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Media Contacts:
Stephanie Sides, (619) 534-5131, ssides@ucsd.edu
Warren Froelich, (619) 534-8564 wfroelic@ucsd.edu

To push the development of its computational research, education, and infrastructural programs in support of science, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has established the Center for Advanced Computational Science and Engineering (CACSE) as a campus research unit.

This center, which reflects the increasing interest in and broadening applicability of computational science, will engage in research across a wide range of areas. These areas will bring computational technologies and approaches to bear on important applications. The needs of the applications, in turn, will push the development of new technologies.

Applications areas of study will include chemistry, biology, environmental science/ecology, materials science, and engineering, in addition to disciplines that traditionally have not taken advantage of high-performance computing such as the social sciences. Technology areas of study will include scalable metacomputing, data-intensive computing, and interaction environments.

"I am excited about the establishment of the center because it unites--in a synergistic way--all groups on campus that have interest and expertise in the various facets of high-performance computing and communications," said Chancellor Robert Dynes. "The center will provide leadership in research, development, and deployment of high-performance computing technologies that will be of great benefit to the nation."

CACSE will leverage the research strengths of UCSD's science and engineering faculty and the San Diego Supercomputer Center's (SDSC) research and development staff. It will also build on the high-performance computing infrastructure and support services created by SDSC over the last 10 years.

"CACSE will encourage interdisciplinary collaborations among faculty to address the most complicated problems in science and engineering," said Richard Attiyeh, interim senior vice chancellor-academic affairs at UCSD.

"In addition, CACSE will team applications scientists and computer scientists to develop and deploy the required high-performance computing technologies," said Sid Karin, director of CACSE. "The results of these efforts will spur progress in research, increase our understanding of the natural world, and improve the quality of life in immeasurable ways." Karin is adjunct professor of computer science and engineering at UCSD and founding director of SDSC.

CACSE will interact with departments and other research units on campus. It will also involve industry in its research activities, following the models of UCSD's Center for Magnetic Recording Research and Center for Wireless Communication and SDSC's industrial partner program.

The center's principal task over the next two months is to prepare a proposal to the National Science Foundation's "Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure" program.

This program is the follow-up program to the one that has funded the four national supercomputer centers, including SDSC, which ends in September 1997. Ultimately, it is anticipated that CACSE will become the headquarters of a multicampus research unit, providing advanced computational infrastructure for all nine campuses of the University of California.