National Exascale Day

Founded by CRAY, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, National Exascale Day takes place on October 18—1018 (one followed by 18 zeros). This number, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000, is a billion billion, or a quintillion. This relates to exascale in that an exascale is a quintillion computations per second. A quintillion computations is also known as an exaFLOP. An exascale computer can do a quintillion computations in a second, and exascale computing is working with computers that can do at least one exaFLOP per second. Exascale computers are about a million times faster than a laptop from the 2020s. The benefit is that these quicker computers will lead to quicker discoveries and innovations, which may lead to more lives saved from disease and natural disasters, and more food provided to more people.

National Exascale Day "celebrates the scientists and researchers who make breakthrough discoveries in medicine, materials sciences, energy and beyond with the help of some of the fastest supercomputers in the world." It celebrates "those who keep asking what if, why not, and what’s next — with the advanced technology to attain the answers," and also celebrates "a new era of supercomputing that will enable breakthroughs in disciplines benefitting all of humankind."

How to Observe National Exascale Day

The founders suggest celebrating "the geeks, gurus, and geniuses who keep asking the big questions and are changing the world" in the following ways:

• Hug a scientist.
• Encourage your teams to recognize the great work of a colleague, researcher, or anyone who is using advanced computing to change the world.
• Tell the world via your organization’s website, blog, and media channels how your org views the impacts of Exascale computing on the future.
• Take a scientist or science teacher for lunch.
• Celebrate with your teams – ice cream social, picnic lunch, or special recognition ceremony.
• Keep science alive in your schools by sponsoring a science fair.
• Use #NationalExascaleDay to share on social media. Keep reading to learn even more!

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