Enlarging applications

A staffer at the National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin examines the operation condition of Tianhe-I on Feb 10. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tianhe-I has become a supercomputer widely used in various fields. Yan Wei, general manager of Binhai Service Out-sourcing Industrial Co., Ltd in Tianjin, often titles Tianhe-I as the "Olympic champion of China's technology".

"Supercomputers developed in other countries normally aim at a few specific fields but Tianhe-I can be used in various industries including petroleum exploration, gene sequencing, and equipment manufacturing," Yan explained.

For instance, smog had been a problem in North China for some time and has become a concern by the entire country. Researchers at the National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin cooperated with units such as the China Meteorological Administration and began a smog prediction program with Tianhe-I.

Meng Xiangfei, head of the Research and Development Department of the National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin, said it took only two hours to obtain the prediction data for five days with high accuracy.

To date, Tianhe-I carries out more than 1,400 calculation missions every day and thousands of research teams are conducting research with the help of this super machine.