Steven F. Ashby SIAG-CSE Chair March 24, 2003

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Steven F. AshbySIAG-CSE ChairMarch 24, 2003
Computational Science Engineeringmeeting
national needs
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Computational science challenges arise in a
variety of applications

• Computational science is emerging as its own
  discipline
• Simulation is becoming a peer to theory and
  experiment in the process of scientific discovery
• Integration is the key
• domain science expert
• applied mathematician
• computer scientist

Turbulence
Fusion
Materials
Biology
Environment
Lasers
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Computational Applied Math Domain
Science Science Computer Science
Engineering


Biology Physics Chemistry Engineering Environmenta
l
Science and Engineering Applications
Applied Mathand CS
Math sparse linear solvers nonlinear
equations differential eqns multilevel
methods AMR techniques optimization eigenproblems
CS data management data mining visualization
programg models languages, OS compilers,
debuggers architectural issues
Computational scientists bring applied
mathematics and computer science capabilities to
bear on challenging problems in science and
engineering
Computational Science Engineering is a team
effort!
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Our focus has been on solving PDEs on
increasingly finer meshes

• Traditional supercomputing applications involve
  the solution of a PDE on a computational grid
• computational fluid dynamics
• oil reservoir and groundwater management
• stockpile stewardship
• ICF and MFE applications
• Bigger machines and smarter algorithms have
  allowed more realistic simulations
• Moores Law and massively parallel computers have
  provided unprecedented computing power
• scalable algorithms enable large-scale simulations

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Imagine the future of computational science by
looking at todays challenges

• Consider the process of scientific simulation
• software development
• problem definition and simulation setup
• data analysis and understanding
• There has been no equivalent of Moores Law for
  how we develop our software
• Increasingly complex simulations often require
  months to set up and months to analyze the
  results

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Investment needed in several areas (illustrative,
not exhaustive)

• Multi-level methods for multi-scale problems
• Rapid problem setup tools (mesh generation and
  discretization methods for complex geometries)
• Flexible software frameworks and interoperable
  s/w components for rapid application development
• Computer architectures performance optimization
• Information exploitation (data management, image
  analysis, info/data visualization, data mining)
• Systems engineering to integrate simulation,
  sensors, and info analysis into a decision
  support capability
• Discrete simulation (scenario planning)
• Validation and Verification (coupling to
  experiments)

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This workshop is about shaping CSE programs for
federal funding agencies

• We should focus on how CSE can benefit the nation
• enhancing national homeland security
• promoting economic vitality and energy security
• improving human health
• We need to emphasize the multi-disciplinary
  nature of CSE and its track record in
  delivering!
• distinguish ourselves from constituent
  disciplines
• need to do a better job of getting the word out!
• Think big 250M, multi-agency initiative!

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We have long-time and natural partners in the
federal government

• DOE has been long-time leader in CSE
• ASCI re-invigorated supercomputing
• Office of Science is championing the cause with
  its successful SciDAC initiative
• NSF has long invested in IT and CS, and is
  beginning to think more about CSE
• DHS has pressing needs for help in simulation and
  information fusion
• NIH should be a bigger player than it is, but
  there are serious cultural obstacles

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SIAM Activity Group promotes Computational
Science Engineering

• SIAG-CSE established in Dec 2000 and already is
  largest SIAG with 800 members
• Foster collaborations among applied
  mathematicians, computer scientists, domain
  scientists and engineers
• Promote and facilitate Computational Science and
  Engineering as an academic discipline
• Promote simulation as a peer to theory and
  experiment in the process of scientific discovery
• Has sponsored two successful conferences
• http//www.siam.org/siags/siagcse.htm