MODIFICATION
A -- Army High Performance Computing Research Center Pre-Proposal Conference
- Notice Date
- 4/6/2006
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- RDECOM Acquisition Center - Research Triangle Park, ATTN: AMSSB-ACR, Research Triangle Park Contracting Division, P.O. Box 12211, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211
- ZIP Code
- 27709-2211
- Solicitation Number
- W911NF-06-R-0003
- Response Due
- 4/13/2006
- Archive Date
- 6/12/2006
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The U.S. Army has made a significant investment in basic research in High Performance Computing (HPC) and its application as well as the infrastructure to support such research. This was underscored by the establishment, in 1989, and the continued s ustainment thereafter of the Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC), hereinafter called the Center. Armys investments in HPC have resulted in the increasing utilization of computer based modeling and simulation by the Army scientific an d engineering community. These investments have also created a steady source of well-trained scientists and engineers in this critical area. The establishment of the Center and the continuation of the AHPCRC Program was and shall continue to be the embod iment of the Army's support of the broader national effort to maintain U.S. leadership in computing technology and its application to issues critical to U.S. national security. While other HPC related initiatives funded by other agencies exist (i.e. the Na tional Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, and other U.S. Department of Defense organizations), this Center is committed to insuring that the needs relevant to Army problems, in particular, are properly developed in predictable directions, witho ut waiting for initiatives which may be primarily driven by commercial or other federal or Defense needs. Through the AHPCRC Program, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) helps to stimulate and support the public purpose of furthering science in HPC a nd also helps fulfill the research and development goals of the Department of Army. More information about the current Center and AHPCRC Program can be found at http://www.ahpcrc.org. A key to the success of the AHPCRC Program is the collaborative researc h environment established between Government, Academia, and Industry. Under this collaborative research environment, basic research is conducted in computational sciences and engineering. The research covers research areas related to computational scienc es and engineering, to include interdisciplinary computational research (i.e. research involving more than one scientific discipline); and Scalable Algorithms and Software Technology. The objective of the basic research efforts include conducting innovati ve computational research in collaboration with Army scientists to accelerate the infusion of new technologies in support of Army Transformation; provide for the mutual exchange of researchers between the Army and the AHPCRC to facilitate the execution of joint research projects including the exploitation of high performance computing; and provide on- and off-site symposia and educational programs to increase awareness of this partnership program, to foster scientific interchange, and to facilitate transiti on of new technologies emerging as a result of this program to Army laboratories and development centers. Early access HPC systems are acquired, maintained and exploited for computational sciences research. This involves installing, integrating, operatin g and maintaining presently owned Government Furnished Property (GFP) at several sites and identifying, acquiring, installing, integrating and operating new and/or emerging HPC resources. All of these support efforts must be conducted in coordination wit h the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Office (HPCMO) concerning HPC systems. The availability and use of these HPC resources is both integral and critical to support the research being performed under the AHPCRC Program. The U. S. Army Resea rch Laboratory (ARL) is expecting to issue a Program Announcement (PA) to solicit proposals to continue the AHPCRC Program on or about 10 April 2006. A similar notice will be posted at the time of the issuance of the PA. Award will be made on the basis o f the best value to the Government. The Government anticipates awarding one Cooperative Agreement (31 U.S.C. 6305) for the AHPCRC Program under the authority o f 10 U.S.C. 2358 to fulfill the needs of the AHPCRC Program. In accordance with the DoD Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARs) that govern the use of Cooperative Agreements, Profit or Fee will be prohibited for the research efforts, i.e. all efforts th at are substantive to performance of the AHPCRC program. However, certain aspects of the support of the HPC resources described above may be considered goods and services needed to carry out the AHPCRC Program; and thus, a profit or fee may be appropriate to be paid for those goods or services. The award is expected to provide for a basic performance period of five (5) years with one (1) optional five (5) year extension period, bringing the total performance period to a potential maximum of ten (10) years . Interested Parties will be required to form a Consortium in order to respond to the Program Announcement. While the Consortium can be incorporated as a legal entity, there is no requirement for the Consortium to do so. The Consortium will be required t o draft Articles of Collaboration that will address various internal operational aspects of the Consortium. Proposals that do not include Articles of Collaboration signed by duly authorized representatives of each Consortium member will be considered non- responsive and the proposal will receive no further consideration for award. The Consortium must be capable of providing a research program over a five-year period with an option for an additional five-year period. Minimum Consortium Membership requirement s include a (1) an Academic Lead Member; (2) an Infrastructure and Administration Member; and (3) a Historically Black College or University/Minority Institution (HBCU/MI) Member. Other members (both educational and industrial) may be added as necessary to meet the goals of the AHPCRC Program. The Academic Lead Member must be an accredited advanced degree (Ph. D.) granting U.S. educational institution noted for world-class research in interdisciplinary computational sciences, algorithms and software devel opment. The Academic Lead Member is responsible for leading all of the research efforts of the Consortium, and managing transition, outreach and educational opportunities. The Infrastructure and Administration Member can be an industrial concern or an ac ademic institution. The Infrastructure and Administration Member is responsible for acquiring, installing, operating, and managing HPC systems and housing a significant amount of the existing HPC resources. They may also be involved in outreach and educat ional opportunities, as well as transitioning of the research results to Army scientists, and thus, the Infrastructure and Administration Member will be required to have Secret facility clearance. Further, the Infrastructure and Administration Member will be responsible for distributing the funding to the Consortium members based on the currently approved Program Plan of effort to be conducted under the cooperative agreement between the Army and the Consortium. In addition, Infrastructure and Administrati on Member will be responsible for monitoring and processing disbursements through the Army. Funding levels for the resultant Cooperative Agreement are subject to the availability of funds. Three types of funding are expected to be provided for under the Cooperative Agreement, i.e. (1) funding for basic research efforts; (2) funding for technology transition, educational opportunities, outreach and support of the HPC systems described above; and (3) funding for the acquisition of new HPC resources. Two l evels of funding are identified for this program, based on current budget submissions and supplemental funding that historically has been received for this program. Based on budget submissions, research efforts would be funded at an estimated value of $2, 000,000.00 per year, and efforts to operate and support the existing HPC resources of the program would be funded at an estimated value of $1,000,000.00 per yea r, over the potential ten year period of performance, with no budgeted funding for technology transition efforts or acquiring new HPC resources. However, based on supplemental funding that has been historically received for the program, funding above the budget submission values described above is possible. Additional funding for support of the HPC resources, technology transition, educational and outreach efforts, and management of the research program and the research partners is estimated at $15,000,00 0.00 per year, over the potential ten year period of performance. With respect to supplemental funding that historically has been received for acquiring new HPC resources, the estimated total value is $30,0000,000.00 for the basic period of performance of five years, and $30,000,000.00 for the optional additional five year period of performance. Proposals submitted in response to the PA are expected to be provided at both funding levels listed above. The Government expects the funding levels to fluctuat e over the period of performance and envisions adjusting the program goals to coincide with these fluctuations. The Government will assess the progress of the research effort yearly. Exercise of the five-year option will be based on a comprehensive review of technical performance, the availability of funds and Army needs. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on Tuesday, 18 April 2006, at 9:00 am local time, in Minneapolis, MN at the current facility housing the High Performance Computing (HPC) resources being used to accomplish the AHPCRC Program. The purpose of this Conference is to provide potential offerors an opportunity to view the existing HPC resources and the current infrastructure operations. Information will also be provided concerning the Res earch and Transition efforts. Potential offerors must pre-register with the Agreement Specialist, Debra Matthews, by 13 April 2006 in order to attend this Conference. Ms. Matthews can be reached at 919-549-4385 or deb.matthews@us.army.mil. The Conferen ce is expected to last no more than four hours. Information presented at the Conference will be made available for those who would like to have a copy of this information and for those who are unable to attend.
- Place of Performance
- Address: RDECOM Acquisition Center - Research Triangle Park ATTN: AMSSB-ACR, Research Triangle Park Contracting Division, P.O. Box 12211 Research Triangle Park NC
- Zip Code: 27709-2211
- Country: US
- Zip Code: 27709-2211
- Record
- SN01022259-W 20060408/060406221014 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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