Large-scale scientific visualization
Aiichiro Nakano is an associate professor of computer science and materials science in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and an associate professor of physics in the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. He is a recipient of a National Science Foundation Career Award and received the Best Paper Award at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)/Association of Computing Machinery Supercomputing 2001 Conference. He has authored 195 refereed articles, including 117 journal papers.
Recognized for his work in scalable scientific algorithms, scientific visualization and grid computing on geographically distributed parallel computers, Nakano develops computational technologies that enable him to perform multibillion-atom simulations collaboratively on a grid of distributed, high-speed computers. He also develops visualization techniques that enable him to study nanodevices coupled to biological systems.
To understand the complex atomistic mechanisms of materials properties and processes requires interactive and explorative visualization. Nakano and his USC colleagues Priya Vashishta and Rajiv Kalia have developed unique simulation algorithms and software that allow for molecular dynamics simulation and interactive and immersive visualization of billions of atoms. These large-scale simulations produce results that cannot be analyzed without these powerful tools.
Ashish Sharma, who began working with Nakano in 1999, earned his Ph.D. in computer science from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in 2005. His work on visualizing billions of atoms in immersive and interactive environments was selected as one of the best papers presented at the IEEE Virtual Reality 2002 conference.
Sharma has worked on a variety of problems in the area of large-scale scientific visualization and knowledge discovery systems. These tools have allowed Nakano and his colleagues to analyze the results of their large simulations and uncover new material behavior and properties.
Combining their expertise in computer science, physics and materials science, Nakano and his collaborators, including Sharma, are working toward developing computer simulation software that will require computer speeds ranging from the teraflop to the petaflop level—from one trillion to one quadrillion operations per second. This unprecedented computing speed would enable researchers to carry out realistic simulations of complex systems in the fields of materials science, nanotechnology and bioengineering. These, in turn, could help scientists do such things as study the effect of corrosion on turbine engines, or develop microscopic and highly sensitive biological sensors using nanoscale quantum dots.
