GAMING

Dr. John M. Blondin, professor of physics at North Carolina State University, will be the guest speaker at the CEIViz '06 awards reception. CEIViz '06 is the first international conference for high-performance visualization. The conference will be held at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla., February 22-23, 2006. Blondin's presentation will focus on discovering the complexity of supernovae through 3D simulation. Modern astronomical observations are revealing a universe of stellar objects that are dramatically asymmetric and time-dependent. One example that has been observed is a core-collapse supernovae, where the death of a massive star generates a blast wave so strong that it spreads throughout the surrounding area for several thousand years. Blondin will show examples of how scientific visualization has helped in the discovery of key processes that initiate and shape supernova explosions. "Although current supercomputing platforms make 3D simulations of these events almost routine, the rapid advancement of scientific discovery demands an efficient, interactive way of dealing with the terabytes of data generated in these simulations," says Blondin. Following Blondin's presentation at the awards reception, conference sponsor CEI will recognize winners of its international image and animation contest. Images and animations generated with EnSight software are being accepted for the competition until the November 15th contest deadline. Winners will be selected in CFD, FEA, coupled, and scientific categories. The overall winner will receive free hotel accommodations for two days during the conference, as well as free conference admission. For more information on CEIViz '06, including exhibit opportunities and registration, visit its Web site.