University of Minnesota Supercomputer Institute

Research Projects in Progress for Spring 1995 Interns in Scientific Computing and Graphics

The spring undergraduate interns in Scientific Computing and Graphics are working hard on their respective projects dealing with challenges in Physics, Math, Computer Science, Civil, Chemical, and Electrical Engineering.

Following is an overview of current projects and the people involved:

Growth Simulations of Wide Bandgap Nitrides

Jeremy Goldblatt, a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering, is working on this project with Professor Philip Cohen. They are working to improve crystal growth techniques used in the production of advanced electronic materials.

Developing Visualization Software for Finite Element Models of Materials Processing Systems

Kelly Rudd, a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, is involved in this research effort which uses numerical simulation to aid in the understanding of physical phenomena, particularly the workings of processes used to produce advanced materials. The faculty advisor is Professor Jeffrey Derby.

Simulation of Diffusive Transport of Energetic Particles in Compressible Cosmic Fluids

Joseph Gaalaas, a sophomore majoring in Physics, is involved in numerical simulations using supercomputers designed to study the evolution of compressible fluids containing populations of highly energetic particles. The primary interest is in understanding astrophysical environments such as the remnants of supernova explosions and giant radio galaxies. He is working on this project with Professor Thomas Jones and Dr. Adam Frank, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Computer Graphics Animation of Human Joint Motion

Jason Phillips, a senior majoring in Mathematics and Computer Science, is working on this project in which the overall goal is to improve the treatment of people with knee ligament injuries. The project is being supervised by Professor Jack Lewis and Bill Lew, both of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Diffusion and Adsorption in Nano-scale Pores

Elizabeth Lenz, a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering, is working on this project which involves the study of gas behavior inside molecularly sized pores. She is using both molecular dynamics simulations and Monte Carlo methods to characterize this behavior. Ms. Lenz is working on this project with Professor Alon McCormick.

Parallel Algorithms for the Generalized Stokes Problem

Dawn Werner, a sophomore majoring in Computer Science, is working on this project, which concerns the development of parallel preconditioned iterative schemes for solving the symmetric indefinite linear systems that arise from the constrained optimization problems. An important goal of the project is to develop a collection of iterative solvers that are suitable for different parallel architectures. The project supervisor is Professor Ahmed Sameh.

Testing and Evaluation of Algorithms for Real-Time Prediction of Traffic Diversion in Freeway Corridors Katherine Stillwell, a junior majoring in Civil Engineering, is working on this project which involves testing and evaluating alternative algorithms for prediction of traffic demand diversion at the major diversion points in a freeway corridor, such as intersections and entrance ramps. The project supervisor is Professor Yorgos J. Stephanedes.

Optical Solition Local Area Networks

Nicholas Sieger, a senior majoring in Electrical Engineering, is involved in this research effort which is aimed at developing a soliton-based optical network that can meet the communication requirements of the twenty-first century. Solitons offer a number of advantages that make soliton transmission an ideal technology for high capacity, low delay communications networks. Mr. Sieger is writing the computer code for simulating the generation, propagation and detections of soliton packets centered at different wavelengths. The project supervisors are Professors Ahmed Tewfik and Anand Gopinath.

Finite Element Computation and Visualization of Engineering Applications in Fluid Dynamics

Christopher Waters, a senior majoring in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics is working on this class of projects which involve high-performance computation and visualization of engineering applications in fluid dynamics. This research endeavor is supervised by Professor Tayfun Tezduyar, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics and Director of the Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC).

Performance of Least Sensitivity Principle for Design of Boundary Conditions on Open Flow Boundaries

Hendi Susanto, a junior majoring in Chemical Engineering, is part of this pioneering research effort which involves his undertaking a graded set of case studies which examine steady, two-dimensional, nonlinear flow prototypes by Galerkin's method with finite element basis functions, adaptive discretization by `elliptic' mesh generation, Newton's method with first-order continuation, and an optimization technique to apply systematically the least sensitivity principle. The faculty advisor is Professor L. E. Scriven.

Incorporation of Quantum Effects in the Simulation of Proton Transfer Reactions in the Condensed Phase

Zoran Svetlicic, a freshman majoring in Computer Science is an intern working on this project to develop new methods for including quantum tunneling and discreteness effects in the simulation of complex rate processes in solution. Mr. Svetlicic is being supervised by Professor Donald G. Truhlar, from the Department of Chemistry.

Computation and Visualization of 3-D Convective Flows

Gregory Lauer, a senior majoring in Civil Engineering and Computer Science, is working on this research project which looks at thermal convection, a highly nonlinear phenomenon with a fundamental role in geophysical and engineering applications. the faculty advisor is Professor David Yuen, from the Department of Geology and Geophysics.