Nov 3, 2000
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THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA Nov 3, 2000 |
| by Mike McNeney Powerful new UVic computing facilities are starting to pay off with additional external funding for research initiatives. The Minerva supercomputer and physics and astronomy’s Beowulf system (40 standard desktop computers aligned to tackle problems together) open the door for more international research collaborations but they also allow UVic scientists to set their own research agenda. The first example is the new Canadian Computational Cosmology Collaboration or “C4” led by UVic astronomers Dr. Arif Babul and Dr. Julio Navarro, along with Dr. Hugh Couchman of McMaster University. The collaboration began in recent weeks with a four-year, $480,000 “seed” grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and prior support from the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. Canadians have surprising influence in computational cosmology, where computer programs simulate the changing shape of the universe. The problem is, most of them aren’t doing their work in Canada. “We’re trying to jump-start a vibrant, Canadian-based group and repatriate this expertise,” says Babul, C4’s director. “With Minerva and Beowulf, UVic now has Canada’s best and most powerful computer facilities for computational cosmology.” C4 will explore how galaxies have formed and changed shape compared to the smooth, homogenous features that dominated the universe just after the big bang. Understanding the structures of galaxies is the next big step in cosmology, says Babul, and the UVic-led collaboration has a five-year window of opportunity to close in on the answers. Cosmologists testing theories about the universe’s evolution are playing catch-up with the data observed by advanced telescopes and detectors that measure non-visible electromagnetic waves such as x-rays or radio waves. In order to match their theories with observations, cosmologists rely on “smart” computer software (employing sophisticated algorithms) that generate simulations of all the physical processes that shape a galaxy — including gravity, the behaviour of gas, stars, dark matter and collisions with other galaxies. Canadians have written the two most advanced software programs for galaxy simulation, contributing to the current revolution in cosmology. The first was authored by Couchman, the second by a promising young doctoral student at the University of Washington (UW), Jochim Stadel, who left Canada because of a lack of resources. Now, Stadel has accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at C4 and will join UVic in January. C4, the first centre of its kind in Canada, has already established international research partnerships with UW, the University of Durham (U.K.) and Germany’s Max Planck Institute. “These are all world leaders in computational cosmology with access to the largest supercomputers in the world that are available for civilian use,” says Babul. “The students and postdocs that come to C4 will be trained in cutting-edge computational techniques that are at the heart of the economic transformations we see today.” |