Many experiments and investigations that have traditionally been performed in a laboratory, a wind tunnel, or the field are being augmented or replaced by computer simulations. Some studies, such as nuclear repository integrity and global climate change, involve time scales that preclude the use of realistic physical experiments. The availability of high performance computers, graphic workstations, and high speed networks, coupled with major advances in algorithms and software, has brought about a revolution in the way scientific and engineering investigations are carried out. Computational science should not be confused with computer science. Computational science focuses on a scientific or engineering problem and draws from computer science and mathematics to gain an improved understanding of the problem.
Computer science focuses on the computer itself.
Even though the areas are quite distinct, many of the topics typically considered to be in the domain of computer science are of much value in computational science. The list continues to grow. More recently, computational science has begun to make inroads into other areas, such as music and the visual arts. The term computational scientist is commonly used to describe scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who apply high performance computer technologies in creative and essential ways to advance the state of knowledge in their respective fields. A computational scientist must have expertise in an applied discipline and must also be familiar with leading-edge computer architectures and the data structures issues associated with those architectures.