Scientific computing in the Americas: the challenge of massive parallelism; Valparaiso, Chile; January 3-14, 2011

科学计算作为一种发现手段，有望解决科学界一些最持久的挑战。了解全球气候，揭开湍流的奥秘，预测地震和海啸等自然灾害，通过模拟构成生命积木的蛋白质来解开生命的复杂性，所有这些，以及更多，今天的科学家都在使用高性能计算(HPC)来解决。今天，由于新的计算机体系结构的出现，以更低的功耗和更低的价格带来了巨大的性能提升，通过HPC实现令人兴奋的发现的机会比以往任何时候都更多。基于图形处理器(GPU)的新HPC硬件是一项可以为世界许多地区的科学家参与前沿计算研究创造公平竞争环境的技术。泛美高级研究院(PASI)奖由美国国家科学基金会(NSF)和能源部(DOE)联合支持，将于2011年1月3日至14日在智利瓦尔帕莱索的费德里科圣玛丽大学(UTFSM)举行。由波士顿大学的Lorena Barba博士组织的一个由合作者和参与者组成的跨学科小组将探索使GPU技术适应和应用于复杂的、突出的物理科学问题的可行性。参与者将包括地球科学家、计算机科学家、数学家和物理学家的互补组合。讲座、教程和实践活动将集中于现代硬件计算、大规模并行计算应用程序的基本算法以及开源库和编程的最新发展。PASI的参与者将包括大约30名获得该奖项支持的美国和拉丁美洲学生，以及由智利机构支持的类似数量的当地参与者。为博士后学者提供的辅助辅导课程将提供在现代学术环境中取得成功的建议。本次PASI旨在启动使用现代硬件的高性能计算的发展极，并促进国际合作和未来的倡议，从而为参与者带来学生交流、联合项目和新的资金机会。研究生和博士后研究人员将有独特的学习经历；他们将接受使用高性能计算最重要的软件工具的培训，包括那些专门针对GPU的工具，教学大纲将强调科学的开源模式。选定的应用程序，例如模拟海啸，将引起广大公众的注意，为在新闻媒体和其他媒体上传播提供机会。在网上广泛传播学习材料将确保产生超出研究所本身期限的影响。

Scientific computing as a means of discovery has the promise of solving some of the most enduring challenges in science. Understanding global climate, unraveling the mysteries of turbulence, predicting natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, untangling the complexities of life by simulating the proteins that make its building- blocks, all these, and more, are being tackled by scientists today using high-performance computing (HPC). And today, more than ever, an opportunity presents itself for exciting discoveries through HPC, thanks to the advent of new computer architectures that bring huge increases in performance, at lower power consumption and much reduced prices. The new HPC hardware based on graphics processors (GPUs) is a technology that can level the playing field for scientists in many parts of the world to participate in leading-edge computational research. This Pan-American Advanced Studies Institutes (PASI) award, jointly supported by the NSF and the Department of Energy (DOE), will take place January 3-14, 2011 at the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa María (UTFSM) in Valparaíso, Chile. Organized by Dr. Lorena Barba of Boston University, an interdisciplinary group of collaborators and participants will explore the feasibility of adapting and applying GPU technologies to complex, outstanding problems in the physical sciences. Participants will include a complementary mix of geoscientists, computer scientists, mathematicians, and physicists. Lectures, tutorials and hands-on activities will be focused on modern hardware computing, fundamental algorithms for massively parallel computational applications, and recent developments in open source libraries and programming. PASI participants will include approximately 30 U.S. and Latin American students supported by this award and a similar number of local participants supported by Chilean agencies. An ancillary mentoring session for postdoctoral scholars will provide advice on succeeding in modern academic environments. This PASI aims to initiate a pole of development for high-performance computing using modern hardware, and to stimulate international collaboration and future initiatives leading to student exchanges, joint projects and new funding opportunities for the participants. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers will have a unique learning experience; they will be trained in the use of the most important software tools for HPC, including those specific to GPUs, and the syllabus will put emphasis on the open-source model for science. The chosen applications, e.g., simulation of tsunamis, will attract the attention of the general public, offering opportunities for dissemination in the press and other media. Extensive dissemination of the learning materials online will ensure impact beyond the duration of the institute itself.