News Archive

by Vince Dixon A Northwestern University researcher studying intermetallic compounds relies on high-performance computing to conduct atomic modeling prior to planning experiments. When two or more metals are joined by soldering, intermetallic compounds often form at the interface between the base metal and solder. The solder joints are used in a variety of applications, ranging … Continued

Over the past year, NCSA and IBM have made incredible progress toward the realization of the Blue Waters system. You have read about many of those achievements in the last four issues of Access as well as other Blue Waters project information, such as the completion of the National Petascale Computing Facility (NPCF), the progress … Continued

An Illinois team headed by computer science professor Laxmikant Kale is helping scientists tune their applications for Blue Waters, even before the hardware exists. He chatted with Access’ Trish Barker about that process. You’ve been involved with the Blue Waters project since the beginning, stretching all the way back to the proposal process. Tell me … Continued

Archer Daniels Midland Company, the global agricultural processing company headquartered in Decatur, Illinois, is the latest Fortune 50 company to join NCSA’s Private Sector Program. “This partnership is an exciting opportunity to bring together both basic and applied researchers from the University of Illinois campus and beyond,” said Merle Giles, director of NCSA’s Private Sector … Continued

by Vince Dixon NCSA partners with health organizations to develop INDICATOR, a tool to catch outbreaks and help formulate response plans. Typically, local clinics send reports of illnesses and symptoms to state and national organizations like the Centers for Disease Control. With this method, “the local people who are collecting the data often don’t see … Continued

What is the universe made of? What do engineers have to do with baseball? What is a supercomputer and how do scientists use them? Find out at the first ever USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall Oct. 23-24! Children, families, and all with curious minds are invited to explore science and … Continued

John Towns, head of the Persistent Infrastructure Directorate at NCSA, will be among the panelists during an Oct. 20 webcast on GPU Computing: Confronting the Need for Speed. Along with Michael Wolfe (The Portland Group) and Mark R. Fernandez (Dell), Towns will discuss the benefits of GPU technologies as performance accelerators for computationally intensive and … Continued

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) will lead a team that has been awarded a three-year grant of $1.4 million from the National Science Foundation to develop a better way to manage the development of complex science and engineering codes. As supercomputers become more powerful, they also become more complex. In order to take … Continued

Less than two years after breaking ground, the University of Illinois’ National Petascale Computing Facility was completed and ready for occupancy in June 2010. The facility will be home for the Blue Waters sustained-petascale supercomputer when it comes online. The facility is a national asset, providing the infrastructure needed for NCSA’s supercomputer and other hardware … Continued

by Vince Dixon Computing time from I-CHASS and NCSA helps scholars improve digitization of 18th century text. From the works of Fielding to Austen, many pieces of 18th century literature are still preserved today. While modern editions of such classics can be found in libraries or bookstores, the 18th century originals are sometimes stored for … Continued

Few of the advantages of the national cyberinfrastructure will be realized without scientists and engineers who understand the new capabilities that it provides. The cybereducation team at NCSA helps bridge the gap between research and education by conducting activities and programs to disseminate advanced technologies to new—as well as established—communities, encouraging them to adopt computational … Continued

Scientists use NCSA and other TeraGrid resources to reveal that the most common mineral on Earth is relatively uncommon deep within the planet. by Pam Frost Gorder Scientists have used quantum mechanics to reveal that the most common mineral on Earth is relatively uncommon deep within the planet. Using NCSA’s Abe and Cobalt supercomputers, along … Continued