The work supported by this award is a continuation of ongoing research in computational astronomy. In the area of radio pulsar searches, highly-successful work in detecting globular cluster pulsars, with emphasis on very deep searches of globular cluster cores, wide area searches of globular cluster halos, and greatly improved searches for short-period binary pulsars will be pursued. In the area of diffraction-limited imaging, improved algorithms for bispectral imaging including use of maximum entropy methods and extension of the algorithms to radio interferometers will be developed. In addition to these specific efforts, the potential of future high-performance parallel computers for observational astronomy research will be investigated. In particular, Caltech plans to acquire a next-generation Intel parallel supercomputer which will have -100 times the computing capability of current- generation machines. Such a computer will provide significant new possibilities for astronomical research. Promising new applications for this machine, and specific hardware and software tools needed for astronomical computing will be identified. //
