"Employed across a variety of sectors, these systems can quickly process huge amounts of information when deciding how to act, " said Dr Wamberto Vasconcelos, who is leading the research at the University of Aberdeen's School of Natural and Computing Sciences.

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Several industry segments make use of high-end computing including life sciences, energy, scientific research, defense, manufacturing and finance.

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"One challenge in supercomputers today is power consumption, " said Jeff Nichols, associate laboratory director for computing and computational sciences.

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One of the largest employers was Sandia National Laboratories, a Department of Energy unit established in 1949 to develop nuclear weapons and now also working on solutions to nonmilitary problems in energy, computing and geologic sciences.

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Combining IBM Research's expertise in the areas of mathematical sciences, computer science and high-performance computing with the deep-power engineering and operational know-how of the participating members, the Institute will focus on five core innovation tracks to pursue joint research and where shared investments, knowledge and capabilities will benefit every member.

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The NIH and National Science Foundation have recently released a joint solicitation encouraging proposals at the intersection of biology and the physical sciences and engineering, in areas such as biological computing and biologically-inspired materials.

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Its founder, Liu Chuanzhi, is a product of China's Institute of Computing Technology, and the company is still partly owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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