Soviet Advanced Technology: The Case of High-Performance Computing

Peter Wolcott, Ph.D.
Dissertation, University of Arizona, 1993

Available from UMI Dissertation Services (800) 521-0600, order #9333305

Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents
2. Introduction
3. Related Research and Methodology
4. An Overview of Soviet High-Performance Computing
5. Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Technology
6. Scientific Research Institute of Control Computers
7. The MARS Projects
8. Other Soviet High-Performance Computing Projects
9. Conclusions
10. What Is To Be Done?
11. Appendix A: High Performance Computing: Controllability and Cooperation
12. Appendix B: Glossary of Organizational Acronyms
13. Appendix C: Glossary of Acronyms
14. References

Abstract

This study used Soviet high-performance computing (HPC) as a vehicle to study technological innovation, organizational transformation, and R&D of advanced technologies in centralized-directive economies in the past and during periods of transition.

The study illustrates the limits of centralized-directive economic management's ability to coordinate and prioritize development of complex, rapidly evolving technologies. Progress of individual projects depends on the degree to which they drive supporting industries, use immature technologies, have an industrial vs. academic orientation, and are developed in conjunction with production facilities. The benefits of the reforms have been overshadowed by economic decline and fundamental weaknesses in the supporting infrastructure. The concept of a unified sector-wide technological paradigm does not adequately explain the diversity of architectural approaches and specific development trajectories. The nature of the revenue stream and opportunities for alternative organizational forms have a significant influence on organizational structure.