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*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphSUPERCOMPUTERS CAREERS IN DEFENCE| VMicrochip monsters Some of the most advanced supercomputers in the world are used in Britain’s defence industry — and have been for decades, writes Richard Milton fitted on to a chip no bigger than a fingernail. In today’s machines, this can mean more than 400 million tiny components packed on to a single processor chip. But, as Chris Bishop, Professor of Computer Science at EdinburghThe laptop on which this article was written has more computer power than the NASA spaceship that landed Neil Armstrong on the Moon in 1969. Yet it is a David when compared to the might of the supercomputer Goliaths. The power of computers is measured by the number of calculations such machines can perform in a second — known in the jargon of the trade as Floating Point Operations per Second — or Flops for short. Supercomputers are so eyewateringly fast that their performance is measured in Flops with strange-sounding numerical prefixes — Teraflops (a million million operations per second) and now even Petaflops (10 million million operations per second). Yet the earliest of these uberfast machines were deployed in the defence industry more than 60 years ago. The world’s first code-breaking supercomputers, housed in Britain’s secret codebreaking centre, Bletchley Park,were used to crack the coded messages between Hitler’s high command during the Second World War. Today, the sector upholds tradition, deploying some of the world’s most powerful number crunchers. “Supercomputers in the defence industry are pivotal,” says Caroline Isaac, Deep Computing Executive for IBM in the UK. One of their biggest uses today is in modelling conditions for weapons testing. “Our technology can model things on computer rather than having to build physical mock-ups,” says Isaac. “The classic example is in the aerospace industry where you traditionally had to mock up and test, which could result in aircraft and equipment being damaged or destroyed.” Today’s machines are used whenever huge volumes of data need to be crunched quickly — from modelling missile pathways to predicting the weather — and it is speed that sets these monsters apart from any common-orgarden computer.As early as the 1960s, Intel founder Gordon Moore noticed that the number of microscopically small components that could be crammed on to a processor chip was roughly doubling every two years. “Moore’s Law”, as it came to be known, means a doubling of computer power that occurs as more and more components areUniversity, explains, there is a problem — heat. “A microprocessor today is producing the same heat density as the hotplate on a cooker,” he says. “If we just continue to double the speed of processors every two years, then in 10 years’ time the heat density on a microprocessor will be the same as the heat density at the surface of the sun. Itmeans heat has become the main factor which limits the speed of modern microprocessors.” The solution that supercomputer makers like IBM, Cray, NEC, Intel, Hitachi and Fujitsu are adopting is splitting up the processors into individual “cores” and running them in parallel. “We are in a very important era for supercomputing.” says Issac. “With a move towards parallel computers, many of the applications which were written 20, 30 or 40 years ago are becoming outdated. We need people who have skills in code tuning to bring these applications into the 21st century.” IBM is currently building a new supercomputer for the Met Office, part of the MoD and one of only two centres in the world providing high-level weather forecasts. The new machine will see a substantial improvement in performance — no bad thing considering 10 million observations from all over the world are used every day to forecast the weather. Their models process 100,000 million pieces of information. In defence, reliable weather prediction provides a significantadvantage over the enemy. The results churned out by Met Office machines help the MoD in mission planning and ensure that weather conditions are used to best advantage. The Met Office’s mobile unit plays a crucial role in aiding the British armed forces. One of the men responsible at IBM for developing the current generation of super machines is Dr Ben Grimes, Chief Technical Officer of Avocent. “For decades, computer manufacturers have been in a global race to build the most powerful super machine, regularly trumping each other with ever faster, more intuitive and massive computers,” he says. “Can you imagine what can be possible from a computer that houses the power of two million laptops?” We are about to find out since IBM recently announced its latest supercomputer, Sequoia. This monster dwarfs its predecessors with 1.6 million cores and 1.6 petabytes (or 1,600 million megabytes) of memory. At 20 petaflops (or 20 quadrillion calculations per second), the‘Imagine what’s possible from a computer that houses the power of two million laptops’computer is nearly 20 times faster than the current IBM record holder, a supercomputer named Roadrunner. Machines like these are a crucial component of Britain’s defence industries. The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has commissioned and installed a new supercomputer from Cray, the XT3 — known as Redwood. The machine provides more than 20 times the computing power of AWE’s previous giant, Blue Oak. To put this enormous power into perspective, the six billion inhabitants of earth would each have to make nearly 7,000 calculations per second to keep up with Redwood. It has a peak performance of more than 40 teraflops (40 million million calculations per second) and weighs 35 tonnes. “This huge leap in computing capability will enable scientists and engineers to continue to underwrite the safety and reliability of the UK’s nuclear warhead stockpile,” says a spokesperson from AWE. Dr Grimes stresses theinnovative aspects of supercomputing as a career. “It pushes the envelope of engineering and you have to be willing to go beyond what you know and take risks. You have to understand the science in order to understand what supercomputers are built for, the modelling of the various aspects of the world, from molecular theory to weather and bio-science. These fields are where supercomputing excels so you need to understand the markets you are trying to serve.” One professional at AWE explains what attracts graduates to such an unusual field: “Working with supercomputers is a challenging vocation. Learning how supercomputers are used to tackle various problems around the world — for example climate change or searching for oil — and being a part of this is really exciting.” The same expert describes the qualifications required. “A degree in computer science is a good starting point — that’s how I began my own career. Strong programming skills are a must and the ability to learn and work with new programming paradigms and languages is essential. As 99 per cent of super-computers run a Unix/Linux based operating system, some experience of these would be advised.”1TOP OF THE ‘FLOPS’ – SOME OF THE BEST KNOWN SUPERCOMPUTERS THE CODE BREAKERS In the 1940s, the Colossus and its precursor the Heath Robinson were among the first supercomputers in the world. They were used to break German code during the Second World War. The Colossus could do 5,000 operations per second. THE EARTH SIMULATOR Pictured, right, it was built in Japan by NEC and the fastest in the world between 2002 and 2004. With a capacity for 35.86 trillion calculations every second, its detailed global climate models evaluate the effects of global warming.2 T3SUPER PC The traditional bulky image of super-computers was shattered in December 2008 when the first desktop version was unveiled, 250 times faster than the average PC.4computers. A new machine is currently being built by IBM that will have the capacity of 100,000 PCs by 2011.THE ROADRUNNER Currently the fastest supercomputer in the world, IBM’s Roadrunner, right, smashed all records when it broke the 1,000 trillion calculations per second mark in 2008.5FORECASTING From global weather to studying climate change and aiding UK defence and aerospace, the Met Office relies on top-performing super6THE FUTURE? IBM’s Dawn, left, is the fore-runner of the massive Sequoia, which will become the most powerful supercomputer in the world when finished in 2011. It will help with nuclear research, work related to the human genome, climate change and astronomy.HE UK’s porous borders have been causing controversy since the Government decided to phase out the system of routine departure checks for all in 1994. Now, however, the system is being tightened up again and by 2014 the country’s entry points will be protected by a three-ring security system, including a sophisticated electronic surveillance programme. Information is being gathered on all passengers and crew intending to travel to or from the UK before they enter or leave the country by air, sea or rail as part of the Government’s e-Borders programme. This will allow the authorities to identify passengers who are a potential risk and those deemed worthy of further scrutiny. The UK Border Agency runs the e-Borders programme with the support of the police and HM Revenue and Customs, as well as the travel industry. Borders and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas says: “New technology like eBorders is helping make our borders even more secure, making the UK safer and speeding up travel for the lawabiding majority. It is a common sense response to real risks. e-Borders enables the Border Agency to check people before they reach the country and thereby detect terrorist suspects, known criminals and would-be illegal immigrants before they can do any harm — but to do this, we need to monitor all crossborder travel. “These checks make-up just one part of Britain’s triple ring of security, alongside fingerprint visas for threequarters of the world’sCASE Lisa Sewards explains how the UK is using technology to keep a tighter check on who enters — and who leaves — the country population and the roll-out of ID cards for foreign nationals, locking them to one identity. We are also using technology at the border to detect illegal immigrants and drugs.” The e-Borders programme will also help identify those who avoid paying tax by claiming to be resident outside the United Kingdom and provide more accurate information on migration to and from the UK, allowing more efficient planning of public services. Other examples of borderprotection technology include biometric information — which takes an individual’s unique physical characteristics, including fingerprints, the eye’s iris pattern and face recognition — to identify that person. The iris-check system is already being used to provide automated entry for preregistered passengers. The programme will also collect the biographical information contained in the section of the latest passports which can be read by machine, as well as details of the service on which a passenger is travelling — for example the flight number and records of reservations and payment. The programme is well under way.BORDER-LINE‘It’s a common sense response to terrorism, criminals and illegal immigrants’Since 2005 some airlines have been voluntarily providing eBorders with passengers’ biographical information (name, date of birth, nationality, gender, travel document type, state of issue, number and expiry date) contained in the machine readable zone of a passport, and taken from the passport at check-in electronically on selected routes. Since 2005 the information gleaned from the e-Borders programme has resulted in more than 2,900 arrests for crimes which have included murder, kidnap, sexual offences, assault and fraud, according to the Home Office. Interventions have resulted in fraudulently-used British passports being impounded and the confiscation of drugs and tobacco. This month e-Borders ramped up its roll-out, and passenger information now has to be provided on a compulsory basis from more carriers across more routes — and at an earlier stage. It’s on track to collect details of 60 per cent of all international passengers and crews by the end of the year and to check them against lists of people who are of interest to the authorities. The aim is to reach a 95 per cent collection rate by December 2010. Then, by March 2014, the Government aims for e-Borders to be fully operational, covering all international travellers using all the UK’s entry ports, and matching everyone’s arrival to their departure.Fighting firepower with brainpower Scientists, engineers and mathematicians are all vital players in the BAE Systems team that builds safer vehicles for troops on the front line. Report by Rebecca Sheasby am Johnston, Survivability Capability Manager in the engineering department at BAE Systems, runs a team that develops and integrates technologies to improve combat vehicles. “It’s not just about conventional armour,” he explains. “We deal with electronics, explosives and computer technologies. Survivability is no longer just about putting blocks of metal in front of threats — that’s a defence of last resort.” A combat vehicle’s effectiveness is a balance between mobility, firepower and protection, so his team looks at everything from armour to noise and thermal emissions. Johnston says: “I need a full gamut of experience in engineering and scientific fields, with physicists, material scientists, mathematicians and engineers in the team.” Traditional steel armour that protects vehicles against rocketC@JOBS ONLINE: jobs.telegraph.co.uk/ careers-insiderpropelled grenades and highvelocity projectiles is heavy, affecting stealth and manoeuvrability. So as well as developing composite armours made of lighter materials like plastics and ceramics, Johnston and his team are working on advanced reactive armours that trigger explosives to protect the vehicle. Johnston says: “The incoming projectile activates the explosives which detonate on impact, destroying the projectile and preventing it from penetrating the vehicle. Explosive reactive armours like these are already used in the field, but we are working on the next generation to make them more effective against a wider range of threats.” Smart armour is another promising development that takes protection to a new level: an electronic device senses incoming projectiles and fires on them, knocking them out of the air before they can hit the vehicle. The technology is clever enough to distinguish betweendifferent levels of threat, so firepower isn’t wasted on small bullets that can’t pierce a tank’s armour. Johnston says: “With this device in place, you wouldn’t need all the heavy armour that’s put on combat vehicles, saving a heck of a lot of weight. Reliability and mobility of the vehicle goes up, maintenance time goes down. This is important because a lot of armoured fighting vehicles are operating beyond their maximum design weight.” Cost affects the likelihood of new products reaching the front line. Johnston says: “Our challenge is to supply the most cost-effective mix of technologies and techniques to provide the optimum survivability against a constantly changing threat level.” One low-cost system that’s been successful in trials is BAE’s hostile fire indicator that protects low-flying helicopters from the threat of small arms fire. Fitted in hours, it workswith the helicopter’s existing sensors to pinpoint the location and direction of fire. For now though, BAE Systems’ biggest contribution to survival on the front line is its work in Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs), delivering quick fixes for vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The response that’s been given through UORs has been huge,” says Johnston. “Delivering solutions to problems experienced by the MoD on the front line in a fasttrack way has been one of our major achievements.” As well as taking improvements from concept to delivery in as little as six weeks, BAE engineers are working alongside British soldiers in Iraq, often under fire. Johnston says: “The survival suites that we provide for deployed vehicles are designed to save lives.” It’s something the MoD recognises, awarding 15 engineers campaign medals for their work in Basra, Iraq.CORBIS; GETTY *** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009*** ***CAREERS INThe Daily Telegraph in association with| IDefenceWednesday, March 25, 2009 jobs.telegraph.co.uk/caProduced byTelegraph Create Special Reports GETTYSECURITY QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY THE MICROCHIP MASTERMINDS WORKING WITH SUPERCOMPUTER *** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphGRADUATES CAREERS IN DEFENCE| IIIHappy landings The UK’s influence is expanding globally and providing a wealth of career opportunities for graduates who want to travel. Adam Ramsay looks at three success storiesTHE HAGUE *** IV*** *** WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH|*** *** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphSUPERCOMPUTERS CAREERS IN DEFENCE| VMicrochip monsters Some of the most advanced supercomputers in the world are used in Britain’s defence industry — and have been for decades, writes Richard Milton fitted on to a chip no *** VI*** *** WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHCAREERS IN DEFENCE THE ARMY|***The Daily TelegraphOn parade: ceremonial occasions allow the British Army to echo the scarlet and gold splendour of a bygone ageALAMYTHE FARRIERTop-ranking opportunities The service offers a wide variety of car *** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphOUTSOURCING CAREERS IN DEFENCE| VIIWhether it’s training aircrew, providing a communications system to serve the Royal Navy fleet or building short take-off, vertical landing F-35s to replace the Harriers, virtually every *** VIII*** *** WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHCAREERS IN DEFENCE ROYAL NAVY|***The Daily TelegraphPride in the Senior Service A submarine navigator, Sea Harrier pilot and Warfare Officer trainee each remain as committed and enthusiastic today as when they embarked on their careers. 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