New facility for geophysics and supercomputing dedicated

January 19, 2007

AUSTIN, Texas—Two of the country's leading research organizations in the fields of supercomputing and geophysics gained a new 94,000-square-foot home on The University of Texas at Austin J.J. Pickle Research Campus in north Austin on January 11. The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and the Jackson School of Geosciences' Institute for Geophysics already work closely together on computation problems related to Earth's environment.

The building marks the first time the entire staff of the institute will be on The University of Texas at Austin campus. Since moving to Austin from its dockside facilities at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1982, the institute has been housed in rental space.

“I think it is hard to overstate how important the new building is for us,” said John Goff, senior research scientist at the Institute for Geophysics. “During the years as leased-space nomads, I don't think we really felt like we were truly a part of the University - just kind of hanging around the fringes and doing research on our own. But with the new building on the Pickle Campus and, just as importantly, full partnership in the Jackson School, that feeling of separateness is finally going away.”

The move also makes economic sense.

"This is easily the nicest office space we have had in my 29 years at the Institute,” said Cliff Frohlich, associate director of the Institute for Geophysics. “And, I do feel more secure knowing that our monthly costs are no longer controlled by the roller coaster that is Austin's commercial real estate market."

Scientists at the institute study processes shaping the Earth, including sea-level fluctuations, climate change and geologic hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Much of their work relies on high-end computation. TACC, one of the leading advanced computing centers in the U.S., occupies the building's lower floor, the Institute for Geophysics occupies the top two floors.

In addition to gaining access to TACC's computing systems, researchers at the institute are now connected by walkways to the Jackson School's other major research unit, the Bureau of Economic Geology. Scientists at the bureau and institute share research interests related to the environment, geophysics, tectonics and the exploration for natural resources.

PBS&J designed the building. Flintco began construction in November 2005 and completed the project ahead of schedule and on budget. The building meets standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System.

"When the lab moved from Galveston to Austin in 1982, UT's president promised us that we would have a place on campus as soon as possible,” said Cliff Frohlich. “I guess our new building at the Pickle Research Campus proves that Longhorns always tell the truth."

Dedication

At the dedication ceremony, several leaders of the University and the Jackson School spoke, including Juan Sanchez, vice president for research, Eric Barron, dean of the Jackson School, William Fisher, Leonidas T. Barrow centennial chair in mineral resources and former dean of the Jackson School, Paul Stoffa, director of the Institute for Geophysics, Jay Boisseau, director of TACC and Scott Tinker, director of the Bureau of Economic Geology.

Following the formal dedication, five speakers gave scientific colloquia on how they use supercomputers in their work.

Gary Glatzmaier, professor at the University of California Santa Cruz, described his work trying to understand the origin of Earth’s magnetic field, magnetic pole reversals and other mysteries of the Earth’s interior. In one dramatic and colorful animation, he treated the audience to a simulated reversal of Earth’s magnetic pole, representing thousands of years compressed into a couple of minutes. He said the reversals happen every few hundred thousand years. The fact that his computer model spontaneously generates pole reversals without outside prompting makes him confident that he has much of the underlying physics right. Despite much speculation that Earth may be currently going through a pole reversal, he said Earth’s magnetic field is actually at about average strength and that even if a change has started, it will be thousands of years from now before it is complete, “plenty of time for people to figure out how to deal with it.”

Thomas Zacharia, associate lab director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, spoke of research conducted at ORNL using supercomputers, work that relates to fusion power, combustion, biofuels, climate change and magnetic recording media. “We are on the threshold of a new era of scientific computing,” said Zacharia. “The work here at TACC is exciting. We look forward to working with you.”

Charlie Catlett, director of TeraGrid, spoke of the importance of large, distributed “cyberinfrastructure” such as the NSF funded TeraGrid, which is used to address a whole host of problems from pandemics to climate change to earthquakes. The Texas Advanced Computing Center is a member of TeraGrid.

Eric Chassignet, professor at Florida State University, said he is refining global ocean models to make it possible to accurately predict conditions a few weeks to a season ahead. He talked about different ways to “slice the ocean” in computer models to obtain more realistic simulations. He said one of the biggest challenges facing him is handling all the data. He described a series of so-called “nested models” he has developed that are made up of large, coarse resolution models with smaller, more detailed models nested inside. These models offer the ability to study processes on the local scale, while still accurately modeling the linkages to global systems.

John Etgen, senior advisor for seismic imaging at BP, said that for the past 15 years, oil and gas explorers have focused too much on seismic data analysis and not enough on how the data is acquired. That is especially true when trying to image an area below a salt formation in deep water such as the Gulf of Mexico. He said BP has pioneered two new acquisition techniques—WATS (wide azimuth towed streamer) and the use of nodes (seismic sensors) attached the seafloor—which have greatly enhanced the quality of subsalt seismic imagery.

For more information about the Jackson School, contact J.B. Bird at jbird@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623.