Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing

Almost 20 years ago, the University established a new research centre for Scientific Computing. Its aim is the increased application of mathematical modelling and computers in science and technology.

Latest research results combined with modern, high-performance hard- and software make it possible to tackle and solve problems that could not previously be dealt with. As the use of mathematics in science, technology, medicine and economics is on the increase, scientific computing will continue to gain in importance. The Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR) is a pioneer institution. Its forward-looking approach and its determination to address highly complex problems in research and application will open up new interdisciplinary fields and with them a wide range of employment opportunities in science and industry for its graduates.

A simulation of turbulent channel flow (bottom to top). The coloured area represents the of particles transported by the flow. Today, many scientific and technical processes are simulated on the computer to improve understanding of them and gauge their consequences more accurately.

Resources for research

The IWR aims can only be achieved via interdisciplinary collaboration. Mathematicians, information technologists, chemists, physicists, biologists and medical researchers all work together here, while remaining institutionally based in their respective Faculties. The IWR coordinates this expertise in its various projects and provides resources for scientific research and teaching. Numerous research groups are based at the IWR itself but are still attached to their respective Faculties.

the Interdisziplinary Center for Scientific Computing in the Internet: www.iwr.uni- heidelberg.de

Teaching and continuing education in Scientific Computing is one of the central tasks of the IWR. It provides lectures and practical courses in modelling and model analysis, the development of algorithms, simulation, optimisation, visualisation and image processing. The IWR also participates in training programmes for the application of information technology. There is special emphasis on the use of computers and a system of work stations for teaching purposes. Workshops and special courses contribute to the continuing education of participants from schools, universities and industry.

The reconstruction of Islamic architecture is a special individual project funded by the Federal Ministry of Higher Education and Research and involving representatives of the sciences and the humanities. Three-dimensional geometric structures are derived algorithmically from the ground plans and evaluated on the basis of mathematical and art-historical criteria.

Teaching for research

Examples of complex problems engaged with at the IWR are turbulent flow (around road vehicles and aircraft), combustion and pollution in engines and power plants, industrial catalysis, surface and subsurface flow and transport, bioreactors, optimum control in industrial processing engineering, robot control, biomolecular dynamics and computer-assisted medicine. Topics range from the development of processes for simulating galactic radiation transport to the diffusion of medicines through the skin.

The IWR has developed a parallel high-performance computer in the shape of the HELICS PC cluster. Scientists from various disciplines use the cluster to compare gene sequences or compute complex simulations such as direct numerical flow or astrophysical radiation transport.

Via the IWR's collaborative research centre "Reactive Flow, Diffusion and Transport" (German) and its postgraduate research group on "Complex Processes: Modelling, Simulation and Optimisation" the German Research Foundation provides funding for basic research and the training of young scientists. The IWR research programme is made possible by considerable contract research funding income. Some 6 million euros annually go into the numerous projects conducted at the IWR. Several major awards have been won by IWR researchers (the Leibniz Prize, various Max Planck awards, the Baden-Württemberg State Research Prize, etc.). The IWR cooperates with various research institutions in Germany and elsewhere and has earned an international reputation as a centre of excellence in scientific computing.