The purpose of this project is the construction of an inexpensive but powerful parallel computing environment that will allow the physics department of Mansfield University to introduce advanced topics in physics to undergraduate students in a special course using large scale simulations of physical systems. The students will be able to perform computer experiments on realistic models and will be introduced to the basics of computational physics using a parallel machine. In particular the computer system proposed will have the following characteristics: (1) High computing power at a very modest cost, that will allow them to simulate realistic physical models. (2) A true parallel environment with extensive use of parallel languages and hardware. (3) The possibility of expansion by adding extra processing units to the system, and a flexible parallel geometry that allows easy modifications. The equipment consists of a small network of transputers controlled by an inexpensive PC-type host computer. It will allow students in a course in computational physics not only to deal with serious problems in several areas of physics but to gain familiarity with some of the parallel computational techniques and to do experiments in a true laboratory for computational physics. The university will match the award with an equal amount of funds.
