Argonne National Laboratory has opened its Aurora exascale supercomputer to researchers worldwide. Aurora is among the first exascale supercomputers, capable of performing at least a quintillion calculations per second. The machine spans eight rows of cabinets, weighs 600 tons, and covers an area equivalent to two professional basketball courts. It is located at Argonne National Laboratory, affiliated with the University of Chicago.
Researchers can apply to use Aurora for calculations that are otherwise impossible elsewhere. With capabilities in simulation, artificial intelligence, and data analysis, Aurora is expected to drive breakthroughs in fields such as airplane design, drug discovery, cosmology, and nuclear energy research.
“We’re ecstatic to officially deploy Aurora for open scientific research,” said Michael Papka, director of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility. “Early users have given us a glimpse of Aurora’s vast potential. We’re eager to see how the broader scientific community will use the system to transform their research.”
Aurora joins Frontier at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and El Capitan at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as one of the three fastest systems globally. "We’re honored to be home to one of the most powerful supercomputers ever built," stated Argonne Director Paul Kearns.
Aurora's AI performance was highlighted when it topped the HPL-MxP benchmark in November 2024. Scientists are using its advanced capabilities for tasks like discovering new battery materials and accelerating fusion energy research.
Rick Stevens from the University of Chicago noted: “A big target for Aurora is training large language models for science.” He added that projects like AuroraGPT aim to build science-oriented foundation models across various domains.
Initial projects on Aurora include developing high-fidelity models of complex systems like human circulatory systems and nuclear reactors. Its capacity for processing massive datasets supports analysis from facilities such as Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source and CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
The deployment marks years of collaboration with Intel and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Susan Coghlan commented on overcoming challenges: “Bringing a system of this scale to life comes with a unique set of challenges.”
Aurora now supports over 70 diverse science and engineering projects through DOE's allocation programs INCITE and ALCC.
To learn more about Aurora, visit https://www.alcf.anl.gov/aurora.