"HPC in Everyday Life" DVD Now Available - Madagascar's Penguins Showcase High Performance Computing Applications

WASHINGTON--Sept. 19, 2005--The Council on Competitiveness today announced that its popular video on the importance of high performance computing (HPC), narrated by the Penguin characters from the hit movie Madagascar, is now available for the public via the Council's website. The video, created by DreamWorks Animation SKG in collaboration with the Council, depicts how high performance computing (HPC) impacts the daily life of the average consumer. A preview of can be viewed at the Council's website http://www.compete.org .

Deborah Wince-Smith, president of the Council on Competitiveness, sees the video as an educational tool, as well as a way to spur innovative thinking. "This short DVD can be shown to everyone, from the highest levels of government to elementary school children," she noted. "We hope it will help policymakers recognize the importance of HPC to our national competitiveness and ability to innovate for the future, while also helping young people to appreciate the fun of math and science."

From medicine to consumer products, from energy security to aerospace, this video illustrates the importance of HPC in breakthrough innovation, and demonstrates the need for continued support. The video reveals how HPC is behind many of the products and services that we take for granted in everyday life.

Ed Leonard, Chief Technology Officer for DreamWorks Animation SKG, serves on the Council's High Performance Computing Advisory Committee. "DreamWorks Animation was pleased to help produce this DVD for the Council," said Leonard. "High performance computing is essential in creating movies like Shrek or Madagascar - we simply would not be able to produce them without it. We wanted to help showcase the many ways HPC supports leading businesses as well as how it touches people's lives every day."

Over 30 organizations contributed to this video, including industrial HPC users: HPC manufacturers, software developers, universities, and national laboratories. It was recently unveiled at the Second Annual High Performance Computing (HPC) Users Conference in Washington, DC.

Copies of the DVD may be obtained through the Council's website, www.compete.org. Click on the image of the penguins for ordering information.

Members of the media may obtain a copy of the DVD by emailing media@compete.org

About The Council on Competitiveness

An organization of the top business, university and labor leaders in the United States, the Council on Competitiveness is responsible for influencing the course of American competitiveness on regional, national and global scales. The Council stands unique in its ability to anticipate and respond to changing economic conditions through a series of comprehensive programs to maintain competitiveness and security, support innovation, benchmark national competitiveness and shape public policy. The Council is available on the Web at http://www.compete.org .