OU faculty, students to hear presentation about high performance computing, multimedia classroom tools

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Jan 21, 1997) — 

Ohio University faculty and students will soon learn different ways to show off their research and how to move from using overheads and handouts, to using web sites and audio visuals with the help of the Ohio Supercomputer Center.

Ken Flurchick, director of scientific programs for the Ohio Supercomputer Center, will talk about how to use the web to create a multimedia classroom and how to illustrate molecular dynamics through simulations and visualizations at 4 p.m. on Jan. 23 and 24 in 104 Clippinger. Members of OU's Department of Physics and Astronomy invited Flurchick to speak on the two topics because of his strong background in high performance computing. Prior to joining OSC in 1996, he initiated and participated in collaborative research with a number of academic and industrial partners, and was the Chief Scientist at the North Carolina Supercomputing Center.

Flurchick will show faculty members in the physics department, chemists and engineers involved with the Condensed Matter and Surface Science program how parallel computing can help solve complex problems on Thursday. For example, by using parallel processing researchers can determine the forces behind large or complex systems. Parallel processing involves using more than one computer, or processor, to solve a problem. These processors can work on the same instructions at the same time or execute different instructions, communicating through some type of network. The lecture also will provide techniques on how to display results from this type of work either through visualization software or interactive simulations.

The next day Flurchick will speak to the Department of Physics and Astronomy Colloquium, and will focus on how to use the World Wide Web as an educational teaching and training tool. Flurchick will use his own experience to illustrate construction and delivery of web-based material through text, images, and audio and video multimedia components. He also will discuss how to use these materials in a lecture effectively. In 1995, Flurchick worked on a project at North Carolina state called the Regional Training Center for Parallel Processing, a web site devoted solely to training individuals about high performance computing (http://renoir.csc.ncsu.edu/RTCPP).

Flurchick has helped scientists, faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students solve problems using high performance computing, including parallel computing, and scientific visualization since 1981.

The Ohio Supercomputer Center is a state-funded center serving Ohio's higher education community. OSC's peer-review process offers computing resources to more than 2,500 faculty and student researchers seeking answers to cutting-edge problems or for classroom instruction. The Center's high performance computing and visualization equipment includes a Cray Y-MP, T3D, DEC Alpha cluster, IBM SP2, Convex Exemplar, and SGI Power Challenge. OSC's networking initiative provides Internet service to all of higher education, state government, many K-12 schools and commercial clients.

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