2006 IRISH SCIENTIST YEAR BOOK

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Trinity College Dublin
Graeme Watson
IITAC launches a visualization facility for Ireland

The recently installed IITAC visualization facility comprises of an impressive 5.6 x 2.3m (20 foot) rear projected flat screen with stereoscopic display properties

The Institute for Information Technology & Advanced Computation, IITAC ( http://iitac.tchpc.tcd.ie ), at Trinity College, is Ireland's largest and longest running strategic research programme in computational science and visualization. Established in 1999, this HEA multi-PRTLI funded programme has enabled significant multi-disciplinary research in the fields of biomolecular and physical sciences and visualization. Key achievements to date include the training of 41 PhD students, over one hundred and fifty peer-reviewed scientific publications and the installation and maintenance of state-of-the-art research facilities; these include a purpose built machine room, the IITAC capability supercomputer, Ireland's first protein X-ray diffractometer, a protein mass spectrometer and Ireland's only 3D immersive visualization facility. The Institute is comprised of researchers from the Schools of Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Pharmacy, Computer Science, and the Trinity Centre for High Performance Computing.


Visualization

Increasingly, the most important scientific problems can only be tackled by multidisciplinary teams of researchers. New facilities and collaborative tools are vital to enable scientists to communicate with each other in an effective and transparent way. One method used by IITAC to address these challenges is the development of visualization facilities and software. The recently installed IITAC visualization facility comprises of an impressive 5.6 x 2.3m (20 foot) rear projected flat screen with stereoscopic display properties. The facility was installed by SGi and Fakespace. The image is projected by two Christie Mirage 2000 S+ projectors driven by an eight processor SGi Prism. Scientists use virtual reality technology and special shutter glasses to convert their data into 3D viewable objects which appear to float in space in front of the screen. A high-end ultrasonic tracking system is used to monitor the position of interactive devices allowing the scientist to manipulate and modify their 3D images.

Computational modelling and vis-ualization techniques are used by researchers to gain greater insight into problems in their field of research � IITAC researchers in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy and TCHPC have developed new visualization applications in solid state material analysis and in-silico drug-design. Visualization is often used as an aid to help explain complex systems to collaborators and spectators from multiple scientific backgrounds.

Trinity College is at the cutting edge of graphics and visualization research. IITAC researchers in Computer Science have developed new methods for the realistic depiction of scientific phenomena, physically based animation, and complex virtual environments (such as "Virtual Dublin"). The results have been published in the highest impact graphics and visualization journals and conferences, and the School recently hosted the 26th annual conference of Eurographics, the European Association for Computer Graphics, which attracted over 460 international delegates to TCD. See http://www.tchpc.tcd.ie/systems/vis/


A visualization facility for Ireland


The IITAC supercomputing facilities

Visualization facilities are complex, expensive to build, and require experienced research staff to ensure efficient software development, management and resource utilisation. To prevent unnecessary duplication of effort, IITAC will open up the visualization facility, managed and operated by the Trinity Centre for High Performance Computing, to researchers in Ireland. The key objectives are to foster collaborative research, develop new scientific visualization technologies, ensure Ireland is a major player in European scientific and high end visualization initiatives, and to participate in industrial research. The TCHPC run facility is already providing assistance to researchers in IITAC and a number of sister-PRTLI programmes and will be expanded over the coming months to facilitate researchers in other Irish third level institutes.

Contact: Prof. Graeme Watson, Director,
Trinity Centre for High Performance Computing,
Lloyd Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2. Ireland.
Web; http://www.tchpc.tcd.ie/