Preparing tomorrow’s scientists to compute and compete
OXFORD,
Miss. – Ten Jackson State University summer students are a little
closer to becoming computational scientists, thanks to a recent
mini-camp provided by the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing
Research at the University of Mississippi.
MCSR hosted the
two-day event last week for 12 students attending the Summer Institute
at the Interdisciplinary Center for Nanotoxicity at JSU. During the
sessions, the students learned how to build and use computational
models of chemicals and reactions.
The previous week, MCSR staff
members Susan Lukose and Jason Hale visited the JSU campus to lay the
technical groundwork for the mini-camp by teaching ICN students the
basics of Linux, the operating system used by many of today’s
supercomputers. This “crash course” was created to give science
students a technical toehold in computational research.
“Faculty and student researchers from Jackson State’s chemistry
department have been major users of MCSR’s supercomputers for over a
decade,” said Hale, manager of research support at MCSR. MCSR and JSU
began discussing the idea of creating this opportunity for the Summer
Institute students last summer.
“We hope to make this a regular event, and expand the mini-camp into a
weeklong training experience for future computational chemists from all
over Mississippi,” Hale said. Similar training was provided this summer
and last for summer research students in UM’s Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry, as well as the Department of Medicinal Chemistry.
Shonda Allen, associate director of ICN, said the workshop taught
students how to submit computational jobs to the supercomputers and
develop advanced skills that will prove useful in ICN’s research
projects. “As computational chemists, they will be able to conduct
research much faster and with less expense than traditional chemists,”
she said.
“We provided very practical, hands-on training,” said Brian Hopkins,
MCSR computational scientist who taught the chemistry component of the
mini-camp. “Starting with a chemical equation written on the
blackboard, they created computer models, ran simulations and came up
with accurate computational predictions for various chemical properties
and processes.”
Besides JSU graduate and undergraduate students, participants hailed
from Jim Hill High School, Murrah High School, Hinds Community College,
Tougaloo College and Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto
Rico. All seemed fascinated by the instruction they received.
“Before this workshop I was not familiar with computational chemistry
at all,” said Don Gibson, a JSU graduate student from Jackson. “Now I
can see how a computer can be used to simulate chemical structures in
rapid time.”
“My career goal is to become a research scientist in molecular
chemistry,” said Ganna Gryn’ova, a JSU graduate student from the
Ukraine. “I can see how what I’ve learned here will be useful to me in
achieving my objective.”
Allen said JSU is “most appreciative” for MCSR’s initiative in offering
both the mini-camp and the brief workshop at JSU the previous week.
“I can tell by the students’ responses and the quality of questions
they’ve asked that they are obtaining more usable knowledge,” Allen
said. “Such skills will greatly enhance their research presentations at
both national and international ICN conferences on nanotoxicity.”
Since all work and no play can make for a toxic learning environment,
the young scientists mixed some fun into their trip as well. On one of
the hottest days of the year, they enjoyed a pizza lunch in what might
literally be the coolest place on campus – the highly air conditioned
Supercomputing Center, where they walked (and had their pictures made)
among the giant computers that will crunch their molecular simulations.
Thursday evening, the mini-campers checked out Oxford, where some
enjoyed the new “Transformers” movie, and others went bowling. All
stayed at the new Inn at Ole Miss overnight Thursday and returned to
Jackson with new MCSR T-shirts after Friday morning’s session. Next
month, their mini-camp coaches from MCSR will return to Jackson, this
time to view the presentations that the JSU students will give to
describe their research accomplishments during the Summer Institute,
and to present a Linux Netbook computer (donated by Dell) to the
student whose summer work demonstrates the most effective use of
supercomputing.
Established by the Mississippi Legislature in 1987, the Mississippi
Center for Supercomputing Research operates supercomputers for research
use throughout Mississippi. MCSR helps scientists at all of
Mississippi’s public universities compete for and conduct research
projects using computational simulation. In FY 2009, more than $31
million of federally funded research in Mississippi was supported by
MCSR supercomputing resources.
Established in 2008, the Interdisciplinary Center for Nanotoxicity, a
National Science Foundation Center for Research Excellence in Science
and Technology, integrates experimental and computational research with
undergraduate and graduate education and training of minority students.
For more information about MCSR, visit http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu .