort in contributing to solutions to the current pandemic, solutions that will aid humanitys ability to overcome the current pandemic, said Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, chairman at the Abu Dhabi Department of Health and first person to participate in the Phase III trials.

Now more than ever, nations need to work in close partnership between the government and private sectors to create new initiatives, launch programs, develop policies, drive rigorous research, and develop capacity. It is for this reason that the United Arab Emirates welcomes all contributions by countries of the world, innovative entities and creative individuals who are committed to creating opportunities for joint collaboration towards confronting the threat of COVID-19 and defeating this global pandemic, said Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, UAE Minister of Health and Prevention.

The United Arab Emirates is a nation of innovation and tolerance, that is home to individuals from every part of the world and ethnic background. We will work closely with our partner to complete this clinical trials successfully, and make this vaccine available to the people in need worldwide. With the full support of local authorities, cutting-edge technologies provided by our partner G42 Healthcare, and high-quality services and supports from the medical and clinical entities, we will jointly contribute to the battle against COVID-19 worldwide, said Mr. Jingjin Zhu, president of biological products at Sinopharm Chinese National Biotec Group.

We are enormously proud that Sinopharm has partnered with G42 Healthcare in this groundbreaking phase III clinical trial in the UAE. Using our AI solutions, super-computer, advanced diagnostics solutions for COVID-19, G42 Healthcare is uniquely postured to conduct these trials. G42 Healthcare will be responsible for running clinical operations for this trial. We will be leveraging our groups technical and our own business capabilities to compute, correlate and provide fast and synthesised insights by deploying multiple AI models on the data generated during the trials to accelerate the much awaiting results. G42 Healthcare will be mobilising the logistical management of the trials taking in learnings from its proven capabilities in CRO management, clinical sites initiations and other E2E programme management activities, said Ashish Koshy, chief executive officer at G42 Healthcare.

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Phase III COVID-19 vaccine trials in the UAE: All you need to know about them - Gulf News