Development of Advanced Materials Get Boost
6.24.13 The Materials Project—an open-access Google-like database for materials research developed by Berkeley Lab and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—is working with Intermolecular, Inc. to enhance the tool's modeling capabilities and thus accelerate the speed of new material development by tenfold or more over conventional approaches. New materials are key to addressing challenges in energy, healthcare and national security. The Materials Project is hosted on the NERSC's Science Gateway.
Unusual Supernova Is Actually Perfectly Normal
6.19.13 August 2011 saw the dazzling appearance of the closest and brightest Type Ia supernova since Type Ia's were established as "standard candles" for measuring the expansion of the universe. Labeled SN 2011fe, the supernova was caught by the Palomar Transient Factory less than 12 hours after it exploded in the Pinwheel Galaxy with help from supercomputers and networks at NERSC and ESnet. Now, astronomers are using it to build a benchmark atlas for normal Type Ia's.
Emission Regulations Reduced Impact of Climate Change in California
6.13.13 A first-of-its-kind study examing the impact of black carbon on California's climate found that reductions in emissions of black carbon since the late 1980s resulted in a measurable reduction of concentrations of warming pollutants in the atmosphere. The study ran simulations on NERSC's Hopper system.
Moving Computer Services to the Cloud Promises Significant Energy Savings
6.11.13 A six-month study led by Berkeley Lab with funding from Google has found that moving common software applications used by 86 million U.S. workers to the cloud could save enough electricity annually to power Los Angeles for a year.
ESnet Joins Demo of World's First Intercontinental 100 Gbps Link for R&E
6.3.13 ESnet joined five of the world's other leading research and education networks and two commercial partners to demonstrate for the first time a Transatlantic 100 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) transmission link for research and education between North America and Europe.
Trillion Particle Simulation on Hopper Honored with Best Paper
5.30.13 An unprecedented trillion-particle simulation, which utilized more than 120,000 processors and generated about 350 terabytes of data, pushed the performance capability of NERSC's Cray XE6 "Hopper" supercomputer to its limits. It also allowed Berkeley Lab researchers to glean valuable insights that will help thousands of scientists worldwide make the most of current petascale systems and future exascale machines.
Researchers Model Impact of Aerosols over California
5.28.13 For the first time ever, researchers have characterized the relative, direct influence of different aerosol species on seasonal atmospheric warming and cooling over California using supercomputers at NERSC and at PNNL. The scientists found that aerosols have a net cooling effect on California's atmosphere, but individual species contribute differently. While sulfates contributed the most to cooling, black carbon particles, or soot, were responsible for up to 95 percent of countervailing warming.
Math of Popping Bubbles in a Foam
5.09.13 Berkeley Lab researchers have described mathematically the successive stages in the complex evolution and disappearance of foamy bubbles, a feat that could help in modeling industrial processes in which liquids mix or in the formation of solid foams such as those used to cushion bicycle helmets.
