Issues

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December 2009/January 2010

Feature

HPC as a service

15 December 2009

Xi Zili is director of Shanghai Supercomputer Center, providing services for both science and industry

Feature

Driving change

15 December 2009

Stephen Mounsey examines some of the applications of HPC within the automotive industry

Feature

Facing the heat

15 December 2009

In the design of their servers, computer manufacturers are combating the need for power at every level: from processors, to power supplies, to cooling methods and everything in between. Paul Schreier checked with some major suppliers to investigate what they've been up to

Feature

Closing the CAD/CAE gap

15 December 2009

Vendors of analysis/CAE software are creating tight interfaces to CAD software; CAD firms are buying up CAE technology. Paul Schreier examines these trends and looks at what they mean to users and where they could take us

October/November 2009

Feature

Down by the sea

22 October 2009

Felix Grant fishes for data analysis applications among the mysteries of the deep

Feature

Fuelling the future

22 October 2009

Greg Blackman looks at how data management software is used in the petrochemical industry

Feature

HPC colonises the desktop

22 October 2009

Computers are continuing along their astounding path down the price/performance curve to the point where you can literally put the power of what we not long ago considered a supercomputer on or beside your desk in an office environment. Paul Schreier reviews some of these powerful systems

Feature

Aerospace modelling is taking off

22 October 2009

Aircraft are enormously sophisticated systems - and expensive, as well, so effective prototyping becomes a matter of survival. Paul Schreier investigates how CFD and other engineering software tools have become indispensable in optimising aircraft and for developing completely new concepts

August/September 2009

Feature

Molecular alchemy

27 August 2009

Saving untold hours in the laboratory, molecular modelling software allows researchers to determine how to make useful changes to existing substances or make new ones. Paul Schreier takes a glimpse of the tools and techniques researchers are using to find the molecules that will bring us improved drugs and materials

Feature

Making the connection

27 August 2009

HPC system architects are increasingly turning to alternative interconnects such as InfiniBand to replace Ethernet in many situations. Paul Schreier examines what is driving this trend

Feature

A taste for LIMS

27 August 2009

Greg Blackman looks at the role LIMS, as well as data management software as a whole, plays in putting food on our plates

Feature

Asking the big questions

27 August 2009

Stephen Mounsey finds out about the computing power behind some of the world's most ambitious scientific projects

June/July 2009

Feature

The future for HPC

11 June 2009

Hans Meuer, general chair of ISC'09, on emerging trends in high-performance computing

Feature

Computer - reconfigure yourself!

11 June 2009

Although they're not simple to program, field-programmable gate arrays can greatly accelerate frequently used functions, and you can reprogram them on the fly to tackle new tasks. Paul Schreier examines the impact they are starting to have on HPC

Feature

Far more than petaflops

11 June 2009

Thomas Lippert, director of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre at Forschungszentrum Jülich explains how supercomputers of highest scalability and scientific users can be brought closer together by means of a new support instrument: the simulation laboratory

Feature

Criminal patterns

11 June 2009

Felix Grant finds statistical processes applied to the social sciences, and in particular, to crime

Feature

Data pharming

11 June 2009

Greg Blackman looks at some of the current trends taking place in the pharmaceutical industry with regards to data management

Feature

Modelling rides into the future

11 June 2009

As auto manufacturers shift towards entirely new types of vehicles, they face a number of engineering challenges. Paul Schreier looks at how design/simulation software is helping them reach their goals more quickly and efficiently

Feature

Drilling for fuel

11 June 2009

HPC technology is aiding oil and gas companies locate hidden submarine reserves in a fraction of the time taken by previous methods, as Stephen Mounsey discovers

April/May 2009

Feature

Saving for the future

17 April 2009

Greg Blackman looks at some of the data-management challenges facing biobanks and how these repositories of material are being used to advance life-sciences research

Feature

The value of pre-validated LIMS

17 April 2009

Aaron M Jones, product manager for LIMS at Applied Biosystems, says the reality of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) LIMS systems depends on the level of pre-validation offered by the vendor

Feature

Dedicated to science

17 April 2009

Dr Peter Beckman directs the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) in providing the computational science community with world-leading computing capability dedicated to breakthrough science and engineering

Feature

Crisis management?

17 April 2009

With the world of finance in meltdown, relying on HPC solutions to predict the future is vital, as Stephen Mounsey discovers

Feature

Beauty is skin deep

17 April 2009

Felix Grant assesses the value of data analysis software in the development and use of surface coatings

Feature

Athletes go to the max

17 April 2009

A variety of software is being used in the science of sports biomechanics to improve athletes' performance in safe ways. Paul Schreier looks at some interesting applications and the resulting improvements

Feature

Clusters have open-source roots

17 April 2009

When setting up and configuring an HPC cluster, there is a wide variety of choices when it comes to tools: proprietary software from hardware or software vendors, many open source tools, and open source tools with commercial support. Paul Schreier provides a quick overview of the major players and their offerings

February/March 2009

Feature

Illuminating optics

11 February 2009

Paul Schreier reviews a sample of the applications and breakthrough products that advanced optics software have made possible

Feature

Driven by science

11 February 2009

Professor Marek Niezgódka, Director of the ICM Centre at the University of Warsaw, explains why the centre heads the Green Top500 list and concentrates on open systems

Feature

A supercomputer chip for every man

11 February 2009

While GPUs (graphics processing units) were initially designed to accelerate video and gaming, vendors of science and engineering software are using them to accelerate their code. Paul Schreier looks at the benefits for today and tomorrow

Feature

Criminal investigations

11 February 2009

The increase in automation in forensic science in the last few years has led to a requirement for data management systems. Greg Blackman looks at the importance of LIMS in forensic laboratories

Feature

Weathering well

11 February 2009

Gemma Church finds out how scientists are using HPC to predict climate and weather more accurately and efficiently

Feature

The human touch

11 February 2009

Computing applied to the earth sciences will save human lives, according to Felix Grant

December 2008/January 2009

Feature

An energy crisis in HPC

16 December 2008

Green computing is becoming important for HPC, not only for reasons of energy conservation and cost reduction, but also because data centres are reaching the limits of power available to them. Paul Schreier examines steps being taken to cut HPC power requirements

Feature

Driving NASA missions

16 December 2008

Rupak Biswas, chief of NASA's Advanced Supercomputing Division, explains the challenges he faces running one of the most high-profile establishments in the world

Feature

Racing ahead

16 December 2008

Gemma Church takes a look at how HPC technology is assisting F1 teams at the cutting edge of the sport

Feature

The sound of software

16 December 2008

Paul Schreier explores how scientific software has allowed some remarkable advances in the area of acoustics, which in turn have led to some very innovative products

October/November 2008

Feature

Responsibilities beyond technology

27 October 2008

In the first of our new regular features on HPC directors, Stephen Winter, Dean of Informatics at the University of Westminster, explains how his role is as much about advocacy and marketing as it is about choosing and managing the technology.

Feature

Leading northern lights

27 October 2008

Gemma Church looks at the range of HPC centres and projects undertaken in northern Europe, covering Scandinavia, Benelux and the Nordic Countries

Feature

A clean bill of health

27 October 2008

Environmental studies often involve handling large data sets. Greg Blackman looks at some of the environmental monitoring applications using data management systems

Feature

Down-to-earth modelling

27 October 2008

Increasing computer power and new software is making it possible to explore more areas of geological activity in so far unknown detail. Paul Schreier looks at some interesting examples

August/September 2008

Feature

Pharma chameleons

3 September 2008

Greg Blackman on the versatility of LIMS, ELNs and other data management solutions in the pharmaceutical industry

Feature

A universe of data

3 September 2008

Paul Schreier visits CERN to learn about the computing resources needed for the world's largest ever scientific experiment

Feature

Turbocharging CFD

3 September 2008

Paul Schreier examines how CFD software suppliers are customising their products to meet the needs of specific industries - in this case, for turbomachinery engineers

June/July 2008

Feature

Biosample storage

8 July 2008

Paul Schreier examines which functions are being added to LIMS to make them suitable for biobanking and points to several reference projects.

Feature

New dimensions in printing

8 July 2008

3D printers are becoming more affordable and are breaking into new application areas. However, as Paul Schreier reports, were not yet at the point where files are as easy to print as with document printers - software for fixing and preparing files for rapid prototyping is still required

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