International Workshop on Computational Methods in Geosciences

计算方法，特别是偏微分方程的计算方法，在过去三十年中在算法的进步和在其他领域的应用方面都有了重大的发展。物理现象的计算模拟现在已经完全与工程实验和理论/分析相结合，成为科学研究的第三种方法。随着应用问题变得越来越复杂和具有挑战性，单靠个人解决这些问题变得越来越困难甚至不可能。这些问题的规模和复杂性通常需要各种专业知识（如现场数据采集、建模、数学分析、计算方法、计算机编程和可视化以及数据分析），因此，它们的解决方案需要各个学科的国际科学界的不懈努力。此外，由于面对面的互动对于有效的思想交流和合作非常重要，因此将具有相似研究兴趣的研究人员聚集在一起参加各种规模的会议是至关重要的。为了满足需求并促进这种互动，首席研究员（PI）将与来自美国，中国和韩国的同事一起组织“地球科学计算方法国际研讨会”，该研讨会将于2007年7月5日至7日在中国西安交通大学举行。申请的资金将用于支持美国研究人员，特别是研究生和博士后参加研讨会。预期的国际研讨会将有助于促进、加强和刺激跨大陆的数学科学研究互动和合作。这种社区智慧的研究活动通常服务于加强和促进美国和国际研究人员在数学和应用科学方面的合作，这反过来又对解决具有挑战性的科学问题做出了重要贡献，例如多孔介质中的流动和运输，天气预报，纳米材料设计，基因组测序和分析。此外，在中国举办这样的研讨会，将把在这样一个活跃的科学研究领域工作的美国和欧洲的杰出研究人员吸引到亚洲，因此，预期的研讨会将为国际应用和计算数学界提供良好的服务和积极的影响。

Computational methods, in particular, those for partialdifferential equations, have experienced major developments over the pastthirty years in both algorithmic advances and applications to other fields.Computational simulation of physical phenomena has now fully joinedengineering experimentation and theoretical/analyticalanalysis as the third method of scientific investigation.As the application problems become ever complicate and challenging,it becomes more and more difficult or even impossible to solvethese problems by isolated individuals. The magnitude and complexityof the problems often require various expertise (such as field dataacquisition, modeling, mathematical analysis, computational methods,computer programming and visualization, and data analysis), hence,their solutions require persistent collective effort of internationalscientific communities of various disciplines. Also, because face toface interaction is important to effective exchange of ideas andcollaborations, it is vital to bring together researchers with similarresearch interests to conferences of various scales.To meet the need and to facilitate such an interaction,the principal investigator (PI), together with colleagues from U.S., China,and Korea, will organize the ``International Workshop on ComputationalMethods in Geosciences", which will be held from July 5-7, 2007at Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. The requested funding will beused to support U.S. researchers, in particular, graduate studentsand postdocs, to attend the workshop.The anticipated international workshop is expected to contributeto promoting, enhancing, and stimulating the cross-continentalresearch interactions and collaborations in mathematical sciences.Such community-wise research activities oftenserve the purpose of enhancing and promoting collaborationsbetween U.S. and international researchers in mathematicaland applied sciences, which in turn contributes criticallyto the course of solving challenging scientific problemssuch as flow and transport in porous media, weather prediction,nano-materials design, genome sequencing and analysis.In addition, organizing such a workshop in China willbring prominent researchers from U.S. and Europe working in suchan active scientific research area to Asia, consequently, the anticipatedworkshop will do a good service to and have a positive impact onthe international applied and computational mathematics community.