Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “high throughput computing”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 829 records · Page 46

Toward a persistent event-streaming system for high-performance computing applications

High-performance computing (HPC) applications have traditionally relied on parallel file systems and file transfer services to manage data movement and storage. Alternative approaches have been proposed that use direct communications between application components, trading persistence and fault tolerance for speed. Event-driven architectures, as popularized in enterprise contexts, present a compelling middle ground, avoiding the performance cost and API constraints of parallel file systems while retaining persistence and offering impedance matching between application components. However, adapting streaming frameworks to HPC workloads requires addressing challenges unique to HPC systems. This paper investigates the potential for a streaming framework designed for HPC infrastructures and use cases. We introduce Mofka, a persistent event-streaming framework designed specifically for HPC environments. Mofka combines the capabilities of a traditional streaming service with optimizations tailored to the HPC context, such as support for massively multicore nodes, efficient scaling for large producer-consumer workflows, RDMA-enabled high-performance network communications, specialized network fabrics with multiple links per node, and efficient handling of large scientific data payloads. Built using the Mochi suite of HPC data service components, Mofka provides a lightweight, modular, and high-performance solution for persistent streaming in HPC systems. We present the architecture of Mofka and evaluate its performance against Kafka and Redpanda using benchmarks on diverse platforms, including Argonne's Polaris and Oak Ridge's Frontier supercomputers, showing up to 8× improvement in throughput in some scenarios. We then demonstrate its utility in several real-world applications: a tomographic reconstruction pipeline, a workflow for the discovery of metal-organic frameworks for carbon capture, and the instrumentation of Dask workflows for provenance tracking and performance analysis.

HPC↗

Discovery of tunable and soluble organic emitters for solid-state lasers with a self-driving laboratory

We have recently demonstrated the ability of using self-driving laboratories for AI-driven searches of organic emitters for solid-state lasing devices. Our past workflow featured solubility challenges for such large molecular moieties. In this next-generation study, we return to the drawing board to explore a family of com-pounds that are much solution processable and composed of a set of electronic cores that provide a broader color response. Out of 252 potential candidates,and with guidance from DFT calculations, we selectively perform a compre-hensive study exploring 51 fluorene-based A-B-A type organic laser oligomers, armed with our self-driving lab. The candidates range from simple hydrocarbon molecules to complex hetero atom-mixed molecules. As a result of this study, we highlight diketopyrrolopyrrole and benzodiazole derivatives for their largely red-shifted emissions. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of color change aris-ing from hetero atom permutation, fluorine addition, thiophene coupling, and a combination of fluorine addition and thiophene coupling. Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) measurements in the solid state further corroborate the lasing potential of selected candidates, reinforcing their suitability for future device applications. The computational study with density functional theory confirms the experimental results.

fluorescence↗

Verification of Triso Fuel Burnup Using Machine Learning Algorithms

Pebble Bed Reactors are fueled with fuel pebbles that are circulated multiple times through the reactor vessel before discharge. During the normal operation of a PBR, ejected pebbles are returned to the reactor or discharged depending on the fuel burnup and physical condition of the pebbles. The burnup measurement is usually based on detected radiation signatures of fission products accumulated in the pebble fuel over burnup. Previous research has shown that height of photopeaks of fission products, such as 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 154 Eu, etc., can be used independently or in combination to infer or predict the level of burnup in the fuel. However, it remains challenging to measure such complex sources due to self-shielding effects, strong radiation background and intervening materials. Another operational challenge is the required high throughput of burnup measurement, which necessitates limited measurement time and thus impacts quality of measured gamma-ray spectra. Hence, advanced spectral analysis methods are needed to analyze the noisy gamma spectra and predict the burnup values. We propose to use machine learning (ML) method to interpret gamma-ray spectra and predict the burnup values of the pebbles. ML has achieved widespread success and adoption across a few domains that require pattern recognition and analysis in varied data types. In this work, we apply three proven ML approaches - multilayer perceptrons, convolutional neural networks, and transformers - to the task of predicting fuel burnup from measured gamma spectra, and compile a dataset of simulated spectra for training and validation of the ML models. In this paper, we will discuss the network architecture of these three ML approaches and compare the performance of the simplest of these (MLP) to a standard linear regression.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

BeyondFingerprinting: AI-guided discovery of robust materials & processes

BeyondFingerprinting was a 2021-2024 Sandia Grand Challenge LDRD exploring the potential to develop new resilient materials and manufacturing processes by taking an artificial-intelligence (AI)-guided approach that integrates human-subject-matter expertise with algorithms enriched with physics-based constraints to unearth process-structure-property correlations. Such algorithms, trained on high-throughput experiments and simulations, are shown to serve as surrogate models that efficiently detect key “fingerprints” in materials data, prognose material performance, and guide effective process improvements. To accelerate broader adoption across mission areas, this AI-guided approach was demonstrated with three complex process-centric exemplars: electroplating, physical vapor deposition, and laser powder bed fusion. Together, these exemplars impact nearly every hardware component relevant to DOE and NNSA national security missions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High-throughput single-cell transcriptomics of bacteria using combinatorial barcoding

Microbial split-pool ligation transcriptomics (microSPLiT) is a high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing method for bacteria. With four combinatorial barcoding rounds, microSPLiT can profile transcriptional states in hundreds of thousands of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria in a single experiment without specialized equipment. As bacterial samples are fixed and permeabilized before barcoding, they can be collected and stored ahead of time. During the first barcoding round, the fixed and permeabilized bacteria are distributed into a 96-well plate, where their transcripts are reverse transcribed into cDNA and labeled with the first well-specific barcode inside the cells. The cells are mixed and redistributed two more times into new 96-well plates, where the second and third barcodes are appended to the cDNA via in-cell ligation reactions. Finally, the cells are mixed and divided into aliquot sub-libraries, which can be stored until future use or prepared for sequencing with the addition of a fourth barcode. It takes 4 days to generate sequencing-ready libraries, including 1 day for collection and overnight fixation of samples. Here, the standard plate setup enables single-cell transcriptional profiling of up to 1 million bacterial cells and up to 96 samples in a single barcoding experiment, with the possibility of expansion by adding barcoding rounds. The protocol requires experience in basic molecular biology techniques, handling of bacterial samples and preparation of DNA libraries for next-generation sequencing. It can be performed by experienced undergraduate or graduate students. Data analysis requires access to computing resources, familiarity with Unix command line and basic experience with Python or R.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Benchmark of the Chlorine Worth Study Experiments in Support of Chlorine Nuclear Data Validation for Nuclear Criticality Safety

The Chlorine Worth Study (CWS) was a critical experiment to address an urgent need for thermal chlorine nuclear data validation in plutonium systems. This urgent need is tied directly to plutonium recycle and recovery operations in the plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where exceptionally conservative criticality safety limits are used because no credit is taken for the neutron capture by chlorine. The experiment used weapons-grade plutonium metal plates clad in stainless steel, known as the PANN (plutonium aluminum no nickel) ZPPR (zero power physics reactor) plates. The plutonium was reflected and moderated by high-density polyethylene and included combinations of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) as absorbers. The experiment and benchmark included three configurations mimicking 30 g 239 Pu/L plutonium, 300 g 239 Pu/L plutonium, and 600 g 239 Pu/L plutonium in an aqueous chloride solution. Uncertainties in the benchmark included five broad categories: (1) criticality measurement, (2) mass and density, (3) dimensions, (4) material compositions, and (5) positioning. The largest contribution to the overall uncertainties for all three cases came from the material compositions, in particular the PVC and CPVC absorber compositions. A detailed model was created to be a near match (that is within expectations of transport code users) and a simplified model was created to minimize offset dimensions and expedite modeling for code validation. Sample calculations were completed in MCNP6.3 with ENDF/B-VIII.0 and ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data. For the detailed and simplified models, the average difference between the computed and experimental k eff was 951 pcm. CWS will serve as the key validation experiment for nuclear criticality safety in support of aqueous chloride operations. The sensitivity to the chlorine capture cross section is orders of magnitude greater than other existing benchmarks. The current limits, as defined by nuclear criticality safety, are 520 g Pu per batch, i.e. the minimum critical mass of the Pu solution infinitely reflected by water [Criticality Handbook: Volume II, (1969)]. This extremely conservative critical mass limit does not credit any neutron capture by chlorine (in particular neutron capture by 35 Cl) and greatly impedes the throughput required for current and future operations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Graphic contrastive learning analyses of discontinuous molecular dynamics simulations: Study of protein folding upon adsorption

A comprehensive understanding of the interfacial behaviors of biomolecules holds great significance in the development of biomaterials and biosensing technologies. In this work, we used discontinuous molecular dynamics (DMD) simulations and graphic contrastive learning analysis to study the adsorption of ubiquitin protein on a graphene surface. Our high-throughput DMD simulations can explore the whole protein adsorption process including the protein structural evolution with sufficient accuracy. Contrastive learning was employed to train a protein contact map feature extractor aiming at generating contact map feature vectors. Subsequently, these features were grouped using the k-means clustering algorithm to identify the protein structural transition stages throughout the adsorption process. The machine learning analysis can illustrate the dynamics of protein structural changes, including the pathway and the rate-limiting step. Our study indicated that the protein–graphene surface hydrophobic interactions and the π–π stacking were crucial to the seven-stage adsorption process. Upon adsorption, the secondary structure and tertiary structure of ubiquitin disintegrated. The unfolding stages obtained by contrastive learning-based algorithm were not only consistent with the detailed analyses of protein structures but also provided more hidden information about the transition states and pathway of protein adsorption process and structural dynamics. Our combination of efficient DMD simulations and machine learning analysis could be a valuable approach to studying the interfacial behaviors of biomolecules.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Quasar Identification Using Multivariate Probability Density Estimated from Nonparametric Conditional Probabilities

Nonparametric estimation for a probability density function that describes multivariate data has typically been addressed by kernel density estimation (KDE). A novel density estimator recently developed by Farmer and Jacobs offers an alternative high-throughput automated approach to univariate nonparametric density estimation based on maximum entropy and order statistics, improving accuracy over univariate KDE. This article presents an extension of the single variable case to multiple variables. The univariate estimator is used to recursively calculate a product array of one-dimensional conditional probabilities. In combination with interpolation methods, a complete joint probability density estimate is generated for multiple variables. Good accuracy and speed performance in synthetic data are demonstrated by a numerical study using known distributions over a range of sample sizes from 100 to 10 6 for two to six variables. Performance in terms of speed and accuracy is compared to KDE. The multivariate density estimate developed here tends to perform better as the number of samples and/or variables increases. As an example application, measurements are analyzed over five filters of photometric data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 17. The multivariate estimation is used to form the basis for a binary classifier that distinguishes quasars from galaxies and stars with up to 94% accuracy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Agentic framework for programmatic crystal structure generation using a fine-tuned worker–supervisor large language model

Platinum group metals (PGMs) underpin many catalytic technologies but face severe supply constraints, motivating the search for alternative materials and computational methods to accelerate discovery. While atomistic simulation tools such as Pymatgen and ASE have streamlined structure manipulation, they require detailed inputs, limiting accessibility for experimentalists and slowing early-stage exploration. Here, in this study, we present an AI-driven agentic framework that orchestrates worker–supervisor large language models (LLMs). The worker translates natural-language prompts of varying abstraction into valid crystallographic structures using a compact LLM fine-tuned with low-rank adaptation on a curated text–code–CIF dataset, emphasizing energy-efficient training. Benchmarking against the baseline CodeGen-350M-mono model shows that fine-tuning reduces hallucination rates from 100% to as low as 5% and improves structural match accuracy to up to 82% for fully specified inputs. Accuracy declines with decreasing prompt detail but remains nontrivial even when only stoichiometry and space group are provided, underscoring the LLM’s capacity for crystallographic inference. The supervisor Claude LLM evaluates the outputs and triggers iterative refinement through the worker’s built-in structure manipulation capabilities (e.g., supercell scaling, strain, vacancy, and substitution operations). We further demonstrate use cases for technologically relevant catalysts, including IrO 2 , pyrochlore Pb 2 Ir 2 O 7 , Ni 2 FeO 4 , and Ni 3 Mo, where the framework generates physically consistent structures that can be refined via geometry optimization. This work introduces a low-energy, language-driven pathway for integrating human and machine intelligence in materials design, paving the way for AI-assisted synthesis planning and high-throughput screening of complex oxides.

AI agent↗

Screening of Therapeutic Agents for COVID-19 Using Machine Learning and Ensemble Docking Studies

The current pandemic demands a search for therapeutic agents against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In this work, we present an efficient computational strategy that combines machine learning (ML)-based models and high-fidelity ensemble docking studies to enable rapid screening of possible therapeutic ligands. Targeting the binding affinity of molecules for either the isolated SARS-CoV-2 S-protein at its host receptor region or the S-protein:human ACE2 interface complex, we screen ligands from drug and biomolecule data sets that can potentially limit and/or disrupt the host-virus interactions. Top scoring one hundred eighty-seven ligands (with 75 approved by the Food and Drug Administration) are further validated by all atom docking studies. Important molecular descriptors ( 2 χ n , topological surface area, and ring count) and promising chemical fragments (oxolane, hydroxy, and imidazole) are identified to guide future experiments. Overall, this work expands our knowledge of small-molecule treatment against COVID-19 and provides a general screening pathway (combining quick ML models with expensive high-fidelity simulations) for targeting several chemical/biochemical problems.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

A Machine Learning Approach for the Prediction of Formability and Thermodynamic Stability of Single and Double Perovskite Oxides

Perovskite oxides continue to attract huge interest due to their fascinating and wide-ranging properties for diverse applications. The tunability of these properties may be further enhanced by increasing their compositional complexity via double perovskite-ordered configurations containing multiple cations. In this work, we focus on an exhaustive chemical space of single and double oxide perovskites and optimally explore this space to identify novel compositions that are likely to form stable compounds. Critically, we examine the relationship between formability, the practical ability to synthesize a compound, and stability, the thermodynamic preference to form the structure. Our formability and stability training data sets were enumerated from the available experimental literature and in-house density functional theory computations and contained 1505 and 3469 examples, respectively, representing state-of-the-art in the current open literature in perovskite and double perovskite compounds. Subsequently, cross-validated and highly accurate machine learning classification models are built using these training data sets and employed to screen for novel stable oxide perovskites. The study identifies (1) atomic features relevant to prediction of formability and stability in perovskite and double perovskite compounds, (2) the importance of including energy contributions due to local structural relaxations going beyond the high symmetry perovskite phase, and (3) 437,828 double perovskite compounds that are likely to be stable and 891,188 compounds that are likely to be formable. From the intersection of this large chemical space of formable and stable oxide perovskites, 414 compositions are identified as the most promising candidates for future experimental synthesis of novel oxide perovskites. The developed models may be generalized and have implications beyond perovskite discovery if applied to other families of compounds.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Hemispherical Optical Dome for Underwater Communication

For many years, acoustic systems have been used as the primary method for underwater communication; however, the data transfer rate of such systems is low because sound propagates slowly through the water. A higher throughput can be achieved using visible light to transmit data underwater. The first issue with using this approach is that there is generally a large loss of the light signal due to scattering and absorption in water even though there is an optimal wavelength for transmission in the blue or green wavelengths of the visible spectrum. The second issue is that a simple system consisting only of a highly directional source/transmitter and small optical detector/receiver has a very narrow field of view. The goal of this project is to improve an optical, underwater communication system by increasing the effective field of view of the receiving optics. To this end, we make two changes to the simple system: (1) An optical dome was added near the receiver. An array of lenses is placed radially on the surface of the dome, reminiscent of the compound eye of an insect. The lenses make the source and detector planes conjugate, and each lens adds a new region of the source plane to the instrument's total field of view. (2) The receiver was expanded to include multiple photodiodes. With these two changes, the receiver has much more tolerance to misalignments (in position and angle) of the transmitter.Two versions of the optical dome (with 6 and 8 diameters) were designed using the CREO CAD software and modeled using the CODE V optical design software. A series of these transparent hemispherical domes, with both design diameters, were manufactured using a 5-axis mill. The prototype was then retrofitted with lenses and compared with the computer-generated model to demonstrate the effectiveness of this solution. This work shows the dome design improves the optical field of view of the underwater communication system considerably. Furthermore, with the experimental test results, a geometric optimization model was derived providing insights to the design performance limits.

Underwater↗

Multiscale and Machine Learning Modeling for Process-informed Microstructure Prediction in Additively Manufactured Materials using MALAMUTE

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) program under the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy aims to develop and qualify additively manufactured materials for nuclear applications. One key challenge to this is the microstructural variability observed in the additively manufactured products and their impact on the properties and performance of the material in extreme environments. AMMT is using a combination of high-throughput experimental and modeling techniques to accelerate qualification. Conventionally, in-situ and ex-situ characterizations and testing are performed to correlate different aspects of the additive manufacturing process to the final product and its performance. However, adopting a trial-and-error approach to experimentally evaluate the vast range of process parameters required to capture microstructural variability is cost-prohibitive. Modeling and simulation provide a comparatively inexpensive way to understand and correlate the microstructural evolution to the processing conditions. The modeling and simulation work-packages within the AMMT program aims to use physics-based and machine learning models to develop a digital twin for additive manufacturing that can correlate the process conditions to the final product and establish a process-structure-property-performance (PSPP) correlation. The melting and subsequent solidification that occurs during the additive process is a complex phenomenon that requires multiscale multiphysics analysis. This work package focuses on understanding the role of process variabilities on the unique microstructural characteristics of additively manufactured materials. Microstructural features at the subgrain level, such as compositional micro-heterogeneity and dislocation cells, are of particular interest here since they can influence the creep properties and radiation performance. Idaho National Laboratory’s Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE), specifically the MOOSE Application Library for Advanced Manufacturing UTilitiEs (MALAMUTE) software, provides an ideal platform for developing the multiphysics multiscale model to explore the intricacies of the microstructural evolution during the AM processes within a single framework. Furthermore, given that such full-fidelity simulations can be computationally intensive, reduced order models are necessary to explore the PSPP space for additively manufactured materials in an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective way. This work focuses on capturing the microstructural variabilities at the subgrain level that are often missing in the part-scale models. In fiscal year 2025, we significantly advanced upon our work in the last fiscal year, in terms of the predictive capabilities of the physics-based and ML models, by adding the capabilities to capture subgrain-level micro-segregation during solidification using phase-field model and to predict the time-dependent dynamics of the AM process through the MOGPAR model. The alloy solidification model in MOOSE incorporates the thermodynamic properties and free energy relevant to 316 stainless steel. The model demonstrates the Cr and Ni segregation that occurs during solidification, including that the rate of solidification. The microstructural evolution model is connected to the process conditions via the surrogate model developed in this work. This enables predictions of the final microstructure in conjunctions with the manufacturing process. This work supports AMMT's rapid qualification goals by laying the foundation for an efficient and cost-effective model establishing the PSPP correlation for AM. The generated microstructures and predicted micro-segregation can be used by other work packages under AMMT to evaluate the properties and environmental response of the material at the mesoscale. Thus, this work helps to identify the key microstructural features at the subgrain level that are significant in property and performance predictions of additively manufactured components. This work will also provide inputs to the large-scale process variability models to reevaluate and validate assumptions and simplifications made in the part-scale models. Furthermore, through active learning this work can help identify the data need from both modeling and experimental sides for development of a robust digital twin for additive manufacturing and accelerate the AMMT's qualification efforts.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Hemispherical Optical Dome for Underwater Communication

For many years, acoustic systems have been used as the primary method for underwater communication; however, the data transfer rate of such systems is low because sound propagates slowly through the water. A higher throughput can be achieved using visible light to transmit data underwater. The first issue with using this approach is that there is generally a large loss of the light signal due to scattering and absorption in water even though there is an optimal wavelength for transmission in the blue or green wavelengths of the visible spectrum. The second issue is that a simple system consisting only of a highly directional source transmitter and small optical detector receiver has a very narrow field of view. The goal of this project is to improve an optical, underwater communication system by increasing the effective field of view of the receiving optics. To this end, we make two changes to the simple system: (1) An optical dome was added near the receiver. An array of lenses is placed radially on the surface of the dome, reminiscent of the compound eye of an insect. The lenses make the source and detector planes conjugate, and each lens adds a new region of the source plane to the instrument's total field of view. (2) The receiver was expanded to include multiple photodiodes. With these two changes, the receiver has much more tolerance to misalignments (in position and angle) of the transmitter.Two versions of the optical dome (with 6 and 8 diameters) were designed using the CREO CAD software and modeled using the CODE V optical design software. A series of these transparent hemispherical domes, with both design diameters, were manufactured using a 5-axis mill. The prototype was then retrofitted with lenses and compared with the computer-generated model to demonstrate the effectiveness of this solution. This work shows the dome design improves the optical field of view of the underwater communication system considerably. Furthermore, with the experimental test results, a geometric optimization model was derived providing insights to the design performance limits.

Design↗

Identifying amyloid-related diseases by mapping mutations in low-complexity protein domains to pathologies

Proteins including FUS, hnRNPA2, and TDP-43 reversibly aggregate into amyloid-like fibrils through interactions of their low-complexity domains (LCDs). Mutations in LCDs can promote irreversible amyloid aggregation and disease. We introduce a computational approach to identify mutations in LCDs of disease-associated proteins predicted to increase propensity for amyloid aggregation. We identify several disease-related mutations in the intermediate filament protein keratin-8 (KRT8). Atomic structures of wild-type and mutant KRT8 segments confirm the transition to a pleated strand capable of amyloid formation. Biochemical analysis reveals KRT8 forms amyloid aggregates, and the identified mutations promote aggregation. Aggregated KRT8 is found in Mallory–Denk bodies, observed in hepatocytes of livers with alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH). We demonstrate that ethanol promotes KRT8 aggregation, and KRT8 amyloids co-crystallize with alcohol. Lastly, KRT8 aggregation can be seeded by liver extract from people with ASH, consistent with the amyloid nature of KRT8 aggregates and the classification of ASH as an amyloid-related condition.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

NPSS on NASA's IPG: Using CORBA and Globus to Coordinate Multidisciplinary Aeroscience Applications

Within NASA's High Performance Computing and Communication (HPCC) program, the NASA Glenn Research Center is developing an environment for the analysis/design of aircraft engines called the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS). The vision for NPSS is to create a "numerical test cell" enabling full engine simulations overnight on cost-effective computing platforms. To this end, NPSS integrates multiple disciplines such as aerodynamics, structures, and heat transfer and supports "numerical zooming" between O-dimensional to 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensional component engine codes. In order to facilitate the timely and cost-effective capture of complex physical processes, NPSS uses object-oriented technologies such as C++ objects to encapsulate individual engine components and CORBA ORBs for object communication and deployment across heterogeneous computing platforms. Recently, the HPCC program has initiated a concept called the Information Power Grid (IPG), a virtual computing environment that integrates computers and other resources at different sites. IPG implements a range of Grid services such as resource discovery, scheduling, security, instrumentation, and data access, many of which are provided by the Globus toolkit. IPG facilities have the potential to benefit NPSS considerably. For example, NPSS should in principle be able to use Grid services to discover dynamically and then co-schedule the resources required for a particular engine simulation, rather than relying on manual placement of ORBs as at present. Grid services can also be used to initiate simulation components on parallel computers (MPPs) and to address inter-site security issues that currently hinder the coupling of components across multiple sites. These considerations led NASA Glenn and Globus project personnel to formulate a collaborative project designed to evaluate whether and how benefits such as those just listed can be achieved in practice. This project involves firstly development of the basic techniques required to achieve co-existence of commodity object technologies and Grid technologies; and secondly the evaluation of these techniques in the context of NPSS-oriented challenge problems. The work on basic techniques seeks to understand how "commodity" technologies (CORBA, DCOM, Excel, etc.) can be used in concert with specialized "Grid" technologies (for security, MPP scheduling, etc.). In principle, this coordinated use should be straightforward because of the Globus and IPG philosophy of providing low-level Grid mechanisms that can be used to implement a wide variety of application-level programming models. (Globus technologies have previously been used to implement Grid-enabled message-passing libraries, collaborative environments, and parameter study tools, among others.) Results obtained to date are encouraging: we have successfully demonstrated a CORBA to Globus resource manager gateway that allows the use of CORBA RPCs to control submission and execution of programs on workstations and MPPs; a gateway from the CORBA Trader service to the Grid information service; and a preliminary integration of CORBA and Grid security mechanisms. The two challenge problems that we consider are the following: 1) Desktop-controlled parameter study. Here, an Excel spreadsheet is used to define and control a CFD parameter study, via a CORBA interface to a high throughput broker that runs individual cases on different IPG resources. 2) Aviation safety. Here, about 100 near real time jobs running NPSS need to be submitted, run and data returned in near real time. Evaluation will address such issues as time to port, execution time, potential scalability of simulation, and reliability of resources. The full paper will present the following information: 1. A detailed analysis of the requirements that NPSS applications place on IPG. 2. A description of the techniques used to meet these requirements via the coordinated use of CORBA and Globus. 3. A description of results obtained to date in the first two challenge problems.

Lopez, Isaac↗

High-throughput platform for yeast morphological profiling predicts the targets of bioactive compounds

Abstract Morphological profiling is an omics-based approach for predicting intracellular targets of chemical compounds in which the dose-dependent morphological changes induced by the compound are systematically compared to the morphological changes in gene-deleted cells. In this study, we developed a reliable high-throughput (HT) platform for yeast morphological profiling using drug-hypersensitive strains to minimize compound use, HT microscopy to speed up data generation and analysis, and a generalized linear model to predict targets with high reliability. We first conducted a proof-of-concept study using six compounds with known targets: bortezomib, hydroxyurea, methyl methanesulfonate, benomyl, tunicamycin, and echinocandin B. Then we applied our platform to predict the mechanism of action of a novel diferulate-derived compound, poacidiene. Morphological profiling of poacidiene implied that it affects the DNA damage response, which genetic analysis confirmed. Furthermore, we found that poacidiene inhibits the growth of phytopathogenic fungi, implying applications as an effective antifungal agent. Thus, our platform is a new whole-cell target prediction tool for drug discovery.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

X-ray continuum spectroscopy of inertial confinement fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility

A methodology for measuring x-ray continuum spectra of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions is described. The method relies on the use of ConSpec, a high-throughput spectrometer using a highly annealed pyrolytic graphite crystal , which measures the spectra in the ≃20–30 keV range. Due to its conical shape, the crystal is sagittally focusing a Bragg-reflected x-ray spectrum into a line, which enhances the recorded x-ray emission signal above the high neutron-induced background accompanying ICF implosions at the National Ignition Facility. To improve the overall measurement accuracy, the sensitivity of the spectrometer measured in an off-line x-ray laboratory setting was revised. The error analysis was expanded to include the accuracy of the off-line measurements, the effect of the neutron-induced background, as well as the influence of possible errors in alignment of the instrument to the ICF target. Here we demonstrate how the improved methodology is applied in the analysis of ConSpec data with examples of a relatively low-neutron-yield implosion using a tritium–hydrogen–deuterium mix as a fuel and a high-yield deuterium–tritium (DT) implosion producing high level of the background. In both cases, the shape of the measured spectrum agrees with the exponentially decaying spectral shape of bremsstrahlung emission to within ±10%. In the case of the high-yield DT experiment, non-monotonic deviations slightly exceeding the measurement uncertainties are observed and discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗