9/26/00 -- NAS User Services Features Added to Web
A New User Orientation section debuts this week in the NAS User Services area. Created specifically for scientific users who have been allocated time on the high-performance computers at the NAS Facility for the operational year (starting November 15, 2000, this section contains contact information, all required forms for users to download and instructions for obtaining accounts.

Within the new section users will find procedures for establishing secure connections to NAS systems and setting up the basic user environment. Additional startup information on file systems and user responsibilities, along with a list of helpful links, are included. A list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) will be added November 7, and an updated Systems Status page is planned for release in November.

The NAS User Services area also contains a Help Desk section with various links to Systems Documentation, and descriptions of training seminars and events held at NAS.

9/19/00 -- Summer Issue of Gridpoints Online
Check out the Summer 2000 issue of Gridpoints, the NAS Systems Division's quarterly magazine. In "The Smallest Nanodevices: Atomic Devices with Precise Structures," researcher Toshishige Yamada explains an approach to developing atomic-scale transistors. Other stories highlight the NAS Systems Division's work in nanotechnology, wind turbine research, and Internet protocols. Preview the table of contents, or just download the PDF file. You can also subscribe to receive the print version of Gridpoints.

9/5/00 -- Experts Meet to Solve Gigabit Networking Challenges
Networking and applications development experts convened at NASA Ames Research Center for August 14 - 16 to remove some of the roadblocks causing gigabit networking to screech to a stop just short of users' desktops. The workshop, "Gigabit Networking, the End-To-End View," was hosted by the NASA Research and Education Network (NREN) Project -- an element of the agency's High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program -- and co-sponsored by the Next Generation Internet (NGI) Large Scale Networking Working Group.

HPCC Deputy Program Manager William Van Dalsem addressed the importance of gigabit networking to NASA Enterprises. "The NASA HPCC Program goal," he said, "is to accelerate the development, application, and transfer of high-performance computing and computer communications technologies." Van Dalsem emphasized that these technologies are critical for meeting the engineering and science needs of the U.S. aerospace, Earth and space science, spaceborne research, and education communities. "The ultimate goal, is to transfer these technologies to the American public," he said.

Applications demonstrated at the workshop pointed out some of the difficulties in achieving true end-to-end gigabit networking. Demos included: the Digital Sky Virtual Observatory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Project Data Space, University of Illinois at Chicago: Visible Human, University of Michigan; Combustion Corridor - Visapult, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Land Speed Record, Internet2 & Information Sciences Institute; High Definition TV, University of Washington; and Virtual MechanoSynthesis (VMS), NASA Ames Research Center. The VMS application, developed in the NAS Systems Division, was presented by Bryan Green, Chris Henze, and Andrew Pohorille.

Panels of representatives from government agencies, industry, and academia set the stage for subsequent workshop breakout sessions by discussing the current status of gigabit networking, development of infrastructure, measurement, and gigabit end-to-end issues. The objective of the breakout sessions was to develop roadmaps for gigabit networking. Topics included: gigabit testbeds, platforms, measurement, and middleware/integration; teleseminars and telemeetings; models in real time, large databases, and remote instrumentation. Workshop proceedings and a final report will be available on the NREN Web site in October. For more information, send e-mail to nren@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

8/15/00 -- NAS Opens Research Branch Chief Position
The NAS Systems Division has placed a formal vacancy announcement for a "Supervisory Computer Scientist," who will serve as the division's Research Branch Chief, with responsibility for all management functions and supervision of branch staff.

The Research Branch conducts research and development in information systems technology to aid in the understanding of complex scientific data. This involves research in distributed computing, collaboration, and understanding of scientific experimentation, interactions and simulations.

The Branch Chief will act as a leader to formulate and guide research on problems critical to high performance computing, with equivalent responsibilities in research for NASA's Information Power Grid of distributed high performance computers, networks, and data archives, in collaboration with other government agencies, industry, and universities. The incumbent will communicate the results of research activities to a wide range of interested parties, especially those who are advancing the state of the art in related disciplines.

The position is open to all qualified candidates from the general public without prior federal service, and current civil service employees with career or career-conditional appointments. s For a detailed job description, further qualifications, and instructions for submitting your resume, go to the Ames Job Opportunities web page. Look for Job # 00-JKB-121. Submission deadline: August 18, 2000.

8/03/00 -- NASA Supercomputing Resources Available to U.S. Scientists For FY2001
NASA's Information Technology (IT) and High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) programs are now offering supercomputing resources to scientists working in the U.S. for conducting advanced studies in aeronautics and related disciplines. The primary resource is the 512-processor SGI Origin 2000 system at the NAS Facility at Ames Research Center -- currently the largest single-image memory system in the world.

The joint Announcement of Opportunity for FY2001 invites scientists working at U.S. institutions within the U.S. to submit proposals for conducting research applicable to specific programs or activities within NASA's Aerospace Technology Enterprise, including aviation safety, advanced space transportation, and intelligent systems. Proposals must be submitted by September 18, 2000 for the period starting November 15, 2000.

Other resources include SGI Origin 2000 systems ranging from 64 to 256 processors, with mass storage and secure operations capabilities. Scientists also have access to a variety of software, graphics libraries and programs. Scientists will also receive comprehensive 24-hour, 7-day a week support services.

For more information, acceptance criteria and proposal submission instructions, see the full IT/HPCC 2001 Operational Period Announcement of Opportunity.

7/25/00 -- New 512-processor Origin Faster, More Reliable
On July 17, a new 512-processor Origin 2000 system with upgraded technology arrived at the NAS Facility at Ames Research Center. The 512-CPU machine, designated to support NASA's Information Power Grid (IPG) testbed and a host of other research efforts, will speed large computations and provide improved reliability for NASA scientific users.

The new machine features SGI's new R12000A 400-megahertz processors, which will improve performance by 33 percent over the facility's existing 512-CPU Origin 2000, installed in July 1999.

"The 512s are still experimental machines that have been constructed by a team of NAS and SGI engineers, and are unique -- they have been installed nowhere else in the world," says Mark Tangney, NAS facilities manager coordinating the installation.

The system is tentatively scheduled to be installed in mid-August, pending a reorganization of the computer room floor, says Tangney. The original 512-CPU machine will be reconfigured to support NASA's Data Assimilation Office, which produces research-quality global data for advancing the understanding of Earth system and climate changes.

In tandem with the delivery of the 512-processor machine, a 32-processor SGI Origin 3000, with a new physical architecture was installed. The 32-CPU system -- already up and running as part of suite of testbed machines -- is more resistant to hardware failures and will reduce downtime. The NAS Systems Division is the lead organization for high-performance computing within the agency.

For more information on the new SGI Origin systems at the NAS Facility, contact Mark Tangney at tangney@nas.nasa.gov, 650-604-4415.

7/18/00 -- Ames Researchers Designing DNA Electronic Devices
In the ongoing quest to solve challenges with creating nanoscale molecular electronic devices, researchers at NASA Ames are working to design nanoscale DNA diodes, transistors, and simple logic gates. The team is using a unique approach that provides a mechanism for self-assembly in future molecular-scale electronics, based on state-of-the-art nanotechnology and molecular electronics principles. The research, conducted by Jie Han in the NAS Systems Division, is funded by a grant from the Ames Director's Discretionary Fund totally $80,000 for two years.

Much of the recent progress in computer technology is based on creating smaller and smaller transistors for logic devices and integrated circuits. Rapid advances have been made in fabricating and demonstrating individual electronic wires and devices. However, these new technologies still face large problems, including the requirement for devices to self-assemble.

Recent studies have shown that DNA has all the components needed to build an electronic device as well as the self-assembly characteristics needed to form complex electronic circuits. Even more exciting to the research team, DNA has the unique feature of self-replication. The work will focus on theoretical and computational proofs-of-concept, and experimental demonstration will be considered using nanotechnology and biology facilities at Ames.

Han is collaborating with the nanotube biosensor experimental team at Ames and Nanogen, Inc., based in San Diego. Nanogen develops technology that integrates microelectronics and molecular biology on semiconductor chips. For more information, contact Jie Han at han@nas.nasa.gov, 650 604-4799.

7/11/00 -- Goldin 'Pleased' With NAS Strategy
Impressed by the NAS Systems Division's two-fold strategy in high performance computing, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin has charged division staff with creating a long-range plan for NAS's role in HPC development. The division researches new high performance computing technologies, then develops them to operate in a production computing environment.

Goldin is "pleased with the developments seen here," says NAS Systems Division Chief Bill Feiereisen. "He's placed his confidence in us, and we're ready to deliver."

During his visit to Ames Research Center on Friday, July 7, Goldin toured the NAS computer facility and inspected the 512-processor SGI Origin computer system -- currently the largest single-image system in the world. The Administrator was also briefed on the division's progress on the Information Power Grid, and the upcoming purchase of a 1024-processor Origin system. The NASA Administrator was "in 'visionary mode' -- interested in wilder things than the next architecture ," says Feiereisen, "but he was also acknowledged that any plan has a path that starts with the architectures that we understand and from which we can extrapolate."

Goldin also expressed support for Feiereisen's move over the last year to broaden NAS's traditional support of aeronautics applications to encompass other NASA initiatives. In particular, he stated the importance of computations for Earth Science and biotechnology applications. For more information on NAS's high performance computing plan, contact Jill Dunbar at jdunbar@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

7/3/00 -- Better Silicon-on-Insulator Electronics Will Benefit NASA Missions
Using numerical simulations, a team of researchers has shown that by replacing insulating material in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology, devices can operate reliably at much higher temperatures than conventional electronics. SOI technology, in which electronic devices are built on top of a buried insulator, has many potential advantages over conventional electronics -- including the potential to create smaller electronic devices with lower power needs and much greater radiation immunity. But the buried insulator in standard SOI, silicon dioxide, traps heat in the device layer -- a process called self-heating -- which degrades device operation and lifetime.

In a step toward solving the self-heating problem, NAS researcher Bryan Biegel and university colleagues have analyzed the ability of aluminum-nitride (AlN) to replace silicon dioxide as the buried insulator. AlN is a good electrical insulator in silicon, and its thermal conductivity is more than 100 times higher than that of silicon dioxide. The team employed numerical simulations to compare the high-temperature operation of conventional electronics with that of standard SOI electronics and aluminum-nitride SOI. A partial differential equation solver called PROPHET was used to implement the electronic device operation model, including charge and heat generation and transport.

Improvements to high-temperature electronics technology will greatly increase the capabilities and reliability of NASA space missions. High temperatures (above 125 degrees centigrade), occur in every spacecraft that leaves the Earth's atmosphere, enters an atmosphere at high speed, or travels close to the Sun.

Biegel, with colleagues Mohamed Osman (Washington State University), and Zhiping Yu (Stanford University) presented, Analysis of Aluminum-Nitride SOI for High Temperature Electronics (PDF, 412K) at the 5th High Temperature Electronics Conference, June 11-15, in Albuquerque. For more information, contact Bryan Biegel at biegel@nas.nasa.gov, 650 604-0171.