This proposal supports student involvement and attendance at the 2009 SIAM/ACM Joint Conference on Geometric and Physical Modeling. This four day event draws between 200?300 attendees across a broad set of interdisciplinary academic areas including mathematics (geometry, topology, numerical methods, optimization), engineering (design, modeling, simulation) and computer science (graphics, computational geometry). The meeting is a unique, multi-disciplinary event. Whereas most scientific meetings in the above areas are ?stove-piped? by the individual disciplines, the SIAM Activity Group on Geometric Design and the ACM Symposium on Solid and Physical Modeling have an over 30 year history of spanning disciplines. The above event is bringing together scientists and engineers, both from academia and industry, around the themes of geometry and topology and their role in product design, manufacturing, simulation and other applications.
The intellectual merit of the proposed activity lies in the educational opportunities and the shared research objectives of the community. By providing travel grants for students studying in these areas, the NSF encourages the students to pursue interdisciplinary work and enhance their academic experiences. Secondarily, the academic subjects covered by this meeting are of vital importance in many areas of critical national need. Work presented at this meeting covers diverse topics ranging from biomedical CAD and biomanufacturing to sustainable design and optimization of next generation materials. The broader impact is found in developing the careers of the student supported by these travel grants and their work in these areas of critical national need. Given the central role geometry and topology play in everything from product design to virtual training systems to advanced manufacturing technology, the proper nurturing of these activities?especially those of an interdisciplinary nature?is vital to producing scientists and engineers who can meet the nation?s needs.
