Multi-teraflop supercomputing

Priya Vashishta, chair of the Faculty Advisory Council for HPCC, is a professor of materials science and computer science in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and a professor of physics and astronomy in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He also is director of the Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations (CACS). A fellow of the American Physical Society, he has edited or co-edited 11 books and is the author or co-author of more than 290 papers on topics that include multimillion-atom simulations of materials and devices, the info-bio-nano interface, and the immersive and interactive exploration of billion-atom systems.

Vashishta, his USC colleagues Rajiv Kalia and Aiichiro Nakano and their research team use cluster computers to simulate the atomic and molecular behavior of materials. For example, they have sought ways to minimize the brittle fracturing of ceramic materials and increase the speeds of electronic devices.

To understand the complex atomistic mechanisms of materials properties and processes requires interactive and explorative visualization. Vashishta's team has 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.

Combining their expertise in computer science, physics and materials science, Vashishta's team is 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.