Welcome to ASCR Discovery, a webzine about the research
that powers computational science – the use
of computers to gain insight and understanding of scientific
questions.
The Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research in the
Department of Energy Office of Science supports the projects
described here. ASCR’s portfolio includes projects at DOE
laboratories and many public and private universities.
Such research may take years to reach fruition, but has
profound impact on science and, ultimately, the way we live.
We hope you find ASCR Discovery enlightening, and we encourage
your comments.
Sphere of influence
- new
Los Alamos researchers have re-partitioned our planetary sphere to
focus on regions of particular interest in global climate models.
Proxy apps for that
Co-designing exascale computing’s many interacting components will rely
on proxy applications, or proxy apps – pieces of code stripped to
mimic some feature of a huge problem.
Cosmic performance
- new
Simulations of the universe’s evolution have run with
incredible speed – 10 petaflops or better –
on a new supercomputer, DOE researchers say.
Water, water everywhere
- new
To improve desalination where fresh water is scarce, MIT researchers have
turned to supercomputers to calculate just-the-right-sized nanopores in graphene.
Feasible fuels
Large-scale computing is an important tool for testing hypotheses
about cellulose-derived fuels. Computation-based assumptions can
help lab researcher interpret results so long as simulations are
checked by observed physics and chemistry.
Looking skyward
Simulations of the universe’s evolution have run with
incredible speed – 10 petaflops or better –
on a new supercomputer, DOE researchers say.
Big data, big pictures
The advent of exaflops-capable computers creates new challenges for
translating computer simulation results into understandable images.
Berkeley Lab’s Hank Childs looks for ways to meet that test
without sapping computer power.
Extreme climate
- new
Increasing computing capabilities to the exascale will improve climate
predictions. Meanwhile, scientists must figure out how to refine their
models to make full use of all that power.