I am pleased to announce the establishment of the Computation Institute of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory. Its goal is to enhance the University's and Argonne's joint efforts in advanced computation and its applications. Plans call for activity across the physical, biological, and social sciences, as well as humanities and the arts.
Further plans involve analyzing the economic, social, and cultural impact of information technology.
Advanced computation has a profound impact on the conceptualization and analysis of problems across a broad spectrum of Argonne's research programs. The CI should aid in the recruitment of faculty and staff in diverse areas whose research involves computational simulation, modeling, or massive data analysis. Ridgway Scott, Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at the University, and Rick Stevens, Director of Mathematics and Computer Science and Professor of Computer Science at the University, have been appointed as the initial co-Directors of the Computation Institute. Other initial appointments to the CI from among University and Argonne researchers will be made over the next six months. Beyond the programmatic content of the CI, this initiative represents a new development in Argonne's relationship with the University of Chicago.