675 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3

Speaker: Timothy G. Mattson, Parallel Computing Evangelist, Intel Corp., Microcomputer Technology Laboratory

Abstract:
All of the major CPU vendors are moving to multi-core products. These processors are not a passing fad or a sleazy marketing ploy. Multi-core CPUs are the only way for CPU performance to increase within a fixed power envelope as transistor densities continue to climb. In this presentation, we will talk about why multi-core CPUs are an inevitable consequence of semiconductor technology. Then we will consider some of the consequences of this trend and what software developers must do to prepare for these next generation CPUs.

Bio:
Tim Mattson earned a PhD. for his work on quantum molecular scattering theory (UCSC, 1985). This was followed by a Post-doc at Caltech where he worked on the Caltech/JPL hypercubes. Since then, he has held a number of commercial and academic positions with high performance computers as the common thread. Application areas have included mathematics libraries, exploration geophysics, computational chemistry, molecular biology, and bioinformatics.

Dr. Mattson joined Intel in 1993. Among his many roles at Intel, he was applications manager for the ASCI teraFLOPS project, helped create OpenMP, founded the Open Cluster Group (OSCAR), and launched Intel's programs in computing for the Life Sciences.

Currently, Dr. Mattson is conducting research on performance modeling for future multi-core microprocessors and how different programming models map onto these systems. This work builds on his recent book on Design Patterns in Parallel Programming (written with Professors Beverly Sanders and Berna Massingill and published by Addison Wesley). The patterns provide the "human angle" and help keep his research focused on technologies that help general programmers solve real problems.

Official Website: http://www.vanhpc.org/nextmeeting

Added by mmayo on August 30, 2006