Ralph Regula School of Computational Science Lunch BriefingSteve Gordon's Speech Today’s event is a culmination of many organizations – The Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio Supercomputer Center, Ohio Learning Network, Project Lead the Way, and Ohio higher education -- that have been working in this emerging field of computational science. They have seen the need for Ohio to take a national lead in this critical area. They have recognized that computational science has become the third approach to scientific discovery and innovation along with theory and experimentation. Why is the Ralph Regula School of Computational Science so critical to the future of the Ohio and U.S. economy? Many national leaders are realizing the importance of computational science to the nation’s economic development. In response to the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee, John Marburger, President Bush’s Science advisor, said “Computational science - the use of advanced computing capabilities to understand and solve complex problems - is now critical to scientific leadership, economic competitiveness, and national security.” In Spring 2005, a blue ribbon panel assembled by the National Science Foundation released its report on “Simulation Based Engineering Science.” They concluded that modeling and simulation are keys to continued U.S. leadership in engineering and related scientific discovery. Why have these national studies come to this conclusion? The U.S. can no longer effectively compete for jobs in manufacturing where the products involve repetitive fabrication of the same items in large quantity. In fact, low-wage nations can produce the same items much more cheaply. Where the nation has the advantage is through its innovation – in the superb design, the efficient production, and the quick introduction of new products to market before international competitors. These innovations are greatly enhanced with the use of computational modeling in design and discovery. Computational modeling lets scientists and engineers explore things that are too small to see (molecules and atoms), too complex to understand (jet engines, crashing automobiles), too large to fully measure (galaxies and the universe; hurricanes), or too dangerous to handle– toxic chemicals. Computational modeling also facilitates the examination and testing of many different designs at a fraction of the cost of building physical prototypes or creating laboratory experiments. Together, these options have allowed innovative firms to out compete their rivals. Some examples of innovations include the safety testing of automobiles with computer simulations rather than cars or the discovery of new drugs and the personalization of prescriptions to different genetic groups that react differently to dosage and treatment options. Or, entire factory floors can be retooled and reorganized on short notice for smaller, more specialized manufacturing tasks using computational methods. The result of this new approach is new products, better products, a healthier population, and a more vibrant economy. Computational science also represents a different approach to learning – through project and problem-based activities. Students of computational science focus on problem-solving skills and the problems they address provide an interesting and stimulating environment where they grow to understand the importance of the underlying math and science skills. That approach should interest more students in science and engineering careers and help to resolve the U.S. workforce shortage in those areas. So why have we created a statewide initiative in this area? There are outstanding individual programs at several Ohio institutions. However, no one institution has been able to assemble the expertise to comprehensively cover all of the areas of engineering and science that demand computational science expertise. The statewide program will be able to offer students from many institutions that broad range of experience and expertise. It will be able to garner the support of business and industry clients that will provide internship experience for students and permanent employment for graduates. It will also allow the participating universities to avoid duplication of effort, share expertise and experience, and provide a wider range of opportunities to their students. We have already begun several important projects that will help us meet our overall goals for the school. The National Science Foundation last year awarded us one of only 10 grants in their new Cyberinfrastructure program to create a shared undergraduate minor in computational science. Ohio Supercomputer Center, Ohio Learning network, and faculty and administrators at 10 institutions -- including two-year and four-year, public and private institutions – will have a formal undergraduate minor program in place by Autumn of 2007. We have also collaborated on several projects that will create easy-to-use interfaces to complex computer simulation programs, making it easier for both faculty and students to learn the related computational methods. Take, for example, the GRIDP software suite created in concert with University of Cincinnati’s Genome Research Institute. GRIDP uses a variety of simulation techniques for drug discovery. We expect that and other similar programs to be tested in classrooms in Ohio later this academic year. We are also working on certificate programs for professionals and displaced workers seeking to enhance their skills in this emerging field. Our aim is to make Ohio's workforce more attractive to high tech firms and to make Ohio firms more competitive in the international marketplace by helping them to implement computational science programs. In conjunction with research and development and service capabilities being developed by OSC's Blue Collar Computing program, the Ralph Regula School is providing nationally recognized leadership to move U.S. firms into a more competitive position. Finally, we are taking computational science to K-12 students through several channels. Kathy Sommers from the Ohio Department of Education will speak about how computational science will impact Project Lead the Way, a tech prep program. OSC also runs summer programs for high school and middle school students and helps in the professional development of K-12 teachers in computational science approaches for their classrooms. Now – I would like to introduce Mark Perry from Battelle who will give U.S. his perspective on the importance of computational science to industry. |
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