NERSCPowering Scientific Discovery Since 1974

Math of Popping Bubbles in a Foam

Researchers have described mathematically the complex evolution and disappearance of foamy bubbles, a feat that could help in modeling industrial processes. Applying these equations, they used NERSC supercomputers to create visualizations showing the disappearance of wobbly foams one burst bubble at a time. » Read More

Aided by Simulations, Scientists Observe Atomic Collapse State

Aided by simulations generated at NERSC, scientists have finally confirmed a 70 year-old prediction in quantum mechanics: Electrons in super-heavy atoms can spiral into the nucleus and away again, emitting a positron in the process, an effect known as atomic collapse state. » Read More

Supercomputers Help a Catalyst Reach Its Full Potential

Chemical reactions, facilitated by catalysts, are crucial to many industrial processes. Although many catalysts used in industry work just fine, researchers at PNNL want to help them reach their full potential. » Read More

BISICLES Captures Details of Retreating Antarctic Ice

Satellite observations suggest that the shrinking West Antarctic ice sheet is contributing to global sea level rise. But until recently, scientists could not accurately model the physical processes driving retreat of the ice sheet. Now, a new ice sheet model—BISICLES—is shedding light on these details. » Read More

National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center

Computing at NERSC

Now Computing

A small sample of massively parallel scientific computing jobs running right now at NERSC.

Project Machine CPU Cores CPU Core Hours Used
Center for Edge Physics Simulation: SciDAC-3 Center
 PI: Choong-Seock Chang, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Hopper 70,080
Type Ia Supernovae and X-Ray Bursts
 PI: Stan E. Woosley, University of California Santa Cruz
Hopper 24,576
Quantum Chromodynamics with four flavors of dynamical quarks
 PI: Doug Toussaint, University of Arizona
Edison 2,048
Computational Prediction and Discovery of Magnet Materials
 PI: Cai-Zhuang Wang, Ames Laboratory Iowa State University
Hopper 1,536
Solar Energy to Chemical Fuel: Design of Efficient Artificial Photosynthetic Materials
 PI: Margaret Shun Cheung, University of Houston
Carver 256
Spin-lattice Coupling in Magnetic Phase Transition
 PI: Yi Wang, Pennsylvania State University
Carver 256

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Each year NERSC's 5,000 users report more than 1,500 peer-reviewed paper submissions based on work using our resources.

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