The Department of Defense (DoD), in collaboration with the Department of Energy’s (DoE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), announced that it plans to launch a new supercomputing system dedicated to biological defense at DoE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California.
The new biodefense-focused system will provide unique capabilities for large-scale simulation and AI-based modeling for a variety of defensive activities, including bio surveillance, threat characterization, advanced materials development, and accelerated medical countermeasures, the agencies said.
DoD and NNSA intend to allow the U.S. government, international allies and partners, and academia and industry to access the supercomputing capability.
“This new supercomputing system and other technical enablers underscore DoD’s commitment to building enduring advantages and delivering cutting-edge defensive capabilities that will ensure the Total Force can deter or prevail against advanced chemical and biological threats,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense, Ian Watson, said during an event inaugurating the new technology on Aug. 1.
DoD and NNSA said their collaboration has enabled expanding systems of the same architecture as LLNL’s upcoming exascale supercomputer El Capitan – which is projected to be the world’s most powerful supercomputer when it becomes operational later this year.
The new biodefense supercomputing system was funded by DoD’s Chemical and Biological Defense Program and advances a 2023 DoD and NNSA agreement to work together on the nation’s toughest biodefense challenges.
According to the LLNL, the new computing capabilities will allow DoD and the NNSA to perform rapid and iterative testing of computationally designed vaccines and antibody drugs. It will primarily support high-throughput experimental validation of countermeasure designs.
“Some of these medical countermeasures that we’re going to develop in this unique environment are going to be extremely important, because we’re talking about taking solutions down to days, if not hours,” said Darryl Colvin, DoD joint program executive officer for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense. “This computing power is going to be something that we’re going to use on a regular basis. We’re going to optimize around the things that are most important to the commanders on the ground in order for them to fight, win, and survive.”
NNSA Livermore Field Office Manager, Janis Parenti, praised the collaboration, noting that DoD’s investments paired with NNSA and LLNL’s expertise, “will continue to drive cutting-edge science to further enhance and strengthen our nation’s capabilities to respond to biological threats.”
LLNL Deputy Director Pat Falcone added, “Bringing that exquisite computation and precision instrumentation to the biodefense fight is really what our story is today.”
