To improve the freshness of its Folgers® coffee and reduce the costs of packaging, researchers at Procter & Gamble decided to switch from a metal can to a plastic container. However, they ran into a number of problems related to gas build up inside the containers, fluctuations caused by changes in atmospheric pressure during shipment and a problem associated with the coffee cans imploding while being trucked to their destination. This latter problem almost caused the entire research project to fail. The group used high performance computing both to solve their problems in a timely fashion, and provide the company with a competitive advantage as well.

To advance the state of the art of its proprietary photochromic technology used in Transitions® eyewear and speed its time-to-market, PPG Industries enlisted the help of high performance computing. Advancing photochromic technology, which allows lenses to change from clear to dark and block harmful ultraviolet rays, involves complex modeling and simulation of molecules at the atomic and quantum levels. By enlisting the help of the NSF-funded Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and its powerful high performance computing capabilities, PPG’s R&D organization was able to rapidly create the next generation of photochromic dyes, and move out in front of its competition.

Researchers at the Salk Institute are using supercomputers at the nearby NSF-funded San Diego Supercomputer Center to investigate how the synapses of the brain work. Their research has the potential to help people suffering from mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and manic depressive disorders. In addition, the use of supercomputers is helping to change the very nature of biology—from a science that has relied primarily on observation to a science that relies on high performance computing to achieve previously impossible in-depth quantitative results.

To conduct leading edge astrophysical research, educate the public, and create its spectacular and highly popular shows based on real science, the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium augments its own computing with the extensive supercomputer capabilities available through the National Science Foundation high performance computing Centers, such as the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

Researchers at Science Applications International Corporation in San Diego have been studying the sun’s corona and its impact on space weather for well over a decade. Advances in their understanding of the physics of solar activity, made possible by the use of supercomputers at the nearby NSF-funded San Diego Supercomputer Center, have allowed them to move from one-dimensional models of solar flares and coronal mass ejections to 3-D models that can more accurately predict the impact of these phenomena on weather in space. Space weather can have a major impact on Earth’s power grids, communications, satellites and other essential systems.

Since 1986, Motorola has been using high performance computing to model cellular networks and telephones, an approach that has given them a clear competitive advantage and made the company a leader in wireless communications. The firm accesses the supercomputers at the NSF-funded University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications to create highly complex models of their wireless devices and infrastructure as different communications technologies emerge. They are now creating models that reflect the newest generation of cellular systems. Their work continues to help Motorola retain its leadership position in the global wireless marketplace.

Alcoa, the world’s leading producer of aluminum products, was one of the first companies to make major use of high performance computing when it became the NSF-funded Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center’s first industrial affiliate in 1987. When aluminum faced growing competition from plastic and other composite materials, the company used the PSC supercomputer to handle the complex modeling and simulations needed to get the jump on their competitors by successfully redesigning cans for the beverage industry and a variety of components for the automotive, aerospace, building and construction industries.