Government Computer News, owned and operated by PostNewsweek Tech Media, reviewed hundreds of government programmes and selected the Columbia supercomputer at NASA Ames for its "demonstrated record of excellence" in applying information technology. The annual GCN awards, selected by PostNewsweek's Editorial team, recognize technology excellence in government by agencies that have shown innovation, dedication, and excellence in their achievements over the past year. Honorees represent the highest levels of performance in providing effective government IT solutions with a mission-critical focus.

"NASA's Advanced Supercomputing Division accomplished something that doubters had good reason to say was impossible - building a world-class supercomputer in just 120 days", stated Wyatt Kash, editorial director, Government Computer News. "Their work epitomized the kind of mission-focus and IT innovation in government that the GCN Awards seek to recognize."

Walt Brooks, chief, NAS Division at NASA Ames, was at the GCN Awards Gala to receive the award on behalf of his team of engineers and scientists. The GCN Awards are based on group or unit performance, rather than on the accomplishments of a single individual. NASA Ames and the Columbia supercomputer were selected by GCN as a winning IT project for significantly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of NASA in accomplishing its mission, and for solving significant, longstanding supercomputing problems in a measurable and sustained way.

"We are proud to have been partnered with NASA Ames Research on this monumental and unprecedented achievement in supercomputing", stated Bob Bishop, chairman and CEO, SGI. "In less than 120 days, together we built, successfully installed and fully deployed the world's most powerful supercomputer. Unlike traditional supercomputer deployments that have taken years to become fully viable, Columbia was available to scientists and engineers throughout its installation, giving NASA and the U.S. government an immediate and revolutionary boost in capabilities and assisting in the agency's successful Return to Flight."

Named to honour the crewmembers lost in the February 1, 2003 shuttle accident, NASA's Columbia supercomputer proved to be a powerful asset in NASA's Return to Flight effort. The Columbia supercomputer supported such Return to Flight activities as the investigation and analyses of cracks in the main propulsion system's fuel flow liner; aerodynamics studies of the shuttle's ascent; debris transport analyses; development of an automated plotting tool for debris paths; and internal and external aerothermal fluid dynamics studies.

The Columbia supercomputer, built from 20 SGI Altix systems, each powered by 512 Intel Itanium 2 processors, has revolutionized the rate of scientific discovery at NASA. For instance, on NASA's previous supercomputers, simulations showing five years worth of changes in ocean temperatures and sea levels were taking a year to model. But using a single SGI Altix system, scientists can simulate decades of ocean circulation in just days, while producing simulations in greater detail than ever before. And the time required to assess flight characteristics of an aircraft design, which involves thousands of complex calculations, dropped from years to a single day.

The history-making supercomputer also incorporates an SGI InfiniteStorage solution that gives NASA access to 440 terabytes of data, an amount 44 times larger than the entire U.S. Library of Congress print collection.