CENTER FOR COMPUTATION & TECHNOLOGY

Ian Foster Discusses Future Uses for Computer Applications in CCT Lecture Making use of emerging technology can seem like a daunting task, but through practical applications of this information, more people will be able to take advantage of the data available through innovations in computer science. This was one of the topics addressed in “Scaling the e-Science Impact,” a distinguished lecture that Ian Foster gave Monday, Nov. 27. Foster is a computer sciences professor at University of Chicago and director of the Computation Institute at Argonne National Laboratory. He is known as the “Father of Grid Computing” for his research that created a collection of software tools called the Globus Toolkit, the “de-facto-standard” component to build computational grids. The Globus Toolkit 4.0 and service-oriented grid computing were two areas Foster addressed in his talk, which looked at how these and other forms of supercomputing could benefit more people. “One of the areas I am interested in right now is how to take supercomputing, which currently is only used by a few dozen people, and develop applications that benefit everyone,” Foster said. These applications, which Foster described as “service-oriented science,” will accelerate the pace of enquiries, introduce new notions and move into a new field of science, he said. Foster referred this new way of science as “Science 2.0.” Some examples Foster gave of good applications of grid computing technology were caBIG, the Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid, which is run through the National Cancer Institute and allows a network of 60 member treatment centers to share data, and virtual observatories, which take repeated astronomical observations and allow multiple users to study them, rather than each individual observatory collecting data through a telescope to be shared and stored only at that facility. Foster also discussed the National Science Foundation’s grant to support further research and development of the Globus Toolkit. Through work under this grant, researchers are evolving and enhancing the functionality of grid computing software, as well as decreasing the cost and complexity of deploying, operating and using it. By simplifying the process, more people will begin to use grid computing. CCT in the News Ed Seidel Receives Sidney Fernbach Award 11-21-2006/HPC Wire http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1033810.html LSU Hosts “Father of Grid Computing” 11-22-2006/ GRID Today http://www.gridtoday.com/grid/1118860.html LSU Hosts “Father of Grid Computing” Today 11-27-2006/ The Daily Advertiser http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061127/NEWS01/61127005 Ed Seidel wins Fernbach prize for Cactus, Black Hole work 11-27-2005/Cactus Code http://www.cactuscode.org/News/SidneyFernbach06 Please Note: • The Special Guest Lecture Series will host via Access Grid Steve White, Scientific programmer from the Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Albert Einstein Institute, on November 29, 2006 at 8:30 am in Frey Computing Services Center Room 307. • The Special Guest Lecture Series will host Prof. Michael Mascagni, Department of Computer Science and School of Computational Science, Florida State University on November 29, 2006 at 2:30 pm in Johnston Hall Room 338. • The IGERT Annual Workshop on Computational Fluid Dynamics will hold Student Presentations from 8:00 am to Noon on December 01, 2006 in Johnston Hall Room 338. • CCT Colloquium Series will host Professor Graham Pervan from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia on December 08, 2006 at 3:00 pm in Johnston Hall Room 338. Pats on the Back • Professor Thomas Sterling will meet with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday, Dec. 19 to preview his “Intro to HPC” class for the governor and other distinguished guests. University of Arkansas students will be among the first participants to take the class via HDTV when it begins in the Spring 2007 semester. Upcoming Grant Deadlines: NSF Cyberinfrastructure Experiences for Graduates: Supplements http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06044 NSF CIEG December 01 2006 5:00 pm At Most $ 15,000.00 available NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06602/nsf06602.htm NSF EAPSI December 12 2006 5:00 pm At Least $ 4,000.00 available NSF Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06606/nsf06606.htm NSF HBCU-UP December 15 2006 5:00 pm At Most $ 7,000,000.00 available NSF Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research in the Area of Mathematical Biology http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06607/nsf06607.htm NSF DMS/GMS December 15 2006 5:00 pm A Portion Of $ 5,000,000.00 available Contact info for grant questions: Carrie Brinkley, 146H LBTC "A" or visit http://www.cct.lsu.edu/about/grants/ * If you have any news for the CCT Weekly, please send it to cctweekly@cct.lsu.edu