This happened in September of 2009, but I just saw a reference to it today in a post by Irving Wladawsky-Berger (which is interesting in itself). Evidently the President’s National Economic Council lists getting to exascale as a part of its plan, “A Strategy for American Innovation: Driving Towards Sustainable Growth and Quality Jobs.”
Exascale computing shows up in the section titled “Harness Science and Technology to Address the ‘Grand Challenges’ of the 21st Century”
An “exascale” supercomputer capable of a million trillion calculations per second – dramatically increasing our ability to understand the world around us through simulation and slashing the time needed to design complex products such as therapeutics, advanced materials, and highly-efficient autos and aircraft.
Supercomputing makes another appearance in the plan, as part of the efforts needed to develop an advanced information technology ecosystem
Support research for next-generation information and communications technology. The Administration is committed to supporting research that will foster the next wave of innovation in information and communications technologies, such as “cognitive radio” that allows for the efficient sharing of spectrum, quantum computing, efficient programming of parallel computers, cyber-physical systems, secure computers and networks, data-intensive supercomputers, and nanoelectronics that enables the continuation of Moore’s Law for decades to come. The President’s Budget supports this research through grants for the National Science Foundation, DARPA, and other public and private institutions.
The VS is in alliance with many other nations to reach the exaflop barrier.
U.S., EU, Russia set aside $13.6M for exascale software work:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9156478/U.S._EU_Russia_set_aside_13.6M_for_exascale_software_work?taxonomyId=12
The exascale system coming closer every day!