Welcome to ASCR Discovery, a webzine about the research that powers computational science – the use of computers to gain insight and understanding of scientific questions.

The Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research in the Department of Energy Office of Science supports the projects described here. ASCR’s portfolio includes projects at DOE laboratories and many public and private universities. Such research may take years to reach fruition, but has profound impact on science and, ultimately, the way we live.

We hope you find ASCR Discovery enlightening, and we encourage your comments.

Data wave - new
Researchers are recasting their long-held computational tools to process a data torrent flowing from powerful experimental facilities.

Watts and what ifs - new
Adding renewable energy sources like wind power creates more variability when managing the nation’s electrical grid. ASCR-supported mathematicians are seeking ways to optimize operations under that uncertainty.
 

Cosmic performance
Simulations of the universe’s evolution have run with incredible speed – 10 petaflops or better – on a new supercomputer, DOE researchers say.

Water, water everywhere
To improve desalination where fresh water is scarce, MIT researchers have turned to supercomputers to calculate just-the-right-sized nanopores in graphene.

Updating apps
To avoid bottlenecks, combustion
simulations and other applications
will rely on codes that can adapt
as hybrid systems come on line.

Looking skyward
Simulations of the universe’s evolution have run with incredible speed – 10 petaflops or better – on a new supercomputer, DOE researchers say.

Sweet science - new
Aleksandar Donev drew early inspiration from M&Ms. Now he’s putting his DOE Early Career grant to use, solving tricky equations and building computer simulations to make sense of fluid dynamics.

Extreme climate
Increasing computing capabilities to the exascale will improve climate predictions. Meanwhile, scientists must figure out how to refine their models to make full use of all that power.