This project supports collaborative research by Dr. Sanguthevar Rajasekaran, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut at Storrs, Connecticut. The collaborating Egyptian scientist is Dr. Salwa Nassar, Electronics Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt. They plan a study of high performance techniques for remote sensing. Remote sensing is of great importance in varied domains such as homeland security and climate studies. Remote sensing problems often deal with voluminous datasets whose processing demands high computational run times that may not be acceptable. One way of achieving acceptable run times (preferably real-time performance) is with the help of high-performance techniques. General purpose parallel compilers may not be of much help because of the complex nature of the problems involved. The PIs plan to address this gap in the understanding of high-performance remote sensing. In particular, they plan to develop high-performance algorithms for solving fundamental problems in remote sensing such as imagoedesy, image segmentation and development of reflectance models. Three ways of achieving parallelism will be considered: using supercomputers, employing local clusters, and utilizing grid computing. Contributions will be made on the fundamental aspects including the development of algorithms, scheduling, and software performance analysis. An equal emphasis will also be placed in implementing the developed algorithms to solve specific problems in remote sensing.
Intellectual Merits: The role of high-performance computing in solving remote sensing problems will be brought out. The research problems addressed in this project need complementary sets of expertise. The proposed international group will serve as a viable model that can be emulated by others in future. Students trained in this project will be able to setup collaborations of this kind in their career.
Broader Impacts: Over the past three decades, the area of algorithms has produced excellent research and clever algorithms and has solved numerous fundamental problems. Yet the full impact of these advances is not as widely felt since the transmission mechanism to real world applications has been unsystematic at best. In this project, the focus is on the transmission of algorithmic advances to remote sensing application areas that are of vital importance to Egypt and the US and also to the world at large. Research outcomes of this project will greatly benefit industries and educational institutes in these countries. Students trained will acquire unique skills and expertise in the aspects of collaborations. Developments made will impact the practice in the short run. Thus the outcomes of this project can impact the society in the near future, in areas such as in accurate weather forecasting. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.
