April 2007 89 Tadashi Watanabe Receives 2006 Seymour Cray Award T adashi Watanabe, of Japan’s RIKEN Next-Generation Supercomputer R&D Center, recently received the 2006 IEEE Computer Society Seymour Cray Computer Science and Engineering Award in a special ceremony at the annual SC conference. Watanabe received the 1998 IEEE/ACM Eckert-Mauchly Award for his contributions to the design of supercomputers with multiple/parallel vec- tor pipeline and programmable vector cache architectures. In 1968, Watanabe joined communica- tions giant NEC, where he worked on the development of large-scale computers until 2005. He was the chief designer of the first supercomputer introduced by NEC. Released in 1983, the SX-2 was the world’s fastest computer at the time. Watanabe’s award citation reads “for serving as lead designer of the NEC SX series of supercomputers, and especially for the design of the Earth Simulator, which was the world’s fastest supercomputer from 2002 to 2004.” The Earth Simulator is based on NEC’s SX-6 architecture. It consists of 640 nodes, with eight vector processors and 16 Gbytes of computer memory at each node, for a total of 5,120 processors and 10 Tbytes of memory. The Earth Simulator has posted speeds of up to 35.86 Tflops. The IEEE Computer Society established the Cray Award in 1997 to recognize indi- viduals whose innovative contributions to high-performance computing systems best exemplify the creative spirit demonstrated by supercomputing pioneer Seymour Cray. Previous recipients of the award include Glen Culler, Monty Denneau, and John Hennessy. For further information on the Cray and other IEEE Computer Society Awards, visit www.computer.org/ awards. ■ For nearly 40 years, Tadashi Watanabe has worked to develop ever- faster supercomputers. Edward Seidel Honored with Sidney Fernbach Award E dward Seidel, founding director of Louisiana State University’s Center for Computation & Technology, received the 2006 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award in a special cere- mony at the annual SC conference. The IEEE Computer Society established the award in 1992 in memory of Sidney Fern- bach, a pioneer in the development and application of high-performance comput- ers to solve large computational problems. In 1998, 2001, and 2002, Seidel won the HPC Challenge award at SC. The HPC Challenge, funded today by DARPA, is a suite of tests that examine the performance of sophisticated architectures using kernels with memory access patterns more chal- lenging than those of the widely used Linpack benchmark. While investigating the potential of using a specific algo- rithm to solve a particular form of the Einstein equations— which describe how space-time curves in response to its matter content—Seidel real- ized he could develop a general approach to solving a broad spectrum of partial dif- ferential equations by using a variety of algorithms. His research led to the devel- opment of the open source Cactus ToolKit, a comprehensive, modular tool for collab- orative high-performance computing. Seidel’s citation reads, “For outstanding contributions to the development of soft- ware for HPC and Grid computing to enable the collaborative numerical investi- gation of complex problems in physics; in particular, modeling black hole collisions.” In 2001, Seidel received the prestigious IEEE/ACM Gordon Bell Prize for achieve- ment in high-performance computing. He is Floating Point Systems Professor in the Louisiana State University Depart- ments of Physics & Astronomy and Computer Science. ■ Edward Seidel is honored for his work in the numerical investigation of complex problems in astrophysics.
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April 2007 89
COMPUTER SOC I E TY CONNECT ION
Tadashi Watanabe Receives 2006Seymour Cray Award
Tadashi Watanabe, of Japan’s RIKENNext-Generation SupercomputerR&D Center, recently received the
2006 IEEE Computer Society SeymourCray Computer Science and EngineeringAward in a special ceremony at the annualSC conference. Watanabe received the1998 IEEE/ACM Eckert-Mauchly Awardfor his contributions to the design ofsupercomputers with multiple/parallel vec-tor pipeline and programmable vectorcache architectures.
In 1968, Watanabe joined communica-tions giant NEC, where he worked on thedevelopment of large-scale computersuntil 2005. He was the chief designer ofthe first supercomputer introduced byNEC. Released in 1983, the SX-2 was the world’s fastestcomputer at the time.
Watanabe’s award citation reads “for serving as leaddesigner of the NEC SX series of supercomputers, and
especially for the design of the EarthSimulator, which was the world’s fastestsupercomputer from 2002 to 2004.”
The Earth Simulator is based on NEC’sSX-6 architecture. It consists of 640 nodes,with eight vector processors and 16Gbytes of computer memory at each node,for a total of 5,120 processors and 10Tbytes of memory. The Earth Simulatorhas posted speeds of up to 35.86 Tflops.
The IEEE Computer Society establishedthe Cray Award in 1997 to recognize indi-viduals whose innovative contributions tohigh-performance computing systems bestexemplify the creative spirit demonstratedby supercomputing pioneer Seymour Cray.Previous recipients of the award include
Glen Culler, Monty Denneau, and John Hennessy.For further information on the Cray and other IEEE
Computer Society Awards, visit www.computer.org/awards. ■
For nearly 40 years,
Tadashi Watanabe has
worked to develop ever-
faster supercomputers.
Edward Seidel Honored with Sidney Fernbach Award
E dward Seidel, founding director ofLouisiana State University’s Centerfor Computation & Technology,
received the 2006 IEEE Computer SocietySidney Fernbach Award in a special cere-mony at the annual SC conference. TheIEEE Computer Society established theaward in 1992 in memory of Sidney Fern-bach, a pioneer in the development andapplication of high-performance comput-ers to solve large computational problems.
In 1998, 2001, and 2002, Seidel won theHPC Challenge award at SC. The HPCChallenge, funded today by DARPA, is asuite of tests that examine the performanceof sophisticated architectures using kernelswith memory access patterns more chal-lenging than those of the widely used Linpack benchmark.
While investigating the potential of using a specific algo-rithm to solve a particular form of the Einstein equations—
which describe how space-time curves inresponse to its matter content—Seidel real-ized he could develop a general approachto solving a broad spectrum of partial dif-ferential equations by using a variety ofalgorithms. His research led to the devel-opment of the open source Cactus ToolKit,a comprehensive, modular tool for collab-orative high-performance computing.
Seidel’s citation reads, “For outstandingcontributions to the development of soft-ware for HPC and Grid computing toenable the collaborative numerical investi-gation of complex problems in physics; inparticular, modeling black hole collisions.”
In 2001, Seidel received the prestigiousIEEE/ACM Gordon Bell Prize for achieve-
ment in high-performance computing. He is Floating PointSystems Professor in the Louisiana State University Depart-ments of Physics & Astronomy and Computer Science. ■
Edward Seidel is honored for
his work in the numerical
investigation of complex
problems in astrophysics.
90 Computer
COMPUTER SOC I E TY CONNECT ION
James Pomerene Garners Joint IEEE/ACM Award
R etired IBM research scientist JamesPomerene recently received the2006 IEEE/ACM Eckert-Mauchly
Award in a special ceremony at theannual International Symposium onComputer Architecture.
Pomerene served as chief engineer ofthe first electronic digital computer builtby Princeton’s Institute for AdvancedStudy in the early 1950s. He then movedto IBM to become a key early player inthe design of the 1962 Harvest super-computer. Harvest incorporated then-cutting-edge high-speed tape drives andsuper high-speed memory. In 1965,Pomerene headed an IBM team chargedwith preliminary design of the ParallelNetwork Digital Computer, where he made severalimportant contributions to highly available memorysystems.
Pomerene’s citation reads, “For pioneering innova-tions in computer architecture, including early concepts
in cache, reliable memories, pipeliningand branch prediction, for the design ofthe IAS computer and for the design ofthe Harvest supercomputer.”
Pomerene is an IEEE Life Fellow and amember of the National Academy ofEngineering. He has authored or coau-thored numerous technical papers andone book, and he holds or shares 17patents. Pomerene received the IBMOutstanding Innovation Award in 1968,the IEEE Computer Society PioneerAward in 1986, and the IEEE EdisonMedal in 1993.
Winners of the Eckert-MauchlyAward, which recognizes outstandingcontributions to the field of computer
and digital systems architecture, receive a certificate anda $5,000 honorarium.
For further information on the Eckert-Mauchly Awardand other IEEE Computer Society honors, visit www.computer.org/awards. ■
James Pomerene is well
known for his early work
on high-speed memory
and cache strategies.
Computer Society PioneerAwarded Turing Medal
IBM Fellow Emerita Frances E. Allen, 2004 recipientof the IEEE Computer Society Pioneer Award, has beennamed recipient of the 2006 A.M. Turing Award.
Since the early 1960s, Allen’s work has focused oncompilers and high-performance computing systems.Her pioneering compiler work culminated inalgorithms and technologies that are the basis for thetheory of program optimization today and are widelyused throughout the industry. Allen who received the2002 Association for Women in Computing’s AugustaAda Lovelace Award, retired from IBM in 2002.
The Turing Award, presented each year by the ACM,is one of the top honors given to computingprofessionals. It honors legendary English mathemati-cian, cryptographer, and logician Alan M. Turing. TheIntel-sponsored award carries a $100,000 honorarium.
Allen is the first woman to receive the Turing Award.Previous recipients include John Hopcroft, Fred Brooks,and Vint Cerf.
The IEEE
Computer Society
publishes over 150 conference
publications a year.
For a preview of the latest papers in your field, visit
The IEEE
Computer Society
publishes over 150 conference
publications a year.
For a preview of the latest papers in your field, visit
www.computer.org/publications/
April 2007 91
Computer Society Announces Larson,UPE, and OCA Student Winners
I n 1983, the IEEE Computer Society Lance StaffordLarson Award was established by the family of pastIEEE president Robert Larson in memory of their son,
who died in an electrical accident when he was an under-graduate at the University of Maryland. The family cre-ated this award to encourage students to develop excel-lence in their communication skills and to motivatestudents toward achievement in computer science. Oneaward of $500 is given each year to the first-place win-ner. The winner of the 2006 Larson Award is RaihanMasud of Bangladesh’s Khulna University of Engineer-ing and Technology.
International honor society Upsilon Pi Epsilon and theIEEE Computer Society cooperate each year to presentthe UPE Award for Academic Excellence. The UPE Awardis intended to recognize the importance of academicachievement among future computer professionals. Twooutstanding students earned 2006 UPE honors: JuanGomez of Colombia’s Santiago de Cali University andLarson Award winner Raihan Masud of Bangladesh’sKhulna University of Engineering and Technology.
The IEEE Computer Society’s Outstanding ChapterAward is an honor presented once a year to a chapteror student branch chapter that has provided its mem-bership with the best overall set of programs and activ-ities. The competition is based on success in technicalactivities, society activities, and the enlistment andadvancement of Computer Society members. The awardcriteria allow large and small chapters to compete on anequal basis. The winner of the 2006 OutstandingChapter Award is the student branch chapter of India’s
Thadomal Shahani Engineering College. Chaptersselected for the award receive an all-expense-paid visitfrom an expert participating in the IEEE ComputerSociety Distinguished Visitor Program.
To learn more about IEEE Computer Society studentawards and scholarships, visit www.computer.org/student. ■
Call for IEEE Computer Society Petition CandidatesIn preparation for the annual election of its officers,
the IEEE Computer Society welcomes the nominationsof candidates for office. To add a name to the ballot, amember can submit a petition to the Society secretaryvia mail, fax, or e-mail indicating the desired office, the starting date of the term, and the name of the candidate.
The petition must also include the signatures of vot-ing members of the Society: at least 250 for Board ofGovernors term nominees and at least 1,000 forofficer nominees. Petition “signatures” can simplyindicate the signing member’s name and membernumber. A voting member can sign only one Board
petition and one petition for each other office.For each petition nomination, the Society secretary
must receive a statement signed by the nominee indi-cating a willingness and availability to serve if elected.Petition candidates must also submit biographicaldata, position statements, and 300-dpi digital imagesor studio-quality head-and-shoulders photographs tothe Society secretary.
All petition nominee materials must be received by 8 May. Send them to Computer Society Secretary Chris Schober at IEEE Computer Society, 1730Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington DC 20046-1992;or [email protected].
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