The tools also work on a variety of platforms. For example, researchers can tinker with a single image on their desktop systems. Or, as New Mexico Tech Professor David Westpfal recently did, they can use an SGI Origin2000 supercomputer to compare 128 maps of the same galaxy at slightly different velocities to understand how bodies within that galaxy move and how materials within it are distributed. Using Glish, researchers can create plug-ins for existing tools and customize some of the tools' graphical user interfaces.
Researchers can also write scripts that link tools together and create second-tier applications.
The system will be nearly automatic and yields a rough image that can be used to fine-tune the researchers' observations as they are being made. The National Computational Science Alliance is a partnership to prototype an advanced computational infrastructure for the 21st century and includes more than 50 academic, government and industry research partners from across the United States. The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is the leading-edge site for the National Computational Science Alliance. All rights reserved. Do not copy or redistribute in any form.