Science and engineering impact

Simulations carried out using Blue Waters have determined the structure of the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), which causes a highly infectious and often fatal illness in domestic and wild rabbits. This research, carried out collaboratively by researchers at the University of Illinois, the University of California-San Diego and several Chinese research institutions, has been published in PLOS Pathogens.

All-atom model of the hexameric form of the CA protein as found in cylindrical assemblies of HIV capsids in vitro. This model has been determined using the Blue Waters Early Science System, and experimental (x-ray and cryo-EM) measurements.
Read more about Blue Waters ESS results

The Type Ia supernova ignition point, which is converting large amounts of carbon-12 into heavier elements by nuclear fusion.
Read more about Blue Waters ESS results

The sustained-petaflop computing power provided by the Blue Waters project will allow scientists and engineers to make extraordinary leaps in knowledge and discovery.

Many research teams have already begun to achieve results using the Early Science System, 15% of the full Blue Waters system that was available for research use in spring 2012. Illinois biophysicist Klaus Schulten use the ESS to study the HIV protein capsid in atomic detail and reported that, "Not in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the greatness of the new...machine. We are sure Blue Waters will make science and engineering history." Read more about some of the outstanding results achieved using the Blue Waters Early Science System.

More than 30 teams with Petascale Computing Resource Allocations are preparing to use the full Blue Waters system. They will conduct petascale research aimed at gaining new insights into hurricanes and tornadoes, supernovae, the formation of galaxies, earthquakes, and more.

Sort teams by area of study:
Astrophysics/Cosmology | Biophysics/Chemistry | Earth Sciences | Engineering | High-Performance Computing | Physics | Weather and Climate | complete list

PRAC teams studying: Physics

Petascale plasma physics simulations using PIC codes
Principal investigator(s): Warren Mori, University of California-Los Angeles

Lattice quantum chromodynamics on Blue Waters
Principal investigator(s): Robert Sugar, University of California, Santa Barbara

Read about Robert Sugar's recent results using the Blue Waters Early Science System

Breakthrough petascale quantum Monte Carlo calculations
Principal investigator(s): Shiwei Zhang, College of William and Mary