The principal investigator (PI) intends to apply his expertise in computational fluid dynamics, space science, and plasma physics, to construct an integrated teaching and research program in computational physics. This project will address the needs of the Huntsville area for an experienced technical workforce by developing a unique educational resource within the Department of Physics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), with support from the UAH Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR). The PI's team includes thirteen new faculty members and researchers recently hired by UAH Physics and CSPAR, all of whom are closely involved in computational science research.
The PI plans to create a new track in Computational Physics as part of the UAH Master's degree program in the Department of Physics. This curriculum will serve both prospective students and local industry by providing advance training in numerical and supercomputer techniques. The project's research component will include the development of a comprehensive computer model of the Solar System, from Earth to its outer edge and into the surrounding interstellar cloud. This model will address science problems in charged particle acceleration, pickup ions and neutral atoms, the physics of interplanetary turbulence, the transport of cosmic rays, and solar wind interaction with the interstellar medium. In addition, the PI will develop new supercomputing technologies, including graphic processor-based computing, using UAH's existing 400-core computing cluster, and eventually larger supercomputer resources expected to be available in the future.
