For those involved in high-performance computing (HPC) and computational science and engineering (CSE), Gentoo, is a powerful tool, both on the desktop and on servers or clusters. With it, users can build environments that do not waste time offering unwanted network services and system daemons, and the binaries for the OS can be highly optimized to take full advantage of the system architecture. In particular, this can improve the efficiency of numerical simulations that depend on floating point performance. Shaving 1 or 2 cycles from an operation may not seem like much, but when the routine is executed 5 million times per calculation, the savings rapidly add up. Also, Gentoo doesn't have a rigid release cycle with EOL dates forced on users who have working systems. Administrators and users have the ultimate control over when upgrades are made and to which packages. Finally, a group of enthusiastic volunteers have written ebuilds for over 100 different scientific and engineering applications and libraries, making them readily accessible to the user community.

With the potential advantages of Gentoo-based HPC and CSE environments, we feel that the Gentoo community ought to do more to reach out to potential users and developers in these fields. Gentoo doesn't come without a learning curve, and even when that curve is conquered the need for a specialized peer group is not obviated. Furthermore, Gentoo lacks name recognition in these fields, and even when a developer or administrator finds Gentoo and discovers the benefits of its philosophy, there is often a sense of isolation that discourages him or her from moving forward with Gentoo-based solutions. To address these issues, we propose the formation of a Gentoo-science project, encompassing both desktop and server issues, with the following list of potential project goals.

1. To act as a clearinghouse for information about the use of Gentoo Linux in computational science and engineering, including the installation of major third-party applications, such as Matlab and Mathematica, which are often less than completely Gentoo-friendly.
2. To be a presence for Gentoo at technical meetings and trade shows, both in informal settings, such as BOFs and badge button campaigns, and in more formal settings, such as organized symposia or vendor booths.
3. To coordinate with the sci herd and other appropriate Gentoo herds for bug-testing, code validation, and potential tree restructuring as necessary and desirable.
4. To provide input to project teams about the specific needs of computational science and engineering users, in particular the gentoo-server, gentoo-cluster, and gentoo-desktop teams.
5. To advocate with developers and independent software vendors for increased distribution neutrality in specifying software pre-requisites for applications, and to encourage use of packaging systems that are ebuild-friendly.

Contact information:

Scientific Gentoo has an active mailing list gentoo-science@lists.gentoo.org which is intended to be used for science related discussion. Please report any problems or anything bug alike to Gentoo bugzilla.