UC-HIPACC 2010 Astro-Computing Summer School on Galaxy Simulations

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

AST-1040948 Primack UC-HIPACC 2010 Astro-Computing Summer School on Galaxy Simulations; July-August 2010; University of California-Santa Cruz The Astro-Computing Summer School on Galaxy Simulations at the new University of California High-Performance Astro-Computing Center (UC-HIPACC) will help to train the next generation of researchers in how to run and analyze simulations of galaxy formation and evolution, and more generally how to exploit the power of current and coming generations of supercomputers. Lectures on all the leading galaxy simulation codes will be given, in most cases by the leading experts in the world, including the authors and main users of these codes. The student body will comprise about 60 of the brightest and best-prepared graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the world who are working on understanding the origin and evolution of galaxies, including both theorists and observers. Codes and sample outputs will be provided to all the students, along with accounts on a new supercomputer at the San Diego Supercomputer Center so that they can practice running simulations and analyzing outputs. Ample opportunities will be provided during the school for student interaction with the lecturers and with each other. We are at the early stages of a revolution in computer-aided discovery, with ever-more-realistic simulations and an increasing ability to manipulate, and extract hidden meanings from, enormous datasets. Advances in astrophysics result from a combination of observation and theory, with simulations and data manipulation playing an increasingly important role as computer power increases and codes improve. We must empower astrophysicists to use the new supercomputers efficiently, both to understand astrophysical processes through simulation and to analyze the petabytes and soon exabytes of data that will flow from new telescopes and supercomputers. Educating a new generation of researchers through programs such as this summer school will play an essential role in this effort.