CACR History
(Page currently being updated…) The origin of the Center for Advanced Computing Research goes back to a Physics Department seminar on VLSI (Very Large Scale Integrated) circuits presented by Carver Mead in 1980. Mead described the possible use of VLSI for the construction of parallel computing systems. In 1981, motivated by the potential applications of parallel computing in physics, Fox initiated the C3P (Caltech Concurrent Computation Program) and, in collaboration with Chuck Seitz, the Caltech/JPL hypercube construction projects. The success of these projects stimulated the formation of the Caltech Concurrent Supercomputing Facility (CCSF) to operate high-performance computing systems for Caltech and JPL users.
In 1990, under the leadership of Paul Messina, twelve institutions (including CCSF) formed an alliance called the Concurrent SuperComputing Consortium (CSCC). The Alliance was formed to pool their resources to gain access to unique computational facilities, and to exchange technical information, share expertise, and collaborate on high-performance computing issues. In its first year, the CSCC acquired the Intel Touchstone Delta System, the world’s fastest supercomputer at the time of its installation. The Delta was in use from its installation on the Caltech campus in May 1991 until May 1998, when it was decommissioned. This historic collaboration was the first consortium ever to include partners from universities, research laboratories, government agencies, as well as industry. Since the CSCC, many similar computing consortia have formed to leverage their resources and expertise. For information on CSCC research activities and scientific and engineering applications carried out by CSCC researchers, see the following publications:
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In 1995, when CCSF has expanded the breadth and depth of its mission, with new goals including the pursuit of multidisciplinary research in computational science and engineering, it was transformed into a research center and given a new name – the Center for Advanced Computing Research – CACR.
CACR subsumed the staff and activities of the CCSF, as well as operation of the CCSF and CSCC computing resources. From 1995-2002 Paul Messina served as the director of CACR.
CACR continues the CCSF’s multidisciplinary, applications-driven environment and provision of large-scale, leading-edge computational facilities.