Santa and HPC

“So just how does Santa manage to travel the earth in just one evening and deliver all those presents” is a question you might get asked this Christmas. Sure, you can opt for the “magic” answer but perhaps Santa has a really awesome HPC environment up there at the North Pole?

Red Bull Racing is using HPC software to significantly accelerate its computer-aided design and engineering processes for its winning Formula One Cars. If Red Bull can use HPC to optimise designs that maximise the downforce and reduce the drag cars create on the track, then why can’t Santa use HPC for his sleigh design?

As Santa is going to experience some turbulent and icy conditions on his route this year, I’d like to think his elves have been running simulations via HPC to ensure his sleigh can cope with these adverse conditions, without sacrificing on speed. Throw into the mix the rising cost of gasoline, in monetary and environmental terms, Santa’s going to have to ensure his sleigh is energy efficient too. Of course the rise in population is something he needs to keep in mind, Santa now needs to make far more stops that he did many years ago, and can take advantage of HPC to analyze all those naughty and nice lists to take the most efficient route possible.

The design conundrum outlined above really does point toward the need for an HPC environment at the North Pole. Santa just can’t afford to take a risk with the design of his sleigh. There would just be too many disappointed children to imagine.

So when you’re faced with the “just how does Santa do it” question, why not take this as an opportunity to introduce the child to the infinite possibilities of High Performance Computing!



Note: All opinions in this blog are my own and not officially endorsed by other people named Saint Nick.