Before the UT vs. Vanderbilt University football game on Saturday, fans can learn about the past, present, and future of scientific computing at the College of Arts and Sciences Pregame Showcase.
“Simulations for Solutions: Solving Problems Through Scientific Computing” will feature Steven Wise, associate professor of mathematics, who will discuss the evolution of scientific computing and look at the challenges that lie ahead.
Now in its twenty-fourth season, the Pregame Showcase gives fans the chance to hear from esteemed UT faculty prior to each gridiron matchup. The final showcase will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 23, in the Carolyn P. Brown University Center Ballroom (Room 213).
Free and open to the public, each showcase features a thirty-minute presentation and a fifteen-minute question-and-answer session followed by a brief reception. Door prizes will be awarded.
Wise will discuss the advent of scientific computing, from the early days at Princeton University and Los Alamos National Laboratory and the building of the first atomic weapons to the present day and the great triumphs of modern computing. He also will look into the future of scientific computing and how computers might—and might not—be able to help solve some of the biggest problems.
“I want to help people understand how computers simulate and make sense of the world around us, to appreciate the power and beauty of the algorithms that enable machines to do this. But computers and algorithms aren’t perfect; they always bring along and introduce some errors, and sometimes these errors are fatal to the predictions, so I also want to help people understand the limitations to our technology and how we might overcome some of these in the future,” Wise said.
Wise’s research covers a range of topics, including computational mathematics and numerical analysis, computational materials science, and mathematical biology. He currently holds a $160,000 National Science Foundation grant for his research, and has published more than forty scholarly articles.
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C O N T A C T :
Lynn Champion (865-974-2992, champion@utk.edu)
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)