Education Center on Computational Science & Engineering

Presented to Dept. Chairs of SDSU College of Engineering
Engr 203   SDSU - 3/13/98 10am

Enhancing Undergraduate Curricula with High Performance Computing Tools and Technologies for the California State University System and the National Education Community

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.
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 where
are used in research and problem solving.
Overview of the National Partnership for Advanced Computing Infrastructure:
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.

vBNS
vBNS proposal coordinated by CSU Chancellor's office. Participatation by SDSU, CalPoly Pomona, and CSU/SB within the CSU (just granted by NSF!). Information meeting today at the Ed.Center, 11am.

Special topic: GIS in Engineering
Geographic Information System: a system of hardware, software, data, people, organizations and institutional arrangements for collecting, storing, analyzing, and disseminating information about areas of the earth. SDSU has site license for ArcView, a popular GIS. Engineering applications of GIS become increasingly common:

Examples of projects underway at the EC/CSE Short descriptions

Other useful tools we can assist with:

The suggested mechanism of collaboration with CSU faculty
Examples of collaborations already formed by EC/CSE

Computer time at SDSC
Computer time is available from the remaining SDSU Block Grant of time on the Cray T90 (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 5 hours of Cray T90 time). October 1 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 looked upon favorably when on an appropriate platform; research applications are peer-reviewed. A first time, 50 hour allocation, can be obtained through the expedited review process, submitted anytime. Information about us:

What can the EC/CSE do for you?

Let's set up a presentation to your Department

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