The Centre for Advanced Supercomputing Software (CASS) is offering $4 million for those who can come up with software for multithreaded processors in the Cray XMT.

The money is up for grabs for anyone who can pen software ranging from Internet security and power grid stability to complex biological networks. Most of the cash is coming from the U.S. Department of Defense, which is a bit worried that there is not enough software out there to take advantage of developments in data access. 

Moe Khaleel, project leader, said that new systems allow faster analysis of complex problems, like understanding and predicting how the power grid behaves. The Centre will focus on applications for the multithreaded Cray XMT. One of the boffins involved in the project has already used a predecessor of the Cray XMT to run typical software programs that help operators keep the power grid running smoothly.