Academician Oleg BELOTSERKOVSKY, Director, RAS Institute of Automation and Design Engineering

It was some 15 years ago when the leaders of what was then the Soviet Union and their Indian counterparts signed a document called "Comprehensive Long-Term Program of Scientific and Technical Cooperation". The document covered joint studies in key areas of science, including mathematics, theoretical and applied mechanics, physics and astronomy, ecology, chemistry and biotechnology, to name but a few. The program of research was being implemented with an active participation of many leading centers and such prominent figures of Russian science as the Nobel Prize laureate, Academician V. Prokhorov, academicians Yu. Gulyaev and K. Zamarayev, F. Kuznetsov, G. Marchuk, K. Frolov and A. Yanshin.

A special place in this program was given to the development and applications of modern technology - supercomputers of the latest generations - which was prompted by the need for streamlining the organizational forms of our cooperation and promoting closer contacts between scientists and specialists of the two countries.

And it was back in 1995 that the RAS Institute of Automation and Design Engineering (IADE) and India's main computer design center-the Center of Advanced Computer Technologies (C-DAC, city of Poona) set up a joint Rusindtekh enterprise.

Today C-DAC and IADE RAS continue their fruitful cooperation. India has supplied to this country one of the fastest computer systems PARAM whose capacity will be brought up to 100 GF. The unit is available in a multiprocessor version on the modular principle, using state-of-the-art processors of different frequencies and boasts exceptional reliability which makes it possible to use it for solving problems of increased complexity And it should be stressed that India today is one of the world leaders in computer technology; it produces 4.5 bln dollars worth of software a year, being second only to the United State in this respect.

As for our Russian scientists, they have accumulated years of experience in developing what we call universal algorithms used for digital modeling of volumetric multidimensional (i.e. non-linear) problems associated with various branches of science and technology and calling for increased computer "resources", or capabilities. This includes aerodynamics, seismology, medicine, etc.

At the present time researchers of IADE RAS focus their efforts on building mathematical models, methods and algorithms (including those for parallel architecture computers). This provides the basis for

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producing application packages and automated work stations for dealing with problems like: studies of different processes and phenomena; expert assessment of design and engineering solutions; design of aircraft prototypes, automobiles, ships, highspeed trains and the development of ways and means of combating urban air pollution. Much is being done for the development of automated cybernetic vision systems, different systems of expert assessment and their multiple applications for prognosticating the course of natural phenomena and anomalies, diagnostics and non-invasive diagnostics of various medical disorders. In a word, achievements scored by scientists of the two countries have proved to be most practical, promising and extremely profitable for us all.

Bearing in mind current progress in the development of multiprocessor computer technology and the need of developing multipurpose software, the Russian Academy and the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India (DST) have reached an agreement on elevating our mutual cooperation to a new and higher level. With this aim in view the RAS President, Academician Yu. Osipov, and DST Secretary, Professor VS. Ramamurthy, signed on November 20, 1998 a "Program of Cooperation in Promising Computer Studies". It is sponsored by the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation and on the Indian side by the Department of Electronics of the Ministry of Science and Techno-

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logy. The document provided for the establishment on the basis of IADE RAS of a Russian-Indian Center for Advanced Computer Research (RICCR) and its equipment with PARAM supercomputers (with the expenses being shared by the Indian and Russian sides).

The inauguration of RICCR took place on July 3, 2000 and the ceremony was attended on the Indian side by Prof. M. M. Joshi - Minister of Science and Technology; DST staff members - Prof. V. S. Ramamurthy, Yu. P. Kumar and R.K. Arora - Director of C-DAC; S. K. Lambah - India's Ambassador to Russia and H. M. Saxena- Embassy Counsellor. The Russian side was represented by: Academician G. Mesyats - RAS Vice-President; Academician M. Kirpichnikov - First Deputy of the RF Minister of Industry, Science and Technologies; Academician M. Alfimov - Chairman of RFFI; academicians O. Belotserkovsky, Ye. Velikhov, Yu. Gulyaev, L. Leontyev, G. Marchuk, A. Mikaelyan, A. Petrov, G. Savin, V. Savin and V. Sadovnichy and Russia's Ambassador to India, A. Kadakin.

September of the year 2000 saw the signing of the documents for the establishment of RICCR and on December 7 of that same year it received the certificate of the Moscow Registration Chamber. The Center is administered by its Joint Supervisory Council which includes government officials and leading scientists of the two countries.

Today the IADE RAS and RICCR have at their disposal PARAM systems of three types: a PARAM 8000 computer on 128 processors, built on the basis of transputer blocks T-800, T-805 which has been in operation since 1991; PARAM Open Frame - with 4 Ultra Spark processors (in operation since 1997) and PARAM 10000 with 16 Ultra Spark processors (in operation since 2000). Added to these in January 2001 was a computer of 12.8 GF, which is incorporated into the local network of IADE RAS and RICCR with direct access for all staff from their work stations and also for outside INTERNET users. A contract has been signed for doubling the capacity of the IADE RAS-RICCR

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Center, and talks are in progress on the delivery of a teraflop machine.

In March 2001 the Center and C-DAC signed contracts on joint research in seismic data processing, computer hydrodynamics, modelling of atmospheric processes and cooperation in other areas of scientific and technological development. Taking part on the Russian side, apart from our Institute staff, are researchers from other Academic centers, including: Institute of Computer Mathematics, Computer Center of Systemic Programming, Joint Institute of Physics of the Earth named after O. Schmidt; Moscow University Institute of Mechanics, etc. New proposals being prepared now include the development of a general-purpose multifunctional software package for the Hyper-Solver computer with parallel architecture.

The dynamic growth of the RICCR potential gives grounds for hopes that its activities will further promote the development of contacts between our scientists and specialists and the general cause of scientific and technical cooperation between our two and traditionally friendly countries. During a recent visit to the Center India's Minister of Science and Technology, M. M. Joshi, said he was "very pleased with the visit to the Institute and meetings with You and Your colleagues". He said that the Russian-Indian Center for Advanced Computer Research is a unique organization of its kind for promoting international economic cooperation. He said that he was confident that scientific and technical cooperation between Russia and India not only helps maintain a high level of our scientific and academic links, but that it also offers a great potential for the economic benefit of both of our countries.

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