Accelerating Scientific Discovery Through Computation and Visualization.
Accelerating Scientific Discovery Through Computation
and Visualization.
(1438 K)
Sims, J. S.; Hagedorn, J. G.; Ketcham, P. M.;
Satterfield, S. G.; Griffin, T. J.; George, W. L.;
Fowler, H. A.; Ende, B. A.; Hung, H. K.; Bohn, R. B.;
Koontz, J. E.; Martys, N. S.; Bouldin, C. E.; Warren, J.
A.; Feder, D. L.; Clark, C. W.; Filla, B. J.; Devaney,
J. E.
NISTIR 6709; 25 p. January 22, 2001.
Journal of Research of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Vol. 105, No. 6, 875-894,
November/December 2000.
Available from:
For more information contact: pdf version available at:
http://www.nist.gov/jres
Keywords:
computation; discovery science; distributed processing;
immersive environments; IMPI; interoperable MPI; message
passing interface; MPI; parallel processing; scientific
visualization
Abstract:
The rate of scientific discovery can be accelerated
through computation and visualization. This
acceleration results from the synergy of expertise,
computing tools, and hardware for enabling
high-performance computation, information science, and
visualization that is provided by a team of computation
and visualization scientists collaborating in a
peer-to-peer effort with the research scientists. In
the context of this discussion, high performance refers
to capabilities beyond the current state of the art in
desktop computing. To be effective in this arena, a
team comprising a critical mass of talent, parrallel
computing techniques, visualization algorithms, advanced
visualization hardware, and a recurring investment is
required to stay beyond the desktop capabilities. This
article describes, through examples, how the Scientific
Applications and Visualization Group (SAVG) at NIST has
utilized high performance parallel computing and
visualization to accelerate condensate modeling, (2)
fluid flow in porous materials and in other complex
geometries, (3) flows in suspensions, (4) x-ray
absorption, (5) dielectric breakdown modeling, and (6)
dendritic growth in alloys.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899