PLANETARY MUSINGS

Entries in "Case"

Graduate Study in Earth and Planetary Science

The Department of Geological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University is currently accepting applications from students interested in pursuing graduate studies leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the earth, environmental, and planetary sciences. The Department offers flexible, research-intensive programs for graduate students. Applications are accepted on a continuing basis, though students requesting financial support are strongly encouraged to apply by February 1, 2008. Online applications are available through the School of Graduate Studies.

There are several opportunities for students interested in pursuing research in planetary science, particularly in the areas of planetary geology and geophysics, high-pressure and temperature geochemistry, and meteorites working with a group of faculty that includes myself, Prof. Harvey, and Prof. Van Orman.

At present I am collaborating with students to (1) understand the nature of Mars' crust and lithosphere and tectonic activity and (2) the mechanisms responsible for driving Ganymede's magnetic field. (3) I am also looking for graduate students interested in working with me on analyzing data from the MESSENGER Mission to Mercury to understand both the internal and tectonic evolution of that planet Additional opportunities within these may be available depending upon interest. We are also in the process of focusing new study on large lunar impact basins.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss opportunities for graduate study in planetary science and/or geophysics with interested students (my contact info is available on my webpage).

Case geology student wins Churchill Scholarship to study at Cambridge

Check out this story about Katherine Allen, a graduating senior in geology, who earned a Churchill Scholarship to attend Cambridge next year.

Research computing - High performance?

One of the things that I am interested in, primarily because it helps me do my research better, is high-performance computing. I have only been here at Case a few years, but issues of research computing have been around here a while I gather... The primary issue is often: is there enough? It isn't always clear what enough means. What is enough for my research group might be overkill for another researcher, or not even scratch the surface of the needs of yet another.

High-performance may mean fast CPU's to me, but super-fast networks, incredibly high-speed access to enormous datasets, or screaming 3-D visualization tools to others. So what? Well, a lot of great research comes from being at the edge of what is possible... but computational resources are expensive - especially at the edge and primarily because they become obsolete so quickly. It is not like buying lab supplies that could work for a decade or more if properly maintained, etc - optimistically, 3 years and a computer is toast. So, is there potentially an economy of scale that could allow more researchers to be closer to the cutting-edge and really expand research opportunities?

Research units working together to share computational resources could be a good thing. But what would make it good for researchers with few (no) ties other than that they use computers throwing in their resources together?

I think there are three aspects to an answer to this question:

(1) Can we do better, more cutting-edge research?

(2) Can the workloads, related to computational infrastructure, of individual researchers or research groups be reduced?

(3) Is it financially sustainable?

All important questions, but the one that interests me most right now is (1). What research could you pursue (that you can't do now) if there were significantly more resources available to you on campus than a single department (or researcher) might garner by themselves? Nice to think far forward like that.

The ACRC is thinking about this question too... anyone else?