Interestingly, it seems that the transputer was employed in the
High Energy Transient Explorer spacecraft observatory, launched in 1996 and then again in 2000, which then led to the discovery of several Gamma Ray Bursts.
Also, as you indicate, the success of technology developments thesedays may be dependent on who is doing, (or funding), the research. It seems that companies like IBM are presently behind graphene transistor technology. I'll keep an eye out for others .. if Intel gets into it, I'd bet it would take off.
There is always a need for faster, more energy efficient hardware processor technologies. By this, I'm talking about the limitations stemming from the physics of the base materials used in the chips themselves. As I mentioned previously, it would seem that Si and GaAs MOSFETs are pushing the basic limitations in the physical parameters (ie: transconductance).
The transputer concept seems to have been about architectural changes in the design of microprocessor (CPU) chips (and also, as you say, matching this to the OS/software). The chips were still designed on the standard base (substrate) materials of the day. Graphene is a new base substrate material, which posesses unique abilities at the transistor level, which would ulitmately permit re-architecture of CPU design, along the same lines as the transputer concept, if anyone ever chooses to have a go at this.
The introduction of Graphene base transistors represents a pure shift in the technology basis of all chips … CPU, logic, etc. This shift is to a large certain extent, independent of CPU and software architectures which would re-evolve to exploit the basic physics hurdles, overcome at the electron etc level.
To me, this is the definition of a pure 'Technology Shift' and is very much distinct from 'Re-Architecture' or redesign.
Cheers & Rgds.