High Performance Computing
at Boston University
Preparing for the 21st Century
Boston University offers an interdisciplinary
course sequence in high performance computing
for undergraduates, which gives them access
to the most advanced supercomputers available
at the University. The students work in a laboratory
equipped with a network of multimedia graphics
workstations linked to the University's parallel
and distributed supercomputers.
Our courses were among the first to integrate
this technology into the undergraduate curriculum.
They provide our students with a unique opportunity
to develop expertise in leading edge technologies
crucial to scientific progress and economic
strength as we approach the 21st century.
The first course, Introduction to Parallel
Computing, examines parallel methods and their
applications in the natural sciences. From this
base, students choose from the more advanced
courses, which explore specific applications
in chemistry,
computer
science, engineering
and physics.
Students from all the advanced courses meet
together in a weekly laboratory/seminar to explore
computational algorithms and related issues
of cross-disciplinary importance.
These courses and the new laboratory have been
developed with the assistance of grants from
the National
Science Foundation.
Students in these courses have access to the
University's state-of-the art supercomputing
facilities, which feature the new Origin2000
from Silicon Graphics/Cray Research and the
SGI POWER CHALLENGarray. These computers were
acquired with support from a National Science
Foundation grant.
The Origin2000 marks the fourth generation
of parallel super computing technology for the
University, which installed its first parallel
supercomputer in 1988.
Courses Offered:
Introduction to Parallel Computing, ENG
EK420 / CAS CS420 - Fall Semester,
M. Crovella, R. Giles, S. Homer
Advanced Scientific Computing in Chemistry,
CAS CH455
- Spring Semester, D. Coker, J. Straub
Parallel Algorithms & Programs, CAS
CS512 - Spring Semester (alternate
years), A. Heddaya
Parallel Computing: Models, Languages &
Architectures, CAS
CS551 - Spring Semester (alternate
years), A. Bestavros
Parallel Computing for Engineering, ENG EK521
- Spring Semester, R. Brower, D. Castanon
Advanced Scientific Computing in Physics, CAS
PY421 - Spring Semester, C.
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