This project develops the open-source OpenCilk, a software platform and ecosystem designed to enable parallel computing, the running of applications on multiple processors to speed up running times.

Moore’s Law, an observation that the number of transistors on microchips doubles every two years, has meant that technology has been consistently improving for decades. Over time, electronics get smaller, cheaper, faster, more accurate and more powerful, providing countless benefits to society. However, this trend cannot continue indefinitely, and transistors will soon reach a fundamental physical barrier after which they cannot be made smaller, leading researchers to investigate alternate ways to continue the pace of progress.
Parallel computing is one novel way to address this problem, where processing speed is increased by running applications on multiple processors simultaneously. This project develops a new open-source software platform and ecosystem, called OpenCilk, which will provide an easy-to-modify software platform to enable parallel-programming researchers to explore new ways to compute on modern parallel hardware. Since parallel-programming research provides the technology that allows domain experts to program computationally intensive applications - including emerging national priorities such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computational engineering and science - this project fosters next-generation research in both parallel computing and computationally intensive application domains. This project also supports Cilk Hub, a community-driven organization charged with maintaining and enhancing OpenCilk, as well as developing educational materials for parallel computing.