Interactive Terrain Rendering on Parallel Machines
Patrick J. Angeles & Paul CoddingtonAn interactive, scalable terrain-rendering application is being developed as part of The Living Textbook project. The application uses texture-mapping, Gouraud shading and Z-buffering techniques to render terrain. Various parallel rendering algorithms are also explored to help produce high-quality images at interactive frame rates.
A Postscript version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
A prototype digital-video-on-demand system is proposed. The test will
use existing high-end consumer grade technology on the client side, a
Unix-based server, and a dedicated Ethernet link to simulate a
high-speed switched or ATM network. Existing digital video compression
formats such as MPEG and Quicktime will be tested to assess their
performance and usability.
A Postscript
version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
A computational physics simulation which models the behavior of ions in a
``trap'' was developed to study behavior of ions within Paul traps and
Penning traps, which use electric and/or magnetic fields to confine ions.
The simulation was developed, tested, and
run in Fortran 90, with the intent of porting the application to
High-Performance Fortran when a complete compiler is available. Parts
of the code were tested on ``subset HPF.'' Development of the simulation
and analysis of results required several computationally intense
algorithms, including Gear and velocity-Verlet finite difference methods,
and repeated calculation of long-range interaction forces and potentials.
At this stage of testing, it appears that the
results of the simulation agree with theory.
Postscript and
hypertext
versions of the paper are available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
An evaluation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using High-Performance Fortran (HPF) was undertaken.
HPF, as a natural extension to Fortran 90, incorporates many new
features from Fortran 77, particularly in the areas of data parallelism using arrays, which exist in
Fortran 90 and are carried over to HPF. The study of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and multigrid
methods in HPF involved porting existing Fortran 77 code to Fortran 90 and then to HPF and evaluating HPF
as an alternative to existing message-passing techniques, such as MPI. The process of creating HPF code will also provide
details as to how well HPF is suited for multigrid methods and ideas for the next generation of HPF.
Postscript and
hypertext
versions of the paper are available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
This paper addresses the development of more efficient global
optimization techniques.
Combinatorial optimization consists of a set of problems that are central
to computer science and engineering. Simulated annealing is a very general
optimization technique with a wide range of applications. It has already
been successfully used
to solve computer design problems such as efficient wiring of electric
systems and component
placement for microprocessors.
Simulated `tempering' is an extension of this idea.
The tempering technique was implemented on the Traveling Salesman
Problem. Automatic calculation of an initial and final
value for the temperature parameter was added.
A Postscript
version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
This project involved working with interactive multi-media information systems
and was divided into three main parts. The main task was to write a Perl program which would allow an electronic mail message to easily update multiple Hypercard stacks and Mosaic text files. A Hypercard stack on the traditions of Bryn Mawr College was developed in order to learn how to design interactive multi-media first-hand. The final part of the project involved using a fractal program to create a Quick-Time movie installed in the Hypercard stack.
Postscript and
hypertext
versions of the paper are available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
A study is proposed to investigate existence of certain error correcting
codes through linear programming. If the result obtained from the linear programming
are feasible such a code may exist, if not such a code is impossible.
Using MacWilliams relations and additional constraints derived from special properties of the correcting codes, linear
programming problems can be formulated. Due to severe rounding errors
implicated by the large coefficients and dimensions of the linear programming,
the study will also investigate the equilibration of the coefficients and the
use of Kahan's summation formula in the simplex algorithm to extend accuracy
beyond double precision.
Postscript and
hypertext
versions of the paper are available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
A generic, transportable backbone is proposed that will ease
development of a graphical information service. This will allow companies and
organizations to easily create professional looking information kiosks
with little programming knowledge, allowing them to concentrate on the
content, not technical aspects.
The backbone proposed will be created in HyperCard, a multimedia authoring
tool for the Macintosh personal computer. It's basic structure will be based
on Orange Source, a student information service at Syracuse
University.
A Postscript
version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
The generation of large scale series of ``Pseudo-random'' numbers is essential to the use of Monte Carlo simulations.
All good Pseudo-random number generators (PRNG's) have a very large period, for which they satisfy discreet mathematical
principles of uniform distribution. The size of the period is important for us to consider. Since large amounts, on the order of
Postscript and
hypertext
versions of the paper are available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
The project investigates the use of unstructured grids to
solve problems of interest in fluid dynamics. The two-dimensional
convection equation (a first-order wave equation) is selected as a
model problem, and a finite-volume numerical formulation
is used. The calculations are first carried out for the
wave equation with constant coefficients in a square domain.
The second problem involves the tracking of material
lines in a flow over a cylinder. This fluid-dynamics problem is governed
by the wave equation
with variable coefficients. Another objective of this study is to develop a pre-processing
computer program to sort the unstructured data for Computational Fluid Dynamics
applications.
Results computed with this unstructured-grid
is compared to previous results obtained with a structured-grid method
to evaluate both numerical accuracy and computational performance.
A Postscript
version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
A project is described which designed, implemented and evaluated a simulation of forest fire propagation as a cellular automaton in a parallel environment. Fire models developed by Richard Rothermel were used as the basis for propagation behavior. Furthermore, the simulation was developed to support a variety of applications including fire propagation prediction and the
evaluation of fire fighting effectiveness.
A Postscript
version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
This paper addresses the development of a real time rendering program to
provide a real time interactive interface to information about
New York State, as part of the Living Textbook project. The project is
discussed and broken into separate subproblems. The subproblems explored
are transferring image data for display from parallel systems to graphics
workstations via Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM), and pre-processing
geographic data to add shadows and shading to the renderer.
A Postscript
version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
An interactive computer-aided environment has been developed for calculus instruction. CyberCalc combines Mosaic and Mathematica to provide a powerful and convenient way of accessing calculus instructional materials via the Internet. The CyberCalc environment includes two main elements: a Concept Reviewer and an Interactive Quizzer. The project was designed to create a generic environment that may be applied to a range of fundamental subjects.
A Postscript
version of the paper is available for immediate retrieval and viewing.
NetCast News
J. Daniel Backman & Joan A. Deppa
Ion Trapping Simulation Using High-Performance Fortran
Susan Fischer, Ken Hawick & Paul Coddington
Multigrid Solutions of the Two-Dimensional Navier-Stokes Equations
Using High-Performance Fortran
Jay H. Hui, Ken A. Hawick & Ammar T. Degani
Improved Algorithms for Global Optimization
Rachel Moldover & Paul Coddington
Click on This: Interactive Multi-Media Systems
Marcela C. Musgrove & Joan Deppa
Nonexistence of Codes via Linear Programming
Norazura Mohd Nor @ Nordin, Ernest E. Sibert & Harold F. Mattson
A Generic Engine for an Interactive Information Service
Leland Rechis & Joan A. Deppa
Random Number Generation on Parallel Computer Systems
Christopher A. Stoner & Paul Coddington
could be used in
these simulations. We implemented a parallel PRNG for use in High Performance
Fortran.
Solution of the Convection Equation Using Unstructured Grids
Trang T. Tran, Thong Q. Dang & Rajeev Thakur
BURN: A Simulation of Forest Fire Propagation
Marshall S. Veach, Paul Coddington & Geoffrey C. Fox
Real Time Rendering for a Geographical Information System
Stephanie Weirich & Paul Coddington
CyberCalc: An Interactive Learning Environment for Calculus
Michele Williams, T.J. Willis & Edward A. Bogucz