Late last week NERSC announced that they’ve named their new XE6. I don’t usually cover namings, but this one reflects an interest I have for broadening participation in computing. NERSC’s new machine will be named after computing pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper, developer of the first compiler and originator of the concept of machine-independent programming languages.
American computer scientist Grace Hopper will power science on the cabinets of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center’s (NERSC) petascale Cray XE6 system. A pioneer in the field of software development and programming languages, Hopper created the first compiler. She was a champion for increasing the usability of computers, understanding that their power and reach would be limited unless they were made to be more user-friendly. NERSC’s new flagship machine is named “Hopper” in her honor.
