Summit Supercomputer Probes Role of Supernovas in Laying Foundation for Life

Supernovas — the spectacular explosions that occur in dying stars — may hold the answers to many questions about the origins of life. The cataclysmic events are responsible for spreading throughout the universe the chemical elements formed within stars. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., are using the Summit supercomputer to shed new light on how these elements come to be.