# **Accomplishments for 1999 Mark Hereld**

## Vague, But True, (i.e. Overview)

Managed the *VR Technologies* efforts within the Futures Lab (under Rick
Stevens) in the Division of Mathematics and Computer Science, including
one fulltime employee, one coop student, and three summer students.

Developed technologies to support visualization, collaborative
environments, and virtual spaces. Developed and supported collaborations
between Argonne and other labs and universities to develop, test, and
demonstrate these technologies. These technologies included large format
tiled display systems in support of high performance, high resolution
visualization and collaboration within virtual spaces; large data
storage systems distributed over high performance networks to support
collection, analysis, and visualization of large experimental and
simulated datasets. (ActiveMural, μMural, AccessGrid, CATS)

Worked on an ongoing national collaboration to develop
petaFLOP-computing architectures and to study the performance of
applications on hypothetical designs. Organized development of portions
of the application evaluation framework used by myself, collaborators
within the division, and collaborators at labs and universities around
the country. (HTMT)

I am involved in the Computation Institute.

## Project-based Perspective

### [*Active*Mural]{.underline}

We completed the basic construction of the ActiveMural in the early fall
of 1998. It is the first of several applications of our tiled image
technologies designed to deliver cost-effective displays which provide a
range of applications with large virtual frame buffers in which to
present high resolution image data, video, and general working area for
interactive and collaborative virtual environments. Since then we have:

-   carried out experiments to evaluate several projectors,

-   characterized and assessed several projectors, and projector
    technologies, to determine their suitability and performance in the
    context of large tiled display systems,

-   developed fine positioning hardware to facilitate quick and
    cost-effective alignment,

-   developed camera-based techniques for studying, aligning, and
    calibrating the system,

-   developed techniques to drive the multi-projector ensemble from a
    number of platforms, with a number of application technologies,

-   and studied the performance of distributed and shared memory
    rendering models

-   studied the problem of blending the light from neighboring
    projectors to create an invisible transition from projector to
    projector in a tiled array

-   invented technique to correct color convergence of projector using
    software

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-   studied synchronization of distributed rendering process using MPI
    -- linearity of clock; stats on gaps

-   demonstrated various aspects of these experiments to many funding
    agents, policiticians, collaborators and potential collaborators,
    and review committees

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-   supervised 1.5 summer students carrying out color characterization
    experiments

### [Access Grid]{.underline}

The Access Grid is a suite of technologies which provide layers of
support collaborative virtual spaces. They incorporate carefully
designed real spaces composed of large format display systems, multiple
cameras, ambient and directed microphones, echo cancellation audio gear,
computers and high performance network connections.

-   Design calculations for tiled projection systems

-   Design and installation of hardware for three Access Grid nodes in
    the division to support collaborative research in virtual spaces

-   (with Terry Disz) managed development, testing, and deploying of
    prototype Access Grid nodes at more than six sites nationwide. This
    included steering development work done locally at Argonne, and
    building and guiding a team of researchers at institutions all over
    the country

-   (with Terry Disz) managed and coordinated critical proof-of-concept
    demonstrations through application driven use of the Access Grid

-   created and presented a tutorial on tiled projections systems

### [CATS]{.underline}

The Chicago-Argonne Terabyte Storage (CATS) system combines large tape
library based data management systems with high speed networking to
provide transparent inter-institutional access to large datasets.

-   Worked with UofC scientists to maintain and test the Chicago-Argonne
    Terabyte Storage (CATS) system for use by scientists with singularly
    large experimental and/or simulated datasets, and communities of
    scientists with large aggregate dataset (e.g. CARS consortium use of
    APS data)

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-   Organized a meeting between network and storage gurus at Argonne and
    the University of Chicago to coordinate plans for realizing
    high-speed transparent data access between these institutions (and
    including Fermilab).

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-   Collected critical experiences, performance data, and lessons
    learned for intermediate and final reports to NSF on the progress of
    the project.

### [HTMT]{.underline}

The Hybrid Technology Multi-Threaded architecture project is attempting
to design and build the first petaFLOP computer. I am working with a
team of researchers from all over the country, with some contributions
from abroad. This year marks the completion of the initial design phases
of the project and the transition to prototyping.

-   Studied performance of volume rendering code on the hypothetical
    machine

-   Presented results of analyses to workshops and large project reviews

-   Contributed to and guided the development of the analysis framework

-   Guided the national team of applications analysts

-   Supervised a summer student through a performance analysis project

### [*μ *Mural]{.underline}

The *μ *Mural is a portable tiled display that supports high end
rendering of simulations and high performance virtual environments for
collaborative and interactive research. This project builds on the
successes of the ActiveMural development and provides a most effective
platform for experiments in blending projection tiles to create a single
seamless image with an array of projectors.

-   Designed a compact, portable, high resolution tiled display system.

-   Blending experiments with vignetting hardware and software.

### [Astrophysics]{.underline}

Worked with scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National
Laboratory to develop techniques for analyzing large area
multi-dimensional image and spectral data from digital surveys of the
sky. We are using data (at first from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey) to
explore visualization techniques for large displays capable of very high
resolution, such as our Active Mural. Our goal is to combine the unique
properties of large digital surveys and large tiled display systems
(many pixels) to discover sources of radiation or absorption which defy
traditional analysis techniques. These include searches for large area
fine grain structures spanning more pixels that ordinary workstations
can view and sub-threshold clusters of relatively compact objects.

Several significant research projects (from my earlier infrared
astrophysics research) passed through the final phases of publication
this year with the submission and/or acceptance of papers in various
journals.

-   "Background modelling for deeper near-infrared imaging", Bernard J.
    Rauscher, David Barnaby, James P. Lloyd, Scott A. Severson, Doyal A.
    Harper, Mark Hereld, Robert F. Loewenstein, *Submitted to PASP*

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-   "Near-infrared Extinction and Photometric Stability During the South
    Pole Winter", David Barnaby, Doyal A. Harper, Robert F. Loewenstein,
    Fred Mrozek, Mark Thoma, James P. Lloyd, Bernard J. Rauscher, Mark
    Hereld, and Scott A. Severson, 1999, *Submitted to PASP*

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-   \"The star formation histories of low surface brightness galaxies\"
    by Eric F. Bell, David Barnaby, Richard G. Bower, Roelof S. de Jong,
    Doyal A. Harper, Jr., Mark Hereld, Robert F. Loewenstein and
    Bernard J. Rauscher: 1999, *Submitted to MNRAS*

-   \"The Stellar Populations of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies\" by
    Eric F. Bell, Richard G. Bower, Roelof S. de Jong, Mark Hereld and
    Bernard J. Rauscher: 1999, *MNRAS*, 302, 55L

-   "Near Infrared Halo Emission in the Edge-on Spiral Galaxy
    ESO\~240-G11", Bernard J. Rauscher, James P. Lloyd, David Barnaby,
    Doyal A. Harper, Mark Hereld, Robert F. Loewenstein, Scott A.
    Severson, and Fred Mrozek 1998, *ApJ*, **506**, 116

-   \"The Star Formation Histories of LSB Galaxies\" by Eric F. Bell,
    Richard G. Bower, Roelof S. de Jong, Bernard J. Rauscher, D.
    Barnaby, D. A. Harper, Jr., Mark Hereld and R. F. Loewenstein: 1999,
    *IAU 171 Conference Proceedings* - \"The Low Surface Brightness
    Universe\", eds. J. I. Davies, C. Impey and S. Phillipps

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-   Supervised Scott Severson's thesis, carried out in the Astronomy and
    Astrophysics Department of the University of Chicago: *Death of a
    Comet: SPIREX Observations of the Collision of SL9 with Jupiter*,
    defense scheduled for November 3, 1999.