Reconfigurable Computers to Boost Science

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Marlene Cimons from the National Science Foundation writes that science could receive a huge boost from adaptable computing.

It’s a new and innovative way to build and use computers,” says Alan George, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida and director of the Center for High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing. With reconfigurable computing, the architecture of the processor is adaptive, and thus can be customized to match the unique needs of each application,” he adds. “By changing the mindset of computing, from processor-centric to application-centric, reconfigurable computing can perform at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional servers or supercomputers.”

George and his team have developed the Novo-G computer, which uses 288 reconfigurable processors to rival the speed of the world’s largest supercomputers for some applications. Since it’s not commercially available, readers might want to check commercial offerings from Convey Computer, whose powerful systems can be configured for specific applications. Read the Full Story.