High Performance Computional and Graphical Work Environment for the Applied Math Group at UNC at Chapel Hill

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

The Principal Investigators develop theory, modeling and computation for diverse physical and biological systems. A critical two-way link between model simulation data and experimental data is afforded by the instrumentation of this award. Numerical databases from computer simulations are handled by the graphical environment and translated into experimentally measurable predictions. Examples include: kinetic simulations of nano-composite materials processes are converted into images that simulate real-time light scattering data; dynamical systems predictions of mixing in the Gulf Stream are matched with Lagrangian satellite data collected from ocean buoys; transport and mixing in bio-fluid layers are compared with in vitro data from medical experiments on lung cell cultures; and, stochastic model predictions of signaling pathways are imaged and compared with single cell measurements. Mathematical theory and simulations of physical and biological phenomena are now capable of predictions that rival the most advanced physical instrumentation available. The direct link between these two modes of inquiry is the focus of the proposed research. The mathematical modeling capability in biology, materials design, and the environment is made possible through modern computer hardware technology and advanced mathematical software. The investigators develop mathematics and computation for diverse applications, including biochemical networks which regulate cell function, complex fluids which perform vital mammalian lung function, ocean transport and mixing enhanced by currents such as the Atlantic Gulf Stream, and high-performance material properties achieved by nano-composite technology. The immediate impact of the graphical interface is to establish a direct bridge between virtual simulations and laboratory data. An image processing interface converts both databases into a common graphics environment, for direct comparison with one another and for new insights from each mode of inquiry. The societal impact lies in fundamental understanding and predictive tools for the specific applications, including cell-to-cell variability in biology, design and optimization of next generation materials, mixing and transport across ocean currents which are vital for fisheries and global climate predictions, and the trapping and remediation of pathogens entering mammalian lung pathways.