The fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s provided impetus for establishing a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and in 1992 the U.S. ceased all nuclear explosive testing. The Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Program was established in 1995 to support the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Defense Programs as their emphasis shifted from test-based confidence in the nuclear stockpile to simulation-based confidence. Under ASC, computer simulation capabilities are developed to analyze and predict the performance, safety, and reliability of nuclear weapons and to certify their functionality. ASC integrates the work of three Defense programs laboratories (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories) and university researchers nationally into a coordinated program administered by NNSA.
Historical information about ASC can be found in the following documents: Delivering Insight: The History of the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) and The Role of ASC in Stockpile Stewardship. Additionally, although several years old, this video provides informative background on the ASC Program. See also: https://asc.llnl.gov/hq
Sponsors
As part of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the ASC Program's funding largely comes from the NNSA Office of Defense Programs for nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship activities. Support for national security and homeland security work also comes from the NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, the Department of Homeland Security, various Department of Defense sponsors, and other federal agencies.
Visit the NNSA website for more information about the national ASC Program.
PSAAP: University Alliances
The Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program (PSAAP) is the primary mechanism by which the NNSA’s ASC program engages the U.S. academic community in advancing science-based modeling and simulation.
Visits
Visit us virtually! The Livermore Computing Complex has been added to the LLNL virtual tour.
Internal Users Only: for Livermore Computing Complex Building 453 tour information, please see directions on SD Tour Information. Click the "Request Tours" button to submit a form.
Contacts
ASC Program Contact
ASC Program Office
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
P.O. Box 808, L-554
Phone: (925) 423-7088
Fax: (925) 423-5820
ASC Web Contact
To report problems with or inquire about information on the ASC website, or if you are unable to find the information you are seeking, send e-mail to asc-webmaster [at] llnl.gov (asc-webmaster[at]llnl[dot]gov).
