Introduction to the Education Center on Computational Science & Engineering

This presentation is available online to easily pursue the links from www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/presentations/csu_cs_chairs.html

National Science Foundation's Division of Advanced Scientific Computing made five year awards supporting two High Performance Computing (HPC) Centers in San Diego (www.npaci.edu) and Champaign-Urbana (alliance.ncsa.uiuc.edu), to build the national infrastructure in HPC through partnerships. NSF also supports two HPC Centers in Pittsburgh and Cornell as they "ramp down" their service to the national community and transition their users, as appropriate, to San Diego and/or Champaign-Urbana.

Brief Introduction, a basis for follow on communications

Kris Stewart (stewart@sdsu.edu)

What is Computational Science to SDSC?

SDSC conducts and supports activities in computational science, a third fundamental methods - in addition to laboratory experimentation and theoretical investigation - for conducting scientific research.
Computational Science is defined as using computers (in this context, high performance computers) and related computing technologies (such as applications software, high speed networking, scientific visualization technologies, and large data storage systems) to simulate natural phenomena. These phenomena range from quantum particles to entire galaxies, including biological macromolecules, fluid dynamics in the ocean and atmosphere, plate tectonics, weather and climate change, and mechanical engineering such as designing and retrofitting bridges. Many of these phenomena can't be studied in any way other than by computational methods. A typcial practice in computational science is to run a simulation on a supercomputer, then compare the output data with observed data of the same phenomemon, then use the understanding gained from the comparison to refine the simulation code. This is done in an iterative fashion.

 

What is the mission of the EC/CSE?

Foster the incorporation of high performance research tools for scientific investigation into the undergraduate curriculum to better prepare learners for post-Baccalaureate activities in research and problem solving using

• collaborative, interdisciplinary teams,
• sophisticated computer tools and
• effective communication among the team members and with others

 

Overview of NPACI

Ilya and I travelled to San Jose in Novemmber to attend SC97: High Performance Networking and Computing (Supercomputing '97) and Kris Stewart had lunch with Prof. John Avila (SJSU). In early January 1998, there will be an all-hands meeting of the NPACI partners and we'd like to know your interests and needs since NPACI partners will be there and this is an opportunity to interface with both the research and education projects that NPACI sponsors.

 

Interactions with Computer Sciences

• Professor Sue Graham, UC Berkeley, Computer Scientist
• Profeesor Dave Culler, UC Berkeley Computer Scientist (NOW Project)
• Professor Paul Messina, Cal Tech, Computer Scientist
• Professor Cherri Pancake, Oregon State University, Computer Scientist
• Professors Scott Baden and Fran Berman, UCSD Computer Scientists

are just a sample of distinguished computer science researchers who are heavily involved with the NPACI partnership.

 

SDSC Gather Scatter www.sdsc.edu/GatherScatter

This bi-monthly Science Magazine has an online signup form to have a hard copy sent to you. From the latest issue:

• Education, Outreach and Training - Ed. Center opens at SDSU
• U. Texas/Austin - Oil Reservoir Simulation - Hydrology interests?
• U. Texas/Austin - Earth Structure Tomograpy - Earthquake application?
• UCLA - Hydrodynamic models of Monterey Bay, San Diego Bay

 

SDSU Activities - Spring Semester 1998

• Interdisciplinary Masters Degree in Computational Science
• CS 575 Supercomputing for the Sciences
• CS 205 Computational Programming and Visualization

Large Data Sets

MOU between SDSC and SDSU (with Eric Frost) for data archiving - just need fast network now (vBNS?)

Ilya Zaslavsky, the "Virtual Professor" in Geography

GIS Workshops (Michigan GIS Institute, Western Michigan University)

• learning materials, training databases, the workshop CD ROM
• the focus is not on mechanics, but on principles of GIS, with ArcView (including Spatial and Network Analyst extensions) and PC Arc/Info as illustrations, and a survey of web-based GIS. CSU has a site license for ArcView and Arc/Info (on NT and UNIX platforms)

 

Distance Learning from the Desktop

• During Fall'97 Ilya Zaslavsky is teaching two senior-level geography classes at WMU, using desktop videoconferencing and Web-based discussions. The two classes are Geographic Information Systems, and Computerized Geodata Handling and Mapping. Both classes are computer and data-intensive.
• All communication in the two classes is channeled through computer. The additional hardware/software is inexpensive and replicable.
• Some preliminary results (with the class log for first half of the semester, and discussion of the used interaction techniques and problems) is here (presentation to East Lakes Division of AAG, East Lansing, October 18, 1997)
• within-campus connections should be less problematic (the setup can be used for office hours, students can call the instructor's machine from residence halls, etc.)

 

also: experiments with VRML, query interfaces, spatio-temporal simulation modeling, etc.

How can the faculty become involved?

The Education Center staff (Dr. Kris Stewart, Dr. Ilya Zaslavsky and Ms. Dolores Candelario) have prepared descriptions of the opportunities that SDSC and the NPACI offer to the nation, with a focus on identifying opportunities to enhance undergraduate education. We suggest you start with this link on undergraduate education. This should give pointers to existing SDSC activites. Then contact the Education Center staff so that we can begin a dialog to better fit the needs of CSU Computer Science faculty with the activities of the NPACI partnership. Electronic mail is recommended, to the email addresses within this document for Dr. Kris Stewart and/or Dr. Ilya Zaslavsky.

Computer Time at SDSC

Computer time is available from SDSC from the remaining Block Grant of time on the Cray C90 (vector supercomputer) and Cray T3E (parallel supercomputer). This can be obtained by submitting a short application (www.rohan.sdsu.edu/0520Cray.pdf) designed for start-up, investigations (maximum of 5 hours of Cray C90 time). Note: Since the high performance computing platforms at SDSC are all Unix based, users will be expected to become functional with Unix before looking to the San Diego Supercomputer Center resources. This can be accomplished at the home campus of each faculty member for the CSU and should not be a problem for the computer science faculty in this audience today.

October 1, 1997 signaled the start of NPACI and no new time will be allocated to the SDSU Block Grant. NPACI Resources are allocated quarterly. Education applications are essentially a slam dunk and research applications are peer-review. A first time, 50 hour allocation, can be obtained through the expedited review process, submitted anytime. Keep in mind the focus of NPACI is Computational Science and Engineering, so applications for resources from the NPACI should address the NSF mandates to NPACI.

Examples of collaborations already formed:

EC/CSE is client in ET 644 Instructional Design course

Education Technoogy graduate students, Roxanna Springer and Lance Larson have applied their skills in pedagogy and presentation to Stewart's course in progress course development for CS 205 Computational Programming . For a comparison, the course offerred in Fall 1996 had a final home page CS 205 Computational Programming and Visualization Fall 1996

National Endowment for the Humanities proposal with Dr. Bob Hoffman (Ed Tech)

Research project using the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) to simulate a California mission so that 4th grade students become doscens of the mission and conduct virtual tours. This provides a context and motivation for one of the required curricular topics in California Primiary Schools and uses VRML. SDSC hosts the national repository for VRML.

vBNS proposal participatation by SDSU within the CSU

Stewart participated in the CalREN2: California Research & Education Network - Phase 2 and has now been nominated by the SDSU campus to the CENIC Academic Council.

CS 575 Supercomputing for the Sciences

Using Cray T90, Cray T3E, Berkeley NOW, Dec Alpha Farm from NPACI. This course will be taught as a collaborative learning experiment to not only introduce students to the tools and technologies at SDSC, but also to how science is done now in collaborative teams.

Integrated, Experimental Curriculum Committee (SDSU campus)

Supercomputer Teacher Enhancement Program (STEP)

Begun with NSF funding to UCSD Extension in 1992, the participants are now sponsored by the EC/CSE for continued access to the SDSC for follow-on work through SWAPS and California Science Program.

Maryland Virtual Highschool in Science & Mathematics

Stewart has been on the Advisory Board for this exciting, innovative and comprehensive effort to incorporate Computational Science into the secondary school curriculum within the state of Maryland.