University Delaware Buys New Cluster

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udelawareUsing funds granted via the Department of Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, a University of Delaware research group has purchased a new cluster.  The group, led by Professor of physics and astronomy Dr. Krysztof Szalewicz, acquired a new 2.4Tflop Dell machine.  What are they using it for?

We are using kolos mainly to compute intermolecular forces. If such forces are known, one can predict the properties of liquids, solids, and biological materials. Our recent work provides several examples of how important such predictions are. For example, our computed properties of helium are now being used by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create new standards of temperature and pressure. Another example is our successful predictions of the crystal structure of organic molecules — a task that previously had been considered impossible. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, it is very important to know if a drug can crystallize in energetically close but different structures, called polymorphs. There have been cases in which patients have died after using different polymorphs of some drugs. Another example is crystals of energetic materials since different polymorphs can have very different densities and therefore different energy output per unit mass. [Dr. Krysztof Szalewicz]

For more info, read the full release here.