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EO 13702Executive OrderObama · D Quiet signal

Executive Order 13702

Creating a National Strategic Computing Initiative

This executive order establishes the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI), a coordinated federal strategy to advance U.S. leadership in high-performance computing (HPC) through 2030. It designates lead agencies (DOE, DOD, NSF), foundational R&D agencies (IARPA, NIST), and deployment agencies to pursue exascale computing, post-semiconductor technologies, and public-private collaboration in HPC research and deployment.

Federal Register Open PDF 80 FR 46177

Impact dates

  1. Establish viable path for post-Moore's Law HPC systems

  2. Final mandatory annual implementation plan update (5 years)

  3. Final mandatory annual presidential report (5 years)

  4. First annual implementation plan update and progress documentation

  5. Annual presidential report on NSCI status (year 1 of 5)

  6. Executive Council establishes implementation plan

Key directives

  • Establish NSCI as whole-of-government HPC strategy
  • DOE/DOD/NSF as lead agencies for exascale, data analytics, and scientific discovery
  • IARPA and NIST as foundational R&D agencies for alternative computing paradigms and measurement science
  • NASA, FBI, NIH, DHS, NOAA as deployment agencies for mission-based HPC requirements
  • Executive Council co-chaired by OSTP and OMB Directors
  • Executive Council meets no less than twice yearly in first year

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • NSCI Executive Council established with OSTP and OMB co-chairs
  • Agency roles designated

Near term (90d)

  • Executive Council must establish implementation plan

Long term

  • 15-year path for post-Moore's Law HPC systems
  • 5 years of annual implementation plan updates and presidential reports
  • Exascale computing system development

Risks & tensions

  • Subject to availability of appropriations — funding not guaranteed
  • No enforcement mechanism if agencies fail to collaborate
  • Consensus-based Executive Council may deadlock; resolution process vague
  • 15-year technology roadmap assumes sustained political commitment across administrations
  • Exascale timeline ambitious given semiconductor physics challenges
Executive Order 13702: Creating a National Strategic Computing Initiative · Executive Orders