The research is funded under the Office of Science's "Multiscale Mathematics" program. This program addresses those science problems that span many time scales -- from femtoseconds to years -- and many length scales -- from the atomic level to the macroscopic. The problems cannot be easily broken down into simpler problems for solution using traditional mathematical techniques.
"Computer simulations on even the most powerful present-day computers cannot handle these scientific problems, so new mathematics is needed," said Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Director of the Office of Science. "This research has very practical applications and will help to solve some of our most complex energy and environmental problems."
The program will fund more than 100 researchers. The awards range from individual research grants to multi-institution collaborations. The universities and DOE laboratories receiving awards (and their three-year total funding) are:
California
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
The multiscale mathematics program seeks to help break through the current barriers in understanding complex physical processes that occur on a wide range of interacting length and time scales. The current state-of-the-art in the theory and modeling of complex physical systems generally requires that the physical phenomena being modeled either occur at a single scale, or widely separated scales with little or no interaction. Complex physical systems frequently involve interactions among many phenomena at many different scales. Increases in computational power over the last decade have enabled scientists to begin creating sophisticated models with fewer simplifying assumptions. For these new models to succeed, researchers will need a deeper understanding of the mathematics of phenomena at multiple scales and how they interact.
The researchers will develop and apply new multiscale mathematics algorithms and analysis to support the Office of Science's research missions. The research will support the development of new simulations that are crucial to improved understanding of problems such as fuel cell design, accelerator design and optimization, combustion processes including clean and efficient engine design, fusion reactor design and optimization and design of materials atom-by-atom.
The researchers will also develop and share publicly programs to educate computational scientists in the use of multiscale mathematics as a tool for computational research and discovery.
A list of the projects, the collaborating institutions and principal investigators is available at www.sc.doe.gov
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation and ensures U.S. world leadership across a broad range of scientific disciplines.