Applications:
NCSA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF NEESgrid 3.0
The NEES System Integration team announced the release of NEESgrid 3.0, the
final version of the software that allows earthquake researchers to integrate
physical experimentation and model-based simulation, computational analysis,
and improved testing and validation of increasingly complex and comprehensive
analytical and numerical models.
NEESgrid, the pioneering cyberinfrastructure that connects earthquake
engineering researchers throughout the United States and the world, is the
result of an intensive collaboration effort led by the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois. Building on
the idea of integrating physical and computational simulations, the NEESgrid
software brings together various components for sharing knowledge, enabling
researchers to breach traditional disciplinary and geographical barriers to
deliver innovative solutions to problems of seismic safety.
The NEESgrid core features include passive and active telepresence services
that allow remote observation and control of the experiment; streaming data
services that enable data transfer from the local acquisition system to the
remote users and to repositories; and data and metadata management services
that allow storing and retrieving data from the NEESgrid repository. The user
access to this collaborative environment is provided by a Web-based
customizable user interface that integrates a suite of tools for experiment
planning, execution, analysis, and publication. The system uses core Grid
services for sign-on, security and managing resources.
In addition to enhancements to all NEESgrid core, telepresence, and
data/metadata and acquisition services, NEESgrid 3.0 incorporates the
following new features:
- OpenSEES, a framework for developing earthquake simulation applications.
OpenSees contains models and analysis methods for the simulation of structural
and geotechnical systems.
- FEDEASLab, a MATLAB toolbox for nonlinear structural simulations under
static or transient conditions that enhances the integration of simulation
capabilities with experimental investigations.
- The new E-NoteBook, developed as part of the Scientific Annotation
Middleware project funded within the Department of Energy National
Collaboratories program. NEESgrid users can associate notes with NEES projects
and data in the NEES repository and search their combined notes and data
through the user interface.
- A simulation portal, which provides NEESgrid users access to the OpenSEES
simulation software, computational resources available on NEESgrid, and
ability to interact with simulation models and results in the NEESgrid
repository and which is integrated into the CompreHensive collaborative
Framework (CHEF).
- Integration of DataTurbine into the NEESgrid release. Developed by Creare
Inc, DataTurbine provides high-quality multi-channel streaming data and
replaces the NEES Streaming Data Service of previous releases.
"This has been a truly amazing experience working with the earthquake
engineering community to design, build, and deploy a system that is already
transforming how earthquake engineering is done," said Randy Butler, head of
the Networking, Security and Middleware Directorate at NCSA and deputy
director for NEESgrid. "This system enables a new level of collaboration,
supporting remote access to data, remote viewing and control of experiments,
multi-site experiments, and the ability to link experimental data with
simulations."
The NEESgrid 3.0 software and the referent documentation are available for
download at www.neesgrid.org/software/.
The accomplishments of the NEESgrid project are the result of a sustained
group effort and intense collaboration among a large number of stakeholders.
In addition to NCSA, NEESgrid partners include: Argonne National Laboratory,
the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California,
the School of Information at the University of Michigan; the civil engineering
departments at the University of Southern California, Stanford University,
Washington University at Saint Louis, the University of California at
Berkeley; the Center for Computation Sciences at Mississippi State University,
the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Creare Inc.
"This project was a tremendous group effort," said Cristina Beldica, NEESgrid
project manager. "So many people from different sites and different
disciplines came together and worked with enthusiasm and dedication to make
this project a success. We all learned from each other and worked together."
|
