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Summer Institute 2005

• Overview • Participants • Projects •
• Schedule • Photo Gallery • Video •

SI2005: Supercomputing to Infinity and Beyond

Overview
From July 10-22, 2005, OSC Summer Institute participants experienced firsthand the dynamic fields of high performance computing (HPC) and networking. Working with kids their own age and with similar interests, they contemplated everything from computational chemistry to mechanical engineering, all while applying newly learned programming and visualization skills.

To make the experience well-rounded, OSC invited experts from the science, engineering, HPC and networking communities to speak with the students about relevant topics and careers in science and engineering.

SI is not just about spending time in the classroom. Students enjoyed a day of learning about team building while navigating obstacle and rope courses at the Adventure Education Center. Other fun field trips with a science spin included some of OSU's premier research facilities such as the Nuclear Reactor Lab, Museum of Biological Diversity and The Center for Automotive Research. Students will also got a taste of campus life by living and dining in the OSU dorms.

Participants

Projects
The students worked together in small teams on diverse and challenging projects. Teams were comprised of a project leader (staff member who conceived and designed the project), students in the project group, a high school teacher and a student leader (in charge of dividing project tasks).

Each year the projects offered change. This year's projects included: Parallel Processing, Cryptography, and the Comet Project.

This year's projects were as diverse as they were challenging. Two groups chose to do Parallel Programming projects. Led by group leader, Dave Ennis, Team SimCell simulated the fundamental capabilities of a human cell. Each component of the cell was controlled by a separate processor with the nucleus sending out signals to control cell actions. Troy Baer's parallel group, Team Matrix, modeled population growth using parallel computing techniques. The model simulated the interaction between population, food supply, and natural resources. The simulation ran in parallel so that multiple territories can be modeled simultaneously.
Click here for the Team SimCell animation 1.
Click here for the Team Matrix animation 1.

One of two new projects, the Comet Project, focused on trying to find new comets. The project, created and led by Alan Chalker, was so popular with the students, that two groups elected to search for comets. Team Komet Hunterz produced an animation showing the step by step process of starting with a raw image, filtering it, identifying possible comets, and comparing them to subsequent images. Identified comets were shown with a short movie with rings drawn around them.
Click here for the animation.

Team Oort, the second Comet group, calculated the trajectories of the comets and overlaid them on the images / movies one after another to show patterns in which the comets are traveling.
Click here for the animation.

Another new project, Cryptography, was devised and led by STS student, Jon Mudronja. The project was an overview of the topic of encryption and its integration in today's technology. The group examined the RSA cypher and evaluated its foundations using parallel processing supercomputers.
Click here for the animation.

Students were required to do their own work from code implementation to final results. Excellent programming skills and an understanding of the project's science/engineering were prerequisites for facilitating code writing. Finally, the students made a video animation displaying their simulation data -- which was the ultimate goal of each project. Groups presented and explained their animations to parents, OSC staff, and guests who attended the SI Closing Ceremonies.

Schedule

Click here to download a detailed schedule.