To explore the value of the CRPC to Houston, the state of the Texas and the nation, an analogy between parallel computation and doing the laundry best explains parallel computation and the work of the center. For example, an average family creates six washer-loads of laundry each week. The designated laundry-person now has a choice cither do six loads. If the person has selected the laundromat-route, they will complete the wash quickly. At the CRPC, parallel computing means taking hundreds of thousands of microprocessors and having them work in parallel on a single computing task.
Parallel computation makes it possible to resolve problems faster and with greater power.
The CRPC also brings into focus for Houston resources from across the country that Rice can explore. The CRPC's consortium includes Argonne National Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Los Alamos National laboratory, Rice University, Syracuse University, The University of Tennessee at Knoxville and The University of Texas at Austin. Under the direction of Ken Kennedy, the CRPC not only engages in developing detailed computer models but also is involved in rethinking and redeveloping the software and operating systems needed for multiple microprocessors to work together. Ken Kennedy is director of the Center for Research on Parallel Computation at Rice University. He said the CRPC is working with area universities to create an intellectually vibrant marketplace poised to expand computing and high-tech activities here.