Caterpillar Inc. announced last month it will collaborate with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications to conduct high-performance computing projects focused on more realistic simulations that can lead to improved product designs.
Through the expanded partnership, NCSA will host Caterpillar’s simulation research on an iForge supercomputer over a three-year period. By conducting these simulations in NCSA’s HPC environment, Caterpillar will increase its dedicated computing resources, enhancing its product modeling and enabling rapid exploration of large design areas.
“The high-performance computing capabilities of today will serve as the industrial workstation of tomorrow,” said Gwenne Henricks, the chief technology officer and Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for product development and global technology. “Working with NCSA, we will gain access to HPC that enables simulation realism, where we can uncover hidden insights on our product designs to feed back to our engineering teams, driving better overall solutions. We also gain access to a high level of talent within NCSA conducting their own simulations, which helps our engineers stretch their imaginations to focus on solutions we could achieve for our own products.”
“I was here when NCSA began working with Caterpillar on digital simulation, and I’m so pleased to be here to see this partnership moving to the next level,” said NCSA Director Ed Seidel. “Our longstanding partnership with Caterpillar really exemplifies the enormous potential for the resources and expertise at NCSA to create economic opportunities and impact.”
Caterpillar has been working with NCSA and the U. of I. since the 1990s. Since then, Caterpillar has witnessed a multitude of benefits focused on sustainable technology advancements stemming from the company’s involvement with NCSA and the university, including projects through the Champaign Simulation center, and most recently, opening a new Caterpillar data innovation lab on the campus.
