The Frontier supercomputer includes some of the world’s most advanced technologies.

How did the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and its vendor partners AMD and HPE Cray overcome the daunting obstacles that stood between them and the world's first exascale supercomputer? It took a lot of organization, several false starts and some fortuitous advances in computing technology.

As renewable sources of energy such as wind and sun power are increasingly added to the country’s electrical grid, old-fashioned nuclear energy is also being primed for a resurgence.

Ensuring Frontier runs as advertised spanned two fronts: the hardware and software, handled mainly by the Operations Section, and the codes developed to run the various simulations, handled mainly by the Scientific Engagement Section.

Here are a few of the many talented ORNL employees behind the construction and operation of Frontier.

ORNL is proud of its role in fostering the next generation of scientists and engineers.

In 1942, Katharine (Kay) Way was teaching physics at the University of Tennessee when a former professor recruited her to join the top-secret Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago.