Project Profile
PICCS: Program in Integrative Computer and Computational Sciences
Princeton University
Abstract
This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports establishment of a multidisciplinary graduate training program of education and research at Princeton to provide the next generation of computer scientists and users of high-performance computing with integrated graduate training across disciplinary boundaries. On one hand, dramatic advances in… more »
This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports establishment of a multidisciplinary graduate training program of education and research at Princeton to provide the next generation of computer scientists and users of high-performance computing with integrated graduate training across disciplinary boundaries. On one hand, dramatic advances in computer technology are poised to revolutionize computational science as an equal partner of theory and experiment, but their nature is such that harnessing them will require cross-disciplinary fertilization and expertise in both application areas and computer science. At the same time, advances in computer science will increasingly be driven by knowledge of applications, both scientific simulations and others.
The PICAS program will address the entire computational and information pipeline in a variety of areas, from models and methods through parallel algorithms and systems to immersive visualization and information management. It will train a new breed of researchers to cross-disciplinary boundaries, develop new areas between disciplines, and exploit synergies. Centered around the computer science department, the program will include many departments throughout the university. Program components include curriculum development, cross-department advising, integrated research across disciplines, cross-cutting annual thematic programs to focus collaboration, and activities like a recent interdisciplinary seminar series that attracts many researchers from various local institutions.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to facilitate the establishment of innovative, research-based graduate programs that will train a diverse group of scientists and engineers to be well-prepared to take advantage of a broad spectrum of career options. IGERT provides doctoral institutions with an opportunity to develop new, well-focussed multidisciplinary graduate programs that transcend organizational boundaries and unite faculty from several departments or institutions to establish a highly interactive, collaborative environment for both training and research. In this second year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-one institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. This specific award is supported by funds from the Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Office of Multidisciplinary Activities), for Engineering, and for Education and Human Resources. « less
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