[CIG-ALL] CIG News - December 2008

[Sue Kientz]

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                        CIG News:  December 2008
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Also available at
http://geodynamics.org/cig/proposalsndocs/newsdocs/newsletter-dec08

*CIG Software Releases*

   * Conman 2.0 - ConMan is a vectorized finite element program for the
solution of the equations of incompressible, infinite-Prandtl number
convection in two dimensions, originally written by Arthur Raefsky,
Scott King, and Brad Hager. See
http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/packages/mc/conman/ for  source code
and manual.

   * SNAC 1.0 - SNAC (StGermaiN Analysis of Continua) is an updated
Lagrangian explicit finite difference code for modeling a finitely
deforming elasto-visco-plastic solid in 3D, released under the GNU
General Public License. See
http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/packages/long/snac/
for source code and manual.

*Software Bug Fix*

   * PyLith 1.3.1- PyLith is a finite element code for the solution of
visco-elastic/plastic deformation that was designed for lithospheric
modeling problems. The latest version is primarily a bugfix release. Two
new minor features that were added include the addition of stages to
PETSc logging to collect event logging in groups and the ability to set
the minimum shear wave speed in SCEC CVM-H queries. Bug fixes include
honoring partitioning options (which were ignored in v1.3.0); assembling
of the Jacobian, residual, and fault sections across partitions (which
caused errors in the computation of the change in tractions over the
fault surface and errors while time-stepping in parallel); and omission
of closing the fault material property databases (which resulted in
memory not being deallocated). See
http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/packages/short/pylith/ for source
code, binaries, and manual.
*
CIG Encourages Member Proposals to NSF; Solicits Feedback on CIG-II*

   * CIG recently sent out a letter detailing plans for continuing its
activities beyond the end of current funding and encouraging members of
the community to collaborate with computational scientists and seek
funding from some relatively new NSF programs. We also want your
feedback; read the Open Letter to the Community at
http://geodynamics.org/cig/proposalsndocs/documents/2008-10-17  and
click the Comments button at the end to provide your input.

*CIG is Seeking CIG-Enabled One-Pagers, Journal Articles*

   * In preparation for the next phase of CIG, we are beginning a
self-evaluation to understand the range of activities and impact of CIG.
As a useful mechanism (and a very nice way to highlight your own
science), we are seeking bibliographic information and/or electronic
copies of "One-Pagers" (that briefly describe an exciting piece of your
science that was made possible using CIG software or resources) or any
published, in-press, or planned journal article or other publication
that has been enabled by CIG or is contributing to the overall CIG
effort. More details, an example one-pager, and forms for submitting
your publication are at
http://geodynamics.org/cig/proposalsndocs/related-papers .

*Upcoming Meetings*

   *  CIG Business Meeting, Tuesday, December 16 (during AGU), 6-8:30
p.m., Parc 55 Hotel, Sienna Room (3rd Floor), San Francisco. You are
invited to this public forum for members of the Geosciences community to
discuss the future development of CIG. Expect the main focus to be on
plans for the future, including proposals for CIG-II. Meeting follows
reception. Details at http://geodynamics.org/cig/upcoming/business-mtg-08 .

   *  Future of CIG Meeting, to be held in Spring 2009 (exact date
TBA), Pasadena, CA. You are invited to this multiple-day meeting to
discuss the future development of CIG. More details will be forthcoming
as plans are finalized.

*Presentations and Posters from GeoMath08 Workshop Online*

   * CIG Workshop on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Solid
Earth Geosciences, Sept. 15-17, 2008, Santa Fe, NM. This CIG workshop
brought together solid-earth geoscientists, mathematicians,
computational and computer scientists to focus on specific issues
arising from a range of solid-Earth dynamics problems that have proven
both difficult and critical for progress in studying and modeling the
dynamics of the planet. The Workshop Agenda now includes links to all
the presentations and posters given at the workshop; see
http://geodynamics.org/cig/workinggroups/cs/workshops/geomath08/program
*
EC and SSC Committee Updates*

New EC and SSC Members - We are pleased to announce that the following
people will be CIG's new officers filling 3-year terms:

   * EC: Bill Appelbe (VPAC)
   * SSC: Luc Lavier (U Texas at Austin), Andy Freed (Purdue), and
Wolfgang Bangerth (reelected)

In addition, SSC members elected Louise Kellogg (UC Davis) as their new
chair.

We would also like to thank the outgoing members of the EC and SSC for
their exemplary service and contributions to CIG. Brad Hager served for
two years on the EC, most recently serving as vice-chair and chair of
the nominations committee and provided critical guidance during this
time. Brad Aagaard has worked tirelessly in his three years on the SSC,
most recently as chair for the past year. We are indebted to his vision
and leadership. He has (and will continue) to provide fundamental
contributions to short-term tectonics and the larger CFEM community as a
major developer of PyLith. Finally, we will miss Shijie Zhong who also
served three years on the SSC and has provided critical leadership to
the mantle convection community through organization of mantle
convection workshops and in particular, his fundamental contributions to
Citcom and CitcomS. We look forward to continuing to work with Brad,
Brad and Shijie as CIG plans for the future.

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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

SVN software repository and systems administration:
Jan Lindheim
cig-help 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 Chair
Louise Kellogg (UC Davis),
kellogg at geology.ucdavis.edu

Executive Committee: contact Chair
Marc Spiegelman (Columbia),
mspieg at lamont.ldeo.columbia.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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