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ELECTROMAGNETIC MODELING NOW POSSIBLE USING GRID COMPUTING POWER

WestGrid and a Canadian software company have jointly launched a resource that will open up a new realm of research opportunities for scientists using WestGrid's Grid-enabled resources. Vancouver-based Lumerical Solutions Inc developed the electromagnetic simulation software, which allows engineers and scientists to model how light interacts with wavelength-scale structured materials. This software can now be used in combination with the powerful supercomputing facilities of WestGrid.

"This is the kind of advanced functionality that makes WestGrid a prime platform for innovative research in Canada today," said Grenfell Patey, one of the WestGrid project leaders. "We are pleased to work with Lumerical to offer this to users."

"Lumerical's specialized electromagnetic modeling solutions coupled with the computing infrastructure at WestGrid will allow researchers to optimize the design and architecture of next-generation optical technologies," said Stewart Aitchison, director of the Nortel Institute for Technology at the University of Toronto. "We are excited about the new prospects made available by this joint contribution to the Canadian research community."

Jeff Young, head of the department of physics at UBC, noted WestGrid's new software will play a major role in his research work: "Employing Lumerical's software on WestGrid's systems will allow my research group to investigate nonlinear optical interactions within complex semiconductor nanostructures. In the future, these optical chips may form the foundation of a quantum information processing system, which is one of the grand challenges of the next decade."

The set-up will also enable a "virtual manufacturing" process for nanoscale prototypes.

"The work initiated within my research group on nanostructured thin films will be greatly assisted by these new modeling capabilities for exploring a host of potential end applications within telecommunication systems," said University of Alberta professor Michael Brett, Canada Research Chair and Micralyne/NSERC/iCORE Industrial Chair in Thin Film Engineering.

The partnership is an ideal match for the advanced computing facilities of WestGrid, of which one system is ranked 38th in the world.

Lumerical Solutions contributed CDN $17,000 in-kind to supply WestGrid with the new simulation capabilities.

"This initiative gives Canadian academic users access to our simulation software on the supercomputing facilities of WestGrid," said Michael Newland, chief executive officer of Lumerical. "We are proud to demonstrate our commitment to advanced research and development in Canada."