The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans for a new supercomputer named 'Doudna,' set to be operational in 2026 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

Named after Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, renowned for her work on CRISPR gene-editing technology, the system aims to bolster scientific research across disciplines such as genomics, chemistry, physics, and biology.

'Doudna' will incorporate NVIDIA's forthcoming Vera Rubin architecture, featuring advanced GPUs and CPUs designed for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications.

These components will be housed in Dell Technologies' liquid-cooled servers, enhancing energy efficiency and computational capacity.

The supercomputer is expected to serve over 11,000 researchers, providing a platform for complex simulations and data analysis.

At the announcement event, Energy Secretary Chris Wright emphasized the role of 'Doudna' in maintaining the United States' leadership in scientific innovation and national security.

The DOE's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) will manage the system, continuing its tradition of naming supercomputers after prominent scientists, following predecessors like 'Perlmutter' and 'Cori.'

The development of 'Doudna' aligns with the DOE's commitment to advancing computational infrastructure to support cutting-edge research and address complex scientific challenges.