MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., — NASA will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Pleiades, the world’s third-fastest supercomputer, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008.

The ceremony will be held in the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Featured during the ceremony will be brief remarks by S. Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames, Walter Hussey, director of the Strategic Capabilities Assets Program (SCAP) at NASA Headquarters, Bo Ewald, chief executive officer of SGI, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president of Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.

WHAT: Ribbon-cutting ceremony for NASA’s newest supercomputer, Pleiades

WHERE: NASA Advanced Supercomputer facility, Bldg. N258 auditorium (Room 127) located off main lobby, NASA Ames Research Center. Bldg N258 is located on Allen Road, between Wright Avenue and Parsons Avenue.

WHEN: Refreshments served in lobby starting at 9:30 a.m. PST on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008; ceremony in adjacent auditorium 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. PST, followed by ribbon-cutting in computer room.

News media will have an opportunity to ask questions, interview officials and tour the computer facility. Media interested in attending are asked to call Mike Mewhinney, 650-604-3937 or 650-207-1323, by 3 p.m. PST on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008, as space is limited.

To get to NASA Ames, take the Moffett Field/NASA Parkway exit off U.S. 101 and drive east to the main gate. At the gate, pull into the small parking lot on the right and enter the Visitor Badge Office to obtain a visitor pass. To get to Bldg. N258, enter the main gate and take the first left into the second gate to NASA Ames. Follow the road around to the right and take a right onto De France Avenue. Follow De France all the way down to Allen Road and take a left. The supercomputing facility is located on your right at Parsons Avenue.

For information about the Pleiades supercomputer, visit:

http://www.nas.nasa.gov

For information about SGI, visit:

http://www.sgi.com

For information about Intel Corp., visit:

http://www.intel.com