AIMS@UNM (4)/Interim Report

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=4

Problem Solution
The goal of this team is to create a program capable of modeling the flow of interstellar gas in a scalable area of space. We will need to construct a dual n-body and statistical model that utilizes optimization techniques as well as a distributed computational architecture in order for us to effectively attain results within our means. In addition to this base computational code, this team will develop an OpenGL graphical representation top help visualize the data.

Progress to Date
The group has completed extensive research on the subject and has constructed a framework around which the project will be built. The code has been broken into two sections; computational and graphical. The group members have taken on individual tasks; some focusing on the graphical representation and others working on methods of optimizing the simulation itself. Because this team is using several different operating systems, the final simulation will be cross platform and easy to compile as well as run. The code has already begun to take shape and is being written in C++ with both OpenGL/SDL libraries and CMake being used to ensure ease of use across platforms. In order to make the best use of the hardware available this team is also developing swarm computing capabilities. It’s development can be seen on Github at “https://github.com/carrollcongress/Ice”.

Expected Results
This team expects to be able to successfully model a specific portion of local space and compare modeled results against hard data. The final results, both in code and data, should be quite useful to both physicists and astronomers alike through revealing much about the interactions of interstellar matter and energy, as well as providing a platform for others to build on to do distributed and scalable computing.

Interim Comments
David Rogers Lead for Scalable Analysis and Visualization Group at Sandia National Laboratories.

Hi, all. Congratulations on your work so far - looks like an interesting, tough project that could provide some interesting results, and some amazing visualizations.

Looks like you're breaking the problem down into manageable chunks, which is a great way to attack something so complex. From a coding standpoint, it's clear how you are progressing (CMake, cross-platform, etc). I'd suggest you pay attention to how to communicate the science and math behind the code, as this is something the judges will be looking for in the final presentation. It seems clear from your interim report that you have an approach (N-body particle problem), so some explanation of that should be all that is needed. Including some references is a big plus, too, so people understand the foundations of your approach.

Remember that you have a face to face evaluation this month, so pay some attention to communicating the math and science for that review.

And, I'd be happy to consult on how to best visualize this data - I can imagine some great images.

Nice work so far - good luck with the next steps!