Sixteen students participating in the first Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the LSU Center for Computation & Technology, or CCT, presented their summer-long research projects to CCT faculty and a representative of the National Science Foundation Friday, July 16.
 
Edward Seidel, LSU Floating Point Systems Professor of Physics & Astronomy and former CCT director, who is the National Science Foundation’s Assistant Director for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, attended the research presentations to meet with students, provide feedback, and emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary research. CCT Interim co-Director Jorge Pullin, Horace Hearne Chair of Theoretical Physics in the LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy, also attended, along with University faculty who served as mentors for the students throughout the summer. 

 

This CCT Research Experience for Undergraduates, called REU, program began May 31 and will continue through July 29. It is one of the first three such programs funded through the National Science Foundation’s Office of Cyberinfrastructure. The focus for this REU is Interdisciplinary Research Experience in Computational Sciences, in which students learn to use campus, state and national cutting-edge cyberinfrastructure to investigate different scientific phenomena.

 

CCT faculty Juana Moreno, Department of Physics & Astronomy, and Gabrielle Allen, Department of Computer Science, served as principal investigator and co-principal investigator, working with CCT staff Bety Rodriguez-Milla and Kathy Traxler to secure grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the Louisiana Board of Regents for this summer program.

 

During the REU, college students from Puerto Rico, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Florida, Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Louisiana have collaborated with LSU faculty and staff. At Friday’s session, the students created short presentations detailing the projects they have undertaken alongside their mentors throughout the summer. 

 

The research projects for the Summer 2010 REU encompass a broad range of computational science topics, including modeling of gamma ray bursts and binary black hole systems; visualizing data from galaxy collisions and neutron star mergers; creating computer simulations of flame-resistant materials; accelerating scientific codes using graphics processor units; developing new computer interfaces that use radio frequency identification technology; molecular dynamics studies of how ions behave in a liquid matrix; designing of metallic photonic crystals to harvest solar energy; new techniques for multi-touch, tactile displays; and designing tools and languages that makes it easier for collaborating researchers to develop, share and manage computer applications across networks. 

 

“I am very impressed with the quality of work you all have been able to produce in a short amount of time,” Seidel told the students, noting that the interdisciplinary emphasis of CCT’s REU is what leading science organizations consider the ideal setup for research. 

 

The CCT REU students will create posters about their work to present as part of the 17th annual LSU Summer Undergraduate Research Forum, where students from summer programs across campus present their research projects. These presentations will take place Thursday, July 29, from 1-4 p.m. in LSU's Union Cotillion Ballroom. 

 

A panel of distinguished University faculty and researchers will select the top six posters presented at SURF, and the students who created those will receive funding to attend and present their research at a conference of their choice. For more information about this activity, visit http://lbrn.lsu.edu/portal/staticpages/index.php?page=SURForum. 

For more information on CCT’s REU in Interdisciplinary Research Experience in Computational Sciences, visit http://reu.cct.lsu.edu.