Parallel Computing and Visualization Infrastructure for Scientific Computation

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The Computational and Applied Mathematics (CAM) group in the Department of Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego is proposing the purchase of a 64-bit, 33-node blade rack system, using NPACI Rocks Linux-based software, to improve and upgrade their current parallel computing capabilities. The proposed equipment will support fundamental research and education in computational science. The research of the group includes, but is not restricted to, five core projects: (1) New algorithms for parallel computation with adaptive multilevel finite-element methods. (2) The level-set method in computationally intensive environments. (3) Optimization with partial differential equation constraints. (4) Finite element modeling applications in biochemistry and physics. (5) Hybrid finite-element level-set methods for stress-driven interface dynamics in materials science.Each of these projects is computationally intensive and requires theextensive use of parallel computation. The Investigators have combined expertise in applied mathematics, numerical optimization, numerical partial differential equations and parallel computation. Access to state-of-the-art parallel computers has played a vital and formative role in the research and educational program offered by the CAM group.The proposed equipment will provide an order-of-magnitude improvement in the computing capabilities of the group and will allow them to consider even more challenging computational problems and applications.The Investigators are participating in a wide range of outside research projects that include applications of computational science in off-shore petroleum exploration, protein modeling, the numerical modeling of black holes, the modeling of crystal growth and biomembranes, the capture of diffraction effects of waves, and path planning. An important goal of the CAM group is the development of software for computational science and its dissemination within the manufacturing, engineering andscientific community. Software developed as part of the project willprovide an effective method of technology transfer and will extend thescope and effectiveness of the existing codes PLTMG, FETK, SNOPT and IOTR that have been developed by the investigators at UC San Diego.The software component of the project will have a substantial impact on research involving the modeling of complex systems as it will provide scientists and engineers with instant access to state-of-the-art methods.The members of the CAM group offer a program of instruction and research that emphasizes the role of computational science in the formulation, modeling, and solution of problems from diverse and changing areas. The research and educational activities supported by the proposed equipment will help attract advanced graduate students into the area of computational science, which plays a vital role in the study of systems arising in manufacturing, engineering and the natural sciences.