MRI: Interdisciplinary Cluster Computing at a Liberal Arts College

Amherst College, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project, setting up a computer cluster for research that requires substantial computational processing and data storage, enables the following research: -Integration of buffer cache policies; -Insights into lattice quantum field theories; -Fossil visualization; and a -Computational model for dispersion of mercury. The first combines strategies for managing main memory within computer systems simulating the many ways in which these strategies can be combined, determining the effect each has on the other, and ultimately developing a unified main memory manager for operating system kernels. The second applies computational intensive methods to gain insights into lattice quantum field theories. Using Monte Carlo simulation, this project seeks an understanding of the basic physics (e.g., the phase structure) of these models. The models will be used as a laboratory for studying improved actions and algorithms. The third attempts to improve the delays that occur in the process of converting attenuation projections into slice images when using X-radiographic computed tomography to visualize fossils embedded in rock. The last develops a computational model for dispersion of mercury from a nearby coal-fired power plant. The computational capabilities permit exploring the full 40-year historical data record, thus allowing testing and refinement of the local atmospheric chemistry and transport model. Additional faculty from other areas will use the facility to expand the depth and breadth of existing research projects and new lines of investigation requiring massive computational power. The Five College Consortium (Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Hampshire, and U Mass) will share the infrastructure. Broader Impact: This infrastructure promotes multidisciplinary and inter-institutional research. The cluster will be used for honor theses and summer research. Hence, the computer cluster increases the opportunity for students, including many female and minority students, to engage in research. Many of the undergraduates being serviced should continue unto graduate school.