Game-changing computational engineering technology

Charbel FARHAT
Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering, Army High Performance Computing Research Center, Stanford University

Abstract : During the last two decades, giant strides have been achieved in many aspects of computational engineering. Higher-fidelity mathematical models, better approximation methods, and faster algorithms have been developed for many engineering applications. Coarse-grain and fine-grain SIMD, SPMD, and MIMD parallel processors have come and gone, like the wind. Linux clusters are now ubiquitous, cores have replaced CEs, and GPUs have shattered computing speed barriers. Most importantly, the potential of high-fidelity physics-based simulations for providing deeper understanding of complex engineering systems and enhancing their performance has been recognized in almost every field of engineering. Yet in many applications, high-fidelity numerical simulations remain so computationally intensive that they cannot be used as often as needed, or are more often used in special circumstances than routinely. Consequently, the impact of computational engineering sciences on time-critical operations such as design, design optimization, and control has not yet fully materialized. Exascale computing alone is unlikely to make this happen. Achieving this objective demands instead a game-changing computational technology that bridges both ends of the computing spectrum: big iron and online computing. This talk will argue for this pressing need, and discuss recent trends in model order reduction that are likely poised to change the landscape of computational engineering.

Biography : Charbel Farhat is the Vivian Church Hoff Professor of Aircraft Structures, Chairman of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Director of the Army High Performance Computing Research Center at Stanford University. His research interests are in computational engineering sciences for the design and analysis of complex systems in aerospace, mechanical, and naval engineering. He is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a designated ISI Highly Cited Author by the ISI Web of Knowledge, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the International Association of Computational Mechanics (IACM), the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), the US Association of Computational Mechanics (USACM), and the World Innovation Foundation (WIF). He was knighted in the Order of Academic Palms and awarded the Medal of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques. He is also the recipient of many other academic and professional distinctions including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASME, the Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Award from the AIAA, the John von Neumann Medal from the USACM, the IACM Award from the IACM, the Gordon Bell Prize and Sidney Fernbach Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Modeling and Simulation Award from the US Department of Defense.