Scientific Discoveries Enabled by NERSC

As the premiere computational science facility for the DOE Office of Science, NERSC has played a major role in a wide range of discoveries, from predicting the properties of experimental nanostructures to confirming the accelerating expansion of the Universe. NERSC accelerates scientific discovery by combining expertise in computer science and computational science with responsiveness to the needs of its users. NERSC's high performance systems and networks, combined with advanced software tools and comprehensive user services, enable scientists to steadily expand the capabilities of scientific computation. The examples listed below illustrate NERSC's leadership in computational science.

• Astrophysics
• Chemistry, Materials Science and Nanoscience
• Climate Modeling
• Combustion Research
• Fusion Energy
• High Energy and Nuclear Physics
• Medical and Life Sciences

Astrophysics

Scientists Compute Death Throes of White Dwarf Star in 3D (2007)

High-Mass Star Formation (2006)

From Soundwaves to Supernovae (2006)

Magnetic Disks in Space: A New Generation of Simulations and Experiments Aim to Pinpoint the Origins of Instability in Accretion Disks (2005)

Simulating a Map of the Cosmic Microwave Background: What the Planck Satellite Will See (2005)

A Revolutionary Supernova Spectrograph Sees First Light SNIFS: the Supernova Integral Field Spectrograph (2004)

Universe: The Movie (2003)

Simulation Computed at NERSC Matches Historic Gamma-Ray Burst (2003)

Modeling a Cosmic Bomb: DOE Big Splash Award Produces a NERSC First (2003)

NERSC Helps Nearby Supernova Factory Discover Supernovae at a Rate of 8 per Month (2003)

Supernova Explosions and Cosmology (2002)

Black Hole Merger Simulations (2002)

A Lucky Catch: The Oldest, Most Distant Type IA Supernova Confirmed by Supercomputer Analysis at NERSC (2001)

BOOMERANG Antarctic Balloon Flight Sees a Flat Universe -- NERSC Supercomputer Analysis Crucial to the Result (2000)

Science Magazine Names Supernova Cosmology Project "Breakthrough of the Year" (1999)

NERSC and the Fate of the Universe (1997)

Chemistry, Materials Science and Nanoscience

A Perfect Sandwich: Scientists Discover Why the Right Amount of Moisture in the Membrane Plays a Key Role in Fuel Cell Efficiency (2007)

Spontaneous Superlattice: Ab Initio Calculations and Modeling Contribute to the Discovery of a New Way to Fabricate Striped Nanorods (2007)

Graphene Nanoribbons: A New Path to Spintronics (2006)

Practical Plasmonic Crystal Biosensors (2006)

Why Doping Strengthens Grain Boundaries (2006)

Breaking Up Is Hard to Calculate: But Researchers Have Achieved the First Numerical Solution of the Fragmentation of a System with Four Charged Particles (2005)

Talent Scouting: Virtual "Auditions" of Many Alloys Find a Few with the Potential to Become "Superstar" Catalysts (2005)

A New Model of Quantum Dots: Rethinking the Electronics (2005)

Tuning the Nanoworld: New Methods for Constructing Nanostructures and Calculating Their Electronic States (2004)

Making Fuel Cells More Efficient and Affordable (2003)

Determining the Magnetic Structure of a Superconductor (2002)

The Origin of the Anomalous Superconducting Properties of MgB₂ (2002)

A Faster Electronic Structure Calculation Method for Metals (2002)

Quantum Rods Emit Polarized Light (2001)

Solved at Last: A Fundamental Problem of Quantum Physics (1999)

The First Atomistically Detailed Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Micellization (1999)

First Million-Atom Simulation of Semiconductor Quantum Dots (1998)

Simulation Accurately Predicts Viscosity Index of Lubricant (1998)

New Method Calculates Optical Properties of Insulators and Semiconductors (1998)

Materials, Methods, Microstructure, and Magnetism (1998)

Berkeley Researchers Eliminate One Theory in Mystery of Missing Xenon, but Find New Clues About Element's Behavior (1997)

Climate Modeling

Bridging the Gap between Climate and Weather (2007)

A Warmer, Stormier World (2006)

The Heat Is On: New Studies Reveal the Inevitable and Possibly Self-Perpetuating Consequences of Global Warming (2005)

Scientists Find "Fingerprint" of Human Activities in Recent Tropopause Height Changes (2003)

NERSC Helps Climate Scientists Complete First Ever 1,000-Year Run of Nation's Leading Climate Change Modeling Application (2002)

High-Resolution Global Coupled Ocean/Sea Ice Modeling (2002)

Simulating Ocean Carbon Sequestration (2001)

Global Climate Simulations Completed for Years 1870-2100 (2000)

Parallel Processing Allows Faster, More Detailed Climate Modeling (1998)

Combustion Research

Burning Questions: New 3D Simulations Are Closing in on the Holy Grail of Combustion Sciences: Turbulence-Chemistry Interactions (2005)

Combustion Up Close: Dierect Numerical Simulations Reveal Small-Scale Structures and Processes That Experiments Cannot Measure (2005)

Algorithms in the Service of Science (2003)

Simulation Reveals Basic Structure of Methane Flame (2002)

Flame Simulation Accurately Models 65 Chemical Species and 447 Reactions (2001)

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Reacting Flows (2000)

Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Combustion in HCCI Engines (2000)

First Successful Simulation Reproduces Key Results of Vortex-Flame Experiment (1999)

Fusion Energy

The Fusion Two-Step: Simulations Elucidate the Physics of Fast Ignition (2007)

Understanding Magnetic Explosions (2006)

Hailstones in Hell: Simulations Examine the Behavior of Frozen Fuel Pellets in Fusion Reactors (2005)

Heavy Ion Fusion: Squeezing the Beams (2005)

Improved Algorithms Shift Plasma Simulations into High Gear (2003)

Understanding Electromagnetic Wave Processes in Fusion Plasmas (2002)

First Simulation of Turbulent Transport in a Full-Sized Reactor Plasma (2001)

New Magnetic Reconnection Model Resolves Discrepancy Between Models and Observations (2001)

First Toroidal Electromagnetic Simulations of Tokamak Microturbulence (2000)

Compact Magnetic Configurations Provide Improved Plasma Confinement and Stability (1998)

High Energy and Nuclear Physics

Surfing the Plasma Waves: Simulations Are Helping Physicists Understand How to Optimize the Beams in Laser Wakefield Particle Accelerators (2006)

A Perfect Liquid: The Newly Created State of Quark-Gluon Matter Is More Remarkable Than Predicted and Raises Many New Questions (2005)

Whispers from Underground: Ghostly Geoneutrinos Hint at Earth's Inner Secrets (2005)

Particle Physics, Precisely: Improved Algorithms and Faster Computers Enable First High-Precision Calculations of Hadron Properties (2004)

Laser Wakefield Acceleration: Channeling the Best Beams Ever (2004)

NERSC Helps Get the Physics out of KamLAND Data (2003)

Exact Calculations of Light Nuclei Using Realistic Interactions (2002)

SNO Finds That "Missing" Solar Neutrinos Have Simply Changed "Flavor" (2001)

Analysis of Data from STAR Detector Yields First Results (2001)

Computation Solves Longstanding Puzzle of Weak Kaon Decays (1999)

Simulations Result in Improved Linac Design That Saves $100 Million in Construction Costs (1999)

Medical and Life Sciences

Quantum Secrets of Photosynthesis Revealed (2007)

Proteins in Motion: Biochemists Are Systematically Simulating the Unfolding Pathways of All Known Protein Folds, Hoping to Discover the General Principles of Protein Folding (2005)

Protein Dynamics on the Supercomputer Big Screen (2005)

A Digital Heart: The First Step Toward a Virtual Patient (2005)

ProteinShop: Solving Protein Structures from Scratch (2003)

Mapping the Universe of Protein Structures (2003)

Determining the Structure of a Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amine (2002)

Whole-Genome Shotgun Assembly and Analysis of the Fugu rubripes Genome (2002)

Global Optimization Method Produces Best Protein Structure Prediction (2001)

Simulation Shows Carcinogen-Damaged DNA Replicating and Mutating (1998)