| SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Editor’s Preface |
| Results from High-End Computing |
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We present in this article some of the science accomplishments
that would not have been possible without the resources of
advanced computing, the SciDAC program, and the collaborations
that embody the spirit of SciDAC.
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SciDAC is an interdisciplinary program within the Office of Science and SciDAC science spans a spectrum
of scientific disciplines ranging from the world of the
ultra-small, deep within the atomic nucleus, to the majestic
grandeur of stellar and cosmic dynamics. In between these scales,
SciDAC programs achieve impressive advances in materials science,
nanotechnology, chemistry, biology, geology, environmental
science, climate modeling, and more. In addition to basic
research, SciDAC also contributes to many applied sciences that
rely on advanced computing for precision, predictability, and
power.
The second issue of SciDAC Review will appear in 2006, which
has been named the Maxwell Year in honor of James Clerk Maxwell.
This follows the Einstein Year (2005), which celebrated Albert
Einstein’s contributions to science. We would like to start
this article on Science Accomplishments by paying tribute to some
of the science milestones associated with these doyens. In
addition to the direct benefits they have brought to science,
technology, and society, Maxwell’s equations represent an
intellectual marvel: the unification of electricity and
magnetism, which were formerly perceived as distinct forces. This
was a cornerstone in our attempts to unify all the fundamental
forces — a dream that Einstein spent his final days trying
to realize. Today, finding the physical basis of Einstein’s
cosmological constant, revisited in modern science as dark
energy, is one of the most challenging problems in physics.
Maxwell’s equations are still used to describe the
fundamental science of fusion plasmas, particle accelerators, and
many other areas of basic research and applied science. All these
disciplines continue to grow and acquire new insights as
experimental and computational tools grow in power and precision.
This evolving, reciprocal relationship between science and its
enabling technologies reveals new challenges and opens the door
to new horizons for future discoveries. |
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| There have been some radical changes in the way we conduct science and recognize scientists
since the days of Maxwell and Einstein. Today it is rare to see
an outstanding discovery made by a single scientist. Progress is
often achieved through collaborations, which may be national or
global, interdisciplinary, or even between science and
technology. As the world celebrates the unifying concepts of
electromagnetic theory, wave-particle duality, and the space-time
continuum, SciDAC Review celebrates the unification embodied in
computational science. This idea was expressed beautifully in
SciDAC Review (Spring 2006, p62): “The individual
investigator approach has evolved into a tripartite partnership
between discipline scientists, applied mathematicians, and
computer scientists.” In the following sections, we discuss
some of the exciting science emanating from such tripartite
collaborations. |
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| Deep within the atomic nucleus, quarks and gluons interact by the rules of Quantum Chromodynamics
(QCD) and provide clues to the fundamental structures and
symmetries of nature. Earlier in this issue (p5), Nobel laureate
Dr. Frank Wilczek emphasized the scientific contributions of
lattice gauge theories and computational science to QCD research.
In section one we elaborate on some of the predictions that
SciDAC funded QCD research has made, and the experiments which
have verified them. |
| The exploration of novel ideas and extreme environments has always been a driving force for
science. The modeling of high-density plasma environments, in
particular, has been integral to the fields of particle
accelerator design and modern fusion research (Spring 2006, p40).
Interesting results for particle accelerators are addressed in
the second section of this article, while the third section
discusses an area of fusion research where high-end computing and
SciDAC funding have provided important results. |
| While fusion research attempts to realize a source of nuclear energy for the future, high-end
computing has also enabled scientists to model combustion and
improve the efficiency of conventional fuel burning (p42).
Section four highlights one of the results achieved in this area.
Sections five and six then discuss important advances in our
capacity to predict the properties of bulk materials and
nanoscale semiconductor crystals from first principles. |
| Climate research is vital to ensure our continued presence on Earth, and thus the continuation
of scientific research in general. In section seven we show how
the successful incorporation of biochemical processes into
comprehensive climate simulation models enables improved global
predictions of climate change. Moving beyond the terrestrial
domain, astrophysicists use complex simulations to study the
death of stars and the creation of elements essential to life. We
close this article with the results for the possible origins of
rotation in pulsars produced in supernova explosions. |
| Dr. Raymond Orbach succintly described science and why we pursue it in Issue 1 (p10) of Sci-
DAC Review: “Science is a quantitative subject but there is
an aesthetic quality to discovery which I think is what drives
us. The scientific method is beautiful and structured in itself
and it has a vigorous intellectual core.” |
| Science is
interconnected between its multiple disciplines and advances
through forward strides in the components as well as by the
integral evolution of the whole. Scientific advances through
high-end computing and SciDAC sponsored research add to the
foundations of science and promise future expansions. Following
in the footsteps of Einstein and Maxwell, SciDAC scientists
pursue precision and discovery and SciDAC science adds tripartite
collaborations to the ethos of discovery science. |
| Dr. Lali Chatterjee Editor in Chief, SciDAC Review; Senior Science Advisor and North American Editor, IOP. |
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