{"id":1294,"date":"2009-07-01T08:56:52","date_gmt":"2009-07-01T13:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/?p=1294"},"modified":"2014-09-23T08:36:10","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T13:36:10","slug":"mcsr063009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/mcsr063009\/","title":{"rendered":"MCSR Mini-Camp Offers JSU Science Students Computational Foothold"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preparing tomorrow’s scientists to compute and compete<\/h3>\n

\nOXFORD,
\nMiss. – Ten Jackson State University summer students are a little
\ncloser to becoming computational scientists, thanks to a recent
\nmini-camp provided by the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing
\nResearch at the University of Mississippi.<\/p>\n

MCSR hosted the
\ntwo-day event last week for 12 students attending the Summer Institute
\nat the Interdisciplinary Center for Nanotoxicity at JSU. During the
\nsessions, the students learned how to build and use computational
\nmodels of chemicals and reactions.<\/p>\n

The previous week, MCSR staff
\nmembers Susan Lukose and Jason Hale visited the JSU campus to lay the
\ntechnical groundwork for the mini-camp by teaching ICN students the
\nbasics of Linux, the operating system used by many of today’s
\nsupercomputers. This “crash course” was created to give science
\nstudents a technical toehold in computational research.
\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n
\nWatch slideshow.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


\n“Faculty and student researchers from Jackson State’s chemistry
\ndepartment have been major users of MCSR’s supercomputers for over a
\ndecade,” said Hale, manager of research support at MCSR. MCSR and JSU
\nbegan discussing the idea of creating this opportunity for the Summer
\nInstitute students last summer.<\/p>\n

“We hope to make this a regular event, and expand the mini-camp into a
\nweeklong training experience for future computational chemists from all
\nover Mississippi,” Hale said. Similar training was provided this summer
\nand last for summer research students in UM’s Department of Chemistry
\nand Biochemistry, as well as the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. <\/p>\n

Shonda Allen, associate director of ICN, said the workshop taught
\nstudents how to submit computational jobs to the supercomputers and
\ndevelop advanced skills that will prove useful in ICN’s research
\nprojects. “As computational chemists, they will be able to conduct
\nresearch much faster and with less expense than traditional chemists,”
\nshe said.<\/p>\n

“We provided very practical, hands-on training,” said Brian Hopkins,
\nMCSR computational scientist who taught the chemistry component of the
\nmini-camp. “Starting with a chemical equation written on the
\nblackboard, they created computer models, ran simulations and came up
\nwith accurate computational predictions for various chemical properties
\nand processes.”<\/p>\n

Besides JSU graduate and undergraduate students, participants hailed
\nfrom Jim Hill High School, Murrah High School, Hinds Community College,
\nTougaloo College and Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto
\nRico. All seemed fascinated by the instruction they received.<\/p>\n

“Before this workshop I was not familiar with computational chemistry
\nat all,” said Don Gibson, a JSU graduate student from Jackson. “Now I
\ncan see how a computer can be used to simulate chemical structures in
\nrapid time.”<\/p>\n

“My career goal is to become a research scientist in molecular
\nchemistry,” said Ganna Gryn’ova, a JSU graduate student from the
\nUkraine. “I can see how what I’ve learned here will be useful to me in
\nachieving my objective.”<\/p>\n

Allen said JSU is “most appreciative” for MCSR’s initiative in offering
\nboth the mini-camp and the brief workshop at JSU the previous week.<\/p>\n

“I can tell by the students’ responses and the quality of questions
\nthey’ve asked that they are obtaining more usable knowledge,” Allen
\nsaid. “Such skills will greatly enhance their research presentations at
\nboth national and international ICN conferences on nanotoxicity.”<\/p>\n

Since all work and no play can make for a toxic learning environment,
\nthe young scientists mixed some fun into their trip as well. On one of
\nthe hottest days of the year, they enjoyed a pizza lunch in what might
\nliterally be the coolest place on campus – the highly air conditioned
\nSupercomputing Center, where they walked (and had their pictures made)
\namong the giant computers that will crunch their molecular simulations.<\/p>\n

Thursday evening, the mini-campers checked out Oxford, where some
\nenjoyed the new “Transformers” movie, and others went bowling. All
\nstayed at the new Inn at Ole Miss overnight Thursday and returned to
\nJackson with new MCSR T-shirts after Friday morning’s session. Next
\nmonth, their mini-camp coaches from MCSR will return to Jackson, this
\ntime to view the presentations that the JSU students will give to
\ndescribe their research accomplishments during the Summer Institute,
\nand to present a Linux Netbook computer (donated by Dell) to the
\nstudent whose summer work demonstrates the most effective use of
\nsupercomputing.<\/p>\n

Established by the Mississippi Legislature in 1987, the Mississippi
\nCenter for Supercomputing Research operates supercomputers for research
\nuse throughout Mississippi. MCSR helps scientists at all of
\nMississippi’s public universities compete for and conduct research
\nprojects using computational simulation. In FY 2009, more than $31
\nmillion of federally funded research in Mississippi was supported by
\nMCSR supercomputing resources.<\/p>\n

Established in 2008, the Interdisciplinary Center for Nanotoxicity, a
\nNational Science Foundation Center for Research Excellence in Science
\nand Technology, integrates experimental and computational research with
\nundergraduate and graduate education and training of minority students.<\/p>\n

For more information about MCSR, visit http:\/\/www.mcsr.olemiss.edu<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 SummerRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMCSR Mini-Camp Offers JSU Science Students Computational Foothold - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/mcsr063009\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MCSR Mini-Camp Offers JSU Science Students Computational Foothold - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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. 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