[CIG-ALL] CIG News - July 2007

[Sue Kientz]

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               CIG News
               July 2007
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Also available at
http://geodynamics.org/cig/proposalsndocs/newsdocs/newsletter-july07

CIG Software Releases

1.  Gale 1.2.1 - Gale is a 2D/3D code that solves problems related to  
orogenesis, rifting, and subduction with coupling to surface erosion  
models. This latest release includes thermal problems (including a  
cookbook example) and normal stress boundaries which simulate the  
effect of a supporting material. Several bugs are also fixed. Gale is  
a joint effort between CIG, Victorian Partnership for Advanced  
Computing (VPAC), and Monash University. See http://geodynamics.org/ 
cig/software/packages/long/gale/ for binaries, source code, and  
manual. Gale is also now available on the TACC TeraGrid site; see  
http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/csa/ for instructions.

  2. PyLith 1.0.1 - PyLith is a finite element code for the solution  
of visco-elastic/plastic deformation that was designed for  
lithospheric modeling problems. This release allows the solution of  
both quasi-static and dynamic problems in one, two, or three  
dimensions, and runs in either serial or parallel mode. Designed to  
allow relatively easy scripting using the Python programming  
language, its material properties and parameters for boundary and  
fault conditions are specified using a spatial database, which  
permits easy prescription of complex spatial variations of properties  
and parameters. See http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/packages/ 
short/pylith for source code, binaries, and manual.

3. Cigma beta 0.9 - The CIG Model Analyzer (Cigma) is a suite of  
tools that facilitates the comparison of numerical models, and  
performs error analysis, benchmarking, and code verification. See  
http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/packages/cs/cigma for source code  
and manual.

Software Bug Fixes

CitcomS 2.2.2 - CitcomS is a finite element code designed to solve  
thermal convection problems relevant to Earth's mantle. This release  
contains an important fix on geoid calculation and some minor  
enhancements on the speed of generating random tracers and on  
postprocessing scripts. See http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/ 
packages/mc/citcoms/  for source code and manual. You can also run  
CitcomS on the TeraGrid; see http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/csa/  
for instructions.

CIG Awarded Mid-Size TeraGrid Allocation

CIG to support more community allocations on TeraGrid - On June 21,  
CIG's proposal to TeraGrid's Medium Resource Allocations Committee  
(MRAC) was accepted, which now expands CIG's ability to offer the  
geodynamics community allocations of time on TeraGrid machines. CIG  
plans to continue offering user training at workshops, and will now  
also support benchmarking and the nurturing of more new users who  
wish to try out CIG codes before applying for their own allocations.  
The new award period begins July 1. Users already set up to access  
CIG's allocation will continue to use their current logins and  
passwords. To apply for some of CIG's TeraGrid time, send in the  
application at http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/csa/

CIG Strategic Plan Submitted

The Science Steering Committee (SSC) completed the strategic plan  
covering Sept. 1, 2007 to Aug. 31, 2012, and this final version was  
submitted to the National Science Foundation on July 12. Download the  
plan at http://geodynamics.org/cig/proposalsndocs/documents/archives/ 
CIG_SP_2007.pdf

Past and Future Meetings

* CFEM 2007 Wrap-Up - Visit the CFEM 2007 Workshop page at  http:// 
geodynamics.org/cig/workinggroups/short/workshops/cfem-07/ and fill  
out our post-workshop survey, review/download PPT and PDF lectures  
and posters, and view photos taken during the June workshop. Thanks  
to everyone who helped organize and all those who attended -- you  
made this year's CFEM workshop a success!

* Joint CIG/SPICE/IRIS Computational Seismology Workshop - A joint  
workshop between SPICE (Seismic wave Propagation and Imaging in  
Complex media: a European network), IRIS (Incorporated Research  
Institutions for Seismology), and the CIG Seismology Working Group is  
planned for October 9-11th, 2007, in Jackson, NH, at the Eagle  
Mountain House. It will be a joint meeting between European and  
American Seismologists to discuss current "hot topics": algorithm  
development, imaging developments, and the future goals of a united  
American-European scientific community. Funding will hopefully be  
available to support up to 100 participants who will examine the  
current and future possibilities for computational seismology. See  
http://geodynamics.org/cig/workinggroups/seismo/workshops/spice07/   
for announcement and list of speakers.

* Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) Tutorial Workshop - In order to jump- 
start development on a new generation of AMR-enabled geodynamics  
codes, CIG is hosting a tutorial workshop on Oct 24-27 in Boulder,  
CO, devoted to the technical aspects of the AMR method. A discussion  
of the basics of AMR methods and tutorials using the deal.II library  
will be conducted by Dr. Wolfgang Bangerth (lead author of the  
deal.II library), followed by hands-on coding sessions, building  
codes that can solve simple models of interest to the geodynamics  
community, which can then serve as starting points for later  
extension to more complete models. We will have presentations on  
other AMR libraries and tool kits as well as discussion on the AMR  
and geodynamics software. Details will be posted as they become  
available.

Executive Committee (EC) Update

* Nominations for New EC Seat Solicited - In December 2006 at the CIG  
Business Meeting, representatives of the member institutions voted to  
expand the membership of the Executive Committee from four to five. A  
detailed description of the duties of the EC can be found in the  
recently updated CIG By-Laws: http://geodynamics.org/cig/ 
proposalsndocs/documents/CIG_By-Laws_Dec_2006.pdf (PDF).  E-mail your  
nominations, suggestions, and other recommendations to the Nominating  
Committee (nominations at geodynamics.org), which consists of Brad  
Hager (chair; Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Laurent Montesi  
(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), and Magali Billen (University  
of California, Davis).

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Who to contact

CIG Administration, contracts, travel, etc.:
Ariel Shoresh, (626) 395-1699
ariel at geodynamics.org

Equation solvers (PETSc) and PyLith development:
Matt Knepley, knepley at mcs.anl.gov

Gale and Magma development:
Walter Landry, (626) 395-4621
walter at geodynamics.org

Benchmarking, Cigma, and visualization:
Luis Armendariz, (626) 395-1695
luis at geodynamics.org

Build procedure and computational seismology:
Leif Strand, (626) 395-1697
leif at geodynamics.org

Citcom and Mantle convection benchmarks:
Eh Tan, (626) 395-1693,
tan2 at geodynamics.org

Website and user manuals:
Sue Kientz, (626) 395-1694
sue at geodynamics.org

Geodynamo, SVN software repository, and systems administration:
Wei Mi, (626) 395-1692
wei at geodynamics.org

Software architecture and Pyre framework:
Michael Aivazis, (626) 395-1696
aivazis at caltech.edu

Administration:
Mike Gurnis, (626) 395-1698
gurnis at caltech.edu

Science Steering Committee: contact Chairman
Peter Olson (Johns Hopkins),
olson at jhu.edu

Executive Committee: contact Chairman
Mark Richards (Berkeley),
markr at seismo.berkeley.edu

-- 
Sue Kientz

Technical Writer/Web Manager
Computational Infrastructure of Geodynamics (CIG)
     http://www.geodynamics.org/
sue at geodynamics.org
ofc: (626) 395-1694
     ~Metaphors Be With You~




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