The first computer program Ryan Grant ever wrote let him move a crude rendering of a hot air balloon around the glowing blue screen of his Commodore 64.
He was five years old.
Today, nearly four decades later, the software he designs is essential for the supercomputers that are the backbone of artificial intelligence and that are used for everything from designing new drugs to forecasting weather.
The skills Dr. Grant, Sc카지노 게임 컬렉션04, MSc카지노 게임 컬렉션05, PhD카지노 게임 컬렉션12, developed bouncing a hot air balloon around on a primitive home computer now support him in designing the software that interprets the nearly limitless complexity of our planet카지노 게임 컬렉션s weather systems.
카지노 게임 컬렉션I took a very keen interest in computers at a very, very young age,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Dr. Grant, an assistant professor in computer engineering with Smith Engineering at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s.
카지노 게임 컬렉션I can distinctly remember going with my mother to Zellers before Christmas when I was four to buy a Commodore 64,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션I loved that thing from the moment we got it.
카지노 게임 컬렉션I think computers were a draw because the idea of controlling what was on your TV screen was just so new at that time,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션Up until then, electronics were really a spectator activity. Computers brought that out into something that let you be creative, play a game with friends, just do whatever you could think of. It was like Lego blocks 카지노 게임 컬렉션 it카지노 게임 컬렉션s a creative toy and a fun one at that.카지노 게임 컬렉션
That love of computers still burns today, with Dr. Grant and his colleagues at Smith Engineering putting Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s on the map in Canada카지노 게임 컬렉션s supercomputing industry.
Coming to Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s in 2021 after spending nine years working with the world카지노 게임 컬렉션s most advanced supercomputers at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., was more than just a career change. For Dr. Grant, it was a homecoming.
Not only is he an alumnus, but he and his family have deep roots in Kingston 카지노 게임 컬렉션 and at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s.
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Photography by Jana Chytilova
The connection began with Dr. Grant카지노 게임 컬렉션s great-grandfather on his mother카지노 게임 컬렉션s side. Alfred Plumb was a janitor at the school카지노 게임 컬렉션s former Students카지노 게임 컬렉션 Memorial Union in the 1920s.
카지노 게임 컬렉션He worked there for 40 years. I know that because I have a silver platter that says, 카지노 게임 컬렉션A.H. Plumb, thank you for your 40 years of service,카지노 게임 컬렉션 Dr. Grant says.
카지노 게임 컬렉션He was nicknamed Sarge. He taught the students Morse code,카지노 게임 컬렉션 Dr. Grant says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션He was a First World War veteran, but sergeant wasn카지노 게임 컬렉션t his rank. They called him that because he was a little bit ornery. He didn카지노 게임 컬렉션t have time for nonsense.카지노 게임 컬렉션
That included chastising students if he found them with their feet up on the tables, according to family lore.
Alf and his family, including daughter Gwendolyn Plumb, Dr. Grant카지노 게임 컬렉션s grandmother, boarded Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s students at their house on Earl Street. Eventually, Gwen Plumb found a job at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s as well, working as a maid for students in Leonard Hall.
카지노 게임 컬렉션Back in the day, student residence rooms actually had janitorial service. They would come into your room, clean it up, and make your bed for you,카지노 게임 컬렉션 Dr. Grant says.
카지노 게임 컬렉션The students used to dissect frogs in their rooms, even though they weren카지노 게임 컬렉션t supposed to. That would freak her out. She was not one for creepy crawlies.카지노 게임 컬렉션
Dr. Grant카지노 게임 컬렉션s mother, Judy Grant (nee Bedford) attended Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s for her BSc (Geography, 카지노 게임 컬렉션73). Judy and Dr. Grant카지노 게임 컬렉션s father, William Grant, settled in Ottawa카지노 게임 컬렉션s west end, nurturing young Ryan카지노 게임 컬렉션s interest in the new field of home computing and in his Commodore 64.
카지노 게임 컬렉션I was actually working on it before I went to kindergarten. I카지노 게임 컬렉션d start tapping away and put together simple programs, working from this big, gigantic instruction book. I read at an early age and it seemed simple for me. I was always tinkering with computers,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says.
카지노 게임 컬렉션There was a really nice scene in that area of Ottawa where I grew up. All the kids in the neighbourhood had home computers and were interested in playing games on them and doing interesting things. The parents were around to help a little bit but, for the most part, all the kids got better than the parents pretty quickly.카지노 게임 컬렉션
There was never any doubt that Dr. Grant would study computer engineering. Though he was offered a full scholarship to attend Carleton 카지노게임사이트, he chose Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s.
카지노 게임 컬렉션I wouldn카지노 게임 컬렉션t say I chose Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s just because the family went here, but there was a strong pull,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션Mostly I wanted to try something new 카지노 게임 컬렉션 outside of Ottawa.카지노 게임 컬렉션
And there was another draw: he could live cheaply, staying with his grandparents, Gwen and Donald, at their home on Windsor Street, in Kingston카지노 게임 컬렉션s Reddendale neighbourhood.
After graduating, he worked for a while with the .
카지노 게임 컬렉션I could have gone anywhere, but Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has some advantages in this space. Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has some of the fastest-growing AI research programs in Canada.카지노 게임 컬렉션
카지노 게임 컬렉션I worked in an area where people had advanced degrees and all the interesting stuff seemed to be happening for people who had advanced degrees,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says.
He was soon back at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s to do his master카지노 게임 컬렉션s in computer engineering. He submitted his first paper the morning of Sept. 9, 2005. He remembers the date easily: later that afternoon he married Meagan Grant (nee Garrett, Sc카지노 게임 컬렉션04 civil engineering). The couple met in a mechanical drafting lab as undergraduates.
After completing his PhD at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s in 2012, Dr. Grant took jobs in the United States. He was recruited to join , where he worked with some of the largest, most powerful supercomputers in the world.
카지노 게임 컬렉션In the States I was building this world-class stuff. I had awesome toys to play with,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says.
Compared to the United States 카지노 게임 컬렉션 or indeed most countries in the world 카지노 게임 컬렉션 Canada is in the minor leagues of supercomputing. Supercomputing power is measured in 카지노 게임 컬렉션flops카지노 게임 컬렉션 카지노 게임 컬렉션 floating operations per second (see accompanying story) 카지노 게임 컬렉션 and a rough way to rank a country카지노 게임 컬렉션s supercomputing resources is to add up the number of petaflops in its national inventory.
Canada카지노 게임 컬렉션s total is 41.5 petaflops (a petaflop is a million billion floating operations per second).
카지노 게임 컬렉션Canada is one-tenth the size of the United States so you카지노 게임 컬렉션d hope that we would have one-tenth of its supercomputing power,카지노 게임 컬렉션 카지노 게임 컬렉션 which would put the U.S. at about 410 petaflops, he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션In fact, the U.S. has 4,400 petaflops. And they are about to add another 2,000 petaflops to that.카지노 게임 컬렉션
Canada lags even non-superpowers. Brazil has 53 petaflops, Poland 65, Italy 330, and Japan 672.
카지노 게임 컬렉션We카지노 게임 컬렉션re behind by orders of magnitude,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he explains.
It카지노 게임 컬렉션s one of the reasons he returned home to Canada 카지노 게임 컬렉션 and to Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s.
카지노 게임 컬렉션I wish Canada was in better shape in the supercomputer world,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says.
카지노 게임 컬렉션One of the big challenges is that worldwide there카지노 게임 컬렉션s just not a lot of supercomputer experts. We just don카지노 게임 컬렉션t have a lot of experience in Canada building those really, really big systems. There are no dedicated institutions in Canada to building supercomputers and keeping us on the forefront,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션Other countries have built up national laboratories that are constantly concentrating on questions like, 카지노 게임 컬렉션How do we build the next one? What are the bottlenecks we need to resolve?카지노 게임 컬렉션카지노 게임 컬렉션
Dr. Grant hopes he can bring some of that expertise to Canada.
카지노 게임 컬렉션That was really my driving motivation 카지노 게임 컬렉션 to provide opportunity for Canadians to enter the industry and to provide opportunities for Canada as a nation to be able to capitalize on supercomputing expertise to drive the economy, to solve productivity problems here in Canada, and just make us the world leader that we should be in this space,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says.
Why Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s?
카지노 게임 컬렉션I could have gone anywhere, but Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has some advantages in this space. Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has some of the fastest-growing AI research programs in Canada. It has accessible land. It has plenty of water. It has capacity for power. And it카지노 게임 컬렉션s nice and conveniently located between Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.카지노 게임 컬렉션
The location is important. With Canada카지노 게임 컬렉션s limited supercomputing infrastructure, companies and institutions that need the power of a supercomputer might find they need to share that resource. Additionally, some supercomputing tasks are highly sensitive. Users may need to be using the computer directly, not logging in from elsewhere.
카지노 게임 컬렉션If you카지노 게임 컬렉션re training AI to consult with wealth clients at a bank, do you really want that information sitting on the internet? What about personal health data? Probably not.카지노 게임 컬렉션
AI also plays a key role in national defence and signals intelligence and Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s is close to the Royal Military College, the Canadian Defence Academy, and other military institutions.
카지노 게임 컬렉션Suppose in the future another nation develops antagonistic AI that attacks all of our infrastructure. How do you defend that? You need defensive AI. How do you build that? You need a supercomputer,카지노 게임 컬렉션 Dr. Grant says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션In the future, battle can be these AI systems in cyberspace battling each other, trying to find ways to break through.카지노 게임 컬렉션
Beyond that, Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s and Kingston are just wonderful places to live and work, he says.
카지노 게임 컬렉션I think it카지노 게임 컬렉션s really exciting to be back at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s and to be contributing. I regard it not just as fun and a great place to be, but coming back to serve my own nation after working in the U.S. for so long. I카지노 게임 컬렉션m glad to be back.카지노 게임 컬렉션
Supercomputing 101
The adage 카지노 게임 컬렉션many hands make light work카지노 게임 컬렉션 is a pretty good analogy for the modern supercomputer, which really isn카지노 게임 컬렉션t a single computer at all. The 카지노 게임 컬렉션hands카지노 게임 컬렉션 in this case are a network of thousands, even tens of thousands, of high-end processors working in unison on the same problem.
That problem could be finding new drug treatments, analyzing experimental results in subatomic research, or the study of astrophysics to help us understand our universe. In Japan, supercomputers are improving predictions of earthquakes and tsunamis. Environment Canada harnesses supercomputing power to improve its daily weather forecast.
Supercomputers gave us the two-metre rule used during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the explosion in the use of artificial intelligence wouldn카지노 게임 컬렉션t be possible without the staggering power of supercomputers.
The largest supercomputer in the world covers about 650 square metres and would fit comfortably into the floorspace of Grant Hall. But it카지노 게임 컬렉션s not their size that makes supercomputers 카지노 게임 컬렉션super카지노 게임 컬렉션 카지노 게임 컬렉션 it카지노 게임 컬렉션s their speed.
카지노 게임 컬렉션We judge these things in what we call 카지노 게임 컬렉션flops,카지노 게임 컬렉션 floating-point operations per second,카지노 게임 컬렉션 Dr. Ryan Grant says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션Basically, it카지노 게임 컬렉션s just a calculation. Can I take two decimal numbers and multiply them together? How many of those can I do in a second?카지노 게임 컬렉션
In the realm of supercomputing, that number is astounding. 카지노 게임 컬렉션People understand the terms 카지노 게임 컬렉션mega카지노 게임 컬렉션 and 카지노 게임 컬렉션giga카지노 게임 컬렉션 because that카지노 게임 컬렉션s how you measure the memory in your own computer,카지노 게임 컬렉션 Dr. Grant says. But those measurements are inadequate when talking about the power of a supercomputer.
카지노 게임 컬렉션A petaflop is a million billion operations per second. And an exaflop is a billion billion operations per second,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션The world카지노 게임 컬렉션s fastest supercomputer has just broken the exaflop barrier.카지노 게임 컬렉션
The secret to supercomputing lies in how to make those individual processors communicate with each other. For that you need maximum bandwidth 카지노 게임 컬렉션 the amount of information that can be carried 카지노 게임 컬렉션 and minimal latency 카지노 게임 컬렉션 the speed at which the information travels through the network.
Imagine a factory of 30,000 workers co-operating on the same task.
카지노 게임 컬렉션It카지노 게임 컬렉션s the co-ordination to get all those people moving together that카지노 게임 컬렉션s hard,카지노 게임 컬렉션 Dr. Grant says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션When we talk about communicating between systems, we카지노 게임 컬렉션re talking in the hundreds of nanoseconds.카지노 게임 컬렉션
Designing the software that controls those networks is Dr. Grant카지노 게임 컬렉션s specialty.
카지노 게임 컬렉션That카지노 게임 컬렉션s my bag of tricks. I do new network designs and I solve problems,카지노 게임 컬렉션 he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션I카지노 게임 컬렉션m very proud to say that one of the network specifications I worked on 카지노 게임 컬렉션 the software interface design for networks that helps dictate how the hardware is designed 카지노 게임 컬렉션 that's in every single exascale supercomputer in the world.카지노 게임 컬렉션
