The Texas Superior Computing Heart (TACC) Frontera Computational Science Fellowships for 2022-2023 got here to a detailed on the finish of Might. This system supplied a year-long alternative for gifted graduate college students to compute on Frontera, probably the most highly effective educational supercomputer on the earth, and collaborate with consultants at TAC.
Classes and experiences from new HPC customers are all the time beneficial. Established customers could even discover new insights and experiences from these younger pioneers. Every Fellowship recipient shares their front-line experiences together with venture objective, what they discovered and favored, and the way HPC (utilizing Frontera) helps with their analysis.
Alma Carolina Escobosa
College: New Mexico State College
Area of Analysis: PhD candidate, Chemical Engineering
Are you able to speak in regards to the venture(s) you labored on throughout your time as a Fellow?
I created laptop fashions to raised perceive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Such fashions are known as pressure fields and describe how these frameworks work together with one another and different molecules. Whereas pressure fields exist already for supplies like proteins and small molecules, the distinctive properties and buildings of MOFs require particular person parametrization. Utilizing Frontera, I generated sufficient quantum chemistry information to construct pressure fields for MOFs. I wish to bridge the hole between simulations and experimental observations with this protocol.
What did you study from a scientific/computational standpoint, or from knowledgeable perspective?
Throughout my time as a Fellow, I discovered that collaboration in scientific analysis is important and was capable of broaden my perspective. Furthermore, I explored visualization methods like utilizing completely different software program relying on the properties one needs to showcase in a chemical system. I additionally gained confidence in my abilities in working with quantum chemistry software program to generate particular beneficial information.
What did you take pleasure in most throughout your time as a Fellow?
I cherished attending to know my cohort and mentors. The help given to us from TACC consultants was unimaginable. I additionally loved presenting my analysis at chemistry conferences and studying the views of others towards my analysis.
How will the Frontera Fellowship provide help to transfer ahead in your discipline of analysis?
This Fellowship helped me really feel extra snug utilizing HPC sources. I gained a brand new perspective on operating large-scale experiments to generate instruments for others within the discipline to make use of. It additionally opened new doorways for potential collaborations in areas like visualization.
What can be your recommendation for incoming Fellows, and why ought to others apply to this system?
To the incoming Fellows: Ask questions! It doesn’t matter how foolish you assume a query could also be — likelihood is good that your mentors can have a useful reply. In the event that they don’t, they know somebody who can assist. To the folks fascinated about making use of: Consider in your self, set up your targets to obviously define your proposal, and ask your Ph.D. advisor for assist. Don’t hesitate to contact any previous Fellows for recommendation!
Rebecca Vandewalle
College: College of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Area of Analysis: PhD scholar, Geography & Geographic Info Science
Are you able to speak in regards to the venture(s) you labored on throughout your time as a Fellow?
My analysis concerned modeling emergency evacuations utilizing agent-based fashions. Utilizing an agent-based mannequin allowed me to mannequin evacuees as people, with distinctive sources and behaviors. This flexibility tremendously will increase the computational load, particularly because the mannequin is explicitly spatial. Through the Fellowship, I labored on designing a baseline parallel evacuation agent-based mannequin. After this mannequin is accomplished, I’ll work on optimizing it for parallel execution.
What did you study from a scientific/computational standpoint, or from knowledgeable perspective?
The Fellowship helped to refine my software program design abilities and gave me a chance to attach with TACC researchers. Studying how a supercomputing heart labored helped me higher perceive a few of the processes and priorities behind analysis and allocations.
What did you take pleasure in most throughout your time as a Fellow?
I loved getting to satisfy the opposite Fellows and the nice folks at TACC. Everybody made me really feel so welcome; visiting TACC was a beautiful expertise! One other nice a part of the Fellowship was seeing a few of the issues being completed to help each the computer systems and researchers.
How will the Frontera Fellowship provide help to transfer ahead in your discipline of analysis?
After collaborating with TACC researchers, I’m excited to additional my work having discovered about extra sources, strategies, and collaboration alternatives.
What can be your recommendation for incoming Fellows, and why ought to others apply to this system?
My recommendation for incoming Fellows is to not be hesitant to achieve out to your mentors, even in the event you assume a query could also be trivial. Additionally, make sure you have enjoyable throughout your time within the Fellowship!
Shiwei Zhou
College: The College of Texas atArlington
Area of Analysis: PhD candidate, Utilized Physics
Are you able to speak in regards to the venture(s) you labored on throughout your time as a Fellow?
I used to be concerned in a large-scale examine centered on simulating and reconstructing dual-gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans. The venture required the event and implementation of SPECT simulation and reconstruction methods. Consequently, the general high quality of the ensuing pictures improved considerably, leading to extra correct attenuation correction of coronary heart lesions in a dynamic atmosphere.
What did you study from a scientific/computational standpoint, or from knowledgeable perspective?
Scientifically and computationally, I acquired invaluable expertise working with excessive efficiency computing sources throughout the medical imaging area. Collaborating with consultants in laptop science and engineering allowed me to concurrently validate my mannequin on a big scale, eliminating the necessity for prolonged ready intervals to establish errors.
What did you take pleasure in most throughout your time as a Fellow?
I loved the chance to collaborate with researchers from various backgrounds, which broadened my understanding of challenges in medical imaging. Furthermore, I appreciated accessing cutting-edge computing sources and help from skilled mentors.
How will the Frontera Fellowship provide help to transfer ahead in your discipline of analysis?
The Fellowship geared up me with the information and abilities vital to handle advanced issues in medical imaging utilizing superior computational methods. My expertise with dual-gated SPECT attenuation correction has expanded my understanding of the sector and unveiled new analysis alternatives.
What can be your recommendation for incoming Fellows, and why ought to others apply to this system?
I’d advise incoming Fellows to actively have interaction with researchers from completely different fields throughout the TACC group. Moreover, benefit from the sources and mentorship out there, as they will considerably speed up your analysis {and professional} growth. I extremely advocate making use of to this system, because it gives a singular alternative to work with cutting-edge know-how, collaborate with consultants, and develop abilities that may tremendously profit your future profession.
Ricardo Yarza
College: The College of California, Santa Cruz
Area of Analysis: PhD candidate, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Are you able to speak in regards to the venture(s) you labored on throughout your time as a Fellow?
Our venture simulated the engulfment of planets by their stars. The objective was to grasp the consequences of engulfment on each planetary architectures and stellar evolution. We prolonged a graphics processing unit (GPU) hydrodynamics code to check these interactions at excessive decision, which was required as a result of our venture concerned a wide variety of spatial scales. We additionally studied interactions between stars and black holes.
What did you study from a scientific/computational standpoint, or from knowledgeable perspective?
I discovered about numerical strategies and the way researchers collectively chart the course of scientific computing. Maybe an important factor I discovered is the best way to assume strategically about scientific software program growth, to maximise the scientific yield of our computational efforts.
What did you take pleasure in most throughout your time as a Fellow?
TACC’s mentors and workers created a supportive atmosphere.
How will the Frontera Fellowship provide help to transfer ahead in your discipline of analysis?
I’ll use the instruments, information, and collaborations I gained through the Fellowship to advance my scientific targets and contribute broadly to computational astrophysics.
What can be your recommendation for incoming Fellows, and why ought to others apply to this system?
Probably the most beneficial aspect of this Fellowship (and of science as an entire) is folks. Along with studying technical abilities and accessing world-class computing sources, this Fellowship was a singular alternative to type relationships with folks invested in our development as scientists and our general well-being. My recommendation to the following cohort of Fellows is to attach with these at TACC and with one another.
Unique story supplied by Damian Hopkins at TACC