This URL is www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/projects/macalester.html
Computational science is the third leg of science, which complements theory and the "wet lab", and is made possible now through the increasingly sophicated mathematical models and ever-evolving computer power available on the desktop and via the network. It is the exciting blend of:
NPACI (www.npaci.edu/Partners/partner.html) is an association of 39 universities and research centers from 18 states, with SDSC as the leading edge site. The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) conducts and supports activities in computational science, a third fundamental method for conducting scientific research (in addition to laboratory experimentation and theoretical investigation). 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 visualize, analyze, and simulate natural and social phenomena.Application Thrust Areas of NPACI include
Technology Thrust Areas of NPACI includeAND Education, Outreach and Training
- Data-intensive Computing,
- Interaction-Environments,
- Metasystems, and
- Programming Tools & Environments.
Some examples of past and current projects of SDSC and NPACI:
- The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR, www.icpsr.umich.edu) is an NPACI partner within the Education and Outreach Thrust Area to encourage new disciplines to use technologies from High Performance Computing research sites. The ICPSR Data Archive (www.icpsr.umich.edu/archive1.html) is familiar to social science researchers and the ICPSR Summer Program (www.icpsr.umich.edu/sumprog/) is a long-standing opportuntiy bringing social science researchers together. ICPSR has plans to incorporate the High Performance Computing resources from the NPACI soon.
- NPACI Data-Intensive Computing Environments: (http://www.npaci.edu/DICE)
- Alexandria Digital Library (http://alexandria.sdc.ucsb.edu/) A distributed digital library for geographically-referenced information, being developed at UC Santa Barbara and mirrored at SDSC.
- ELib (UC Berkeley Digital Library) (elib.cs.berkeley.edu) Also, part of the NSF/ARPA/NASA Digital Library Initiative and the California Environment Resource Evaluation System (CERES) with the goal "to develop the technologies for intelligent access to massive distributed collections of photographs, satellite images, maps, full text documents and 'multivalent' documents." Mirrored at SDSC
- University of Michigan Digital Library (www.si.umich.edu/UMDL/") "In UMDL, we are instead embracing the open, evolving, decentralized advantages of the web and introducing computational mechanisms to temper its inherent chaos. However, we are also embracing the traditional values of service, organization and access that have made libraries powerful intellectual institutions." Mirrored at SDSC starting June 1998.
- US Economic History, a 3D visualization (http://www.sdsc.edu/GatherScatter/GSspring97/pailthorpe.html): A simulation of main economic indicators, in 3D coordinates (boom, stagflation, depression), to convey the extreme fluctuations during the first half of the century and the stability of the economy since World War II. Developed by Bernard Pailthorpe, Sydney Vislab/SDSC, and Richard Carson, University of California, San Diego/SDSC.
- San Diego Bay Project (http://www.sdsc.edu/SDBAY/): A collection of databases, resources, models, software, and literature, related to San Diego Bay, water quality issues in particular. The databases are searchable, some models can be run on-line, their results are visualized on maps and in VRML. More information and links related to the project are accessible from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis page at SDSC.
Biodiversity Insight System (BIS) (http://biodi.sdsc.edu/): This system for analysis and visualisation (and mapping) of biodiversity data is being developed by the University of Kansas and the San Diego Supercomputer Center
EarthRise (http://earthrise.sdsc.edu/): This is an online collection of over 100,000 of photographic images of different parts of the Earth taken by astronauts during the Space Shuttle flights in the last 15 years.
Examples of projects underway at the EC/CSE. Short descriptions are at http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/projects/eccseproj.html
- Java and VRML resources for scientists and engineers. Our growing repository of VRML scenes and Java applets arranged by disciplines, is available at http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/repository/
- Java-based instructional interface and analytical extension for Protein Data Base (PDB) developed at SDSC (Deacon)
- Testbed for distance learning collaboratory techniques [Tango, NetMeeting, Habanero, ...]. (X. Li)
- "Virtual Professor" Distance Learning in computationally intensive courses (I. Zaslavsky)
Collaboratory use of GIS over the Internet in instruction (together with NPAC - Syracuse, Dr. Geoffrey Fox), and the experiment in distance teaching of GIS and spatial analysis (EC/CSE, SDSU to Geography, WMU)
- Group learning in Supercomputing instruction: (K. Stewart)
- Problem-based learning in computational programming instruction. (K. Stewart)
vBNS vBNS proposal coordinated by CSU Chancellor's office. Participatation by SDSU, CalPoly Pomona, and CSU/SB within the CSU (just granted by NSF!). More information is at http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/projects/vbns_summary.html. Information about us:
- The suggested mechanism of collaboration with CSU faculty and beyond
- We 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 (http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/npaci/npaci.html)
- Regular reviews of NPACI and SDSC research and resources are published online at NPACI Online (http://www.npaci.edu/online/)and enVision (formerly Gather/Scatter).
- We make presentations at annual Supercomputing Conference and, when invited, to other organizations, such as Macalester College - Thank you.
- We offer workshops on new technologies to SDSU and CSU faculty (http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/training/training.html). Materials of the recent workshop "Collaborative Web-based Technologies: a Comparative Review and Live Demonstration, with Special Focus on Distance Learning Opportunities" are available from our Web page.
Examples of collaborations already formed by EC/CSE
- Evaluation and assessment of the Ed Center by the LEAD center, at National Institute for Science Education, NISE, U. Wisconsin, Madison
- NPACI partnership "contract" with the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH), NPACI partner in Virginia
- NSF proposal by Doug Deutschman (SDSU Biology), on chaparral ecosystem simulation modeling and visualization with the SORTIE-like model (with interfaces tuned to student exploration, in particular) - involves EC/CSE (January 1998)
- Industrial partnership with Mathworks (MATLAB, which now has MapTools) (November 1997)
- National Endowment for the Humanities proposal with Dr. Bob Hoffman (SDSU Ed Tech) on using VRML to simulate the California mission so that 4th grade students can become docents of the mission and conduct virtual tours. (October 1997)
- EC/CSE was client in SDSU's ET 644 Instructional Design course (Roxanna Springer & Lance Larson) (Fall 1997); the methodology of "bridging environments" for high performance computing instruction is further explored in CS205 "Computational programming and visualization" taught by Stewart this Spring
Web site: www.edcenter.sdsu.edu NPACI ENVISION Magazine www.npaci.edu/envision/v13.1/contents.html We have hard copy for you today. NPACI ENVISION Magazine www.npaci.edu/envision/v13.1/edcenter.html go directly to article on the Ed Center CSU Newsletter "Exchanges" NPACI Online October 1997 What can the EC/CSE do for you?
Dr. Kris Stewart (stewart@sdsu.edu), Director
Dr. Ilya Zaslavsky (zaslavsk@rohan.sdsu.edu), GIS Staff Scientist
Education Center on Computational Science & Engineering
San Diego State University, Love Library Addition, Rm 73
www.edcenter.sdsu.edu