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S.O1-20 

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY 

?

A5

.

?

Senate Committee on University Priorities

Mmnrinchim

FROM:

RE: Centre for Scientific Computing DATE: 13 February 2001

Attached is a proposal from Dr. Willie Davidson, Dean of Science for the

establishment of a Centre for Scientific Computing as a Schedule A Centre.

The Senate Committee on University Priorities reviewed the proposal at its

February 7, 2001 meeting. The proposal was unanimously approved subject to a

consideration of library resources.

As indicated in the attached correspondence from Todd Mundle, Head, Collections

Management Office of the W.A.C. Bennett Library, the Library is satisfied that it can

support this Centre.

Once approved by Senate, the proposal is to be submitted to the Board of Governors.

Motion

That Senate approves and recommends to the Board of Governors the

establishment of the Centre for Scientific Computing outlined in document

W.A.C. Bennett Library

Simon Fraser University

Memorandum

To: Bruce Clayman, VP Research

Subject: Library Report for proposed Centre for Scientific Computing

Cc: Lynn Copeland, University Librarian

Robert Russell, Mathematics and Statistics

Sue Roppel, Secretary, SCUP

Marjorie Nelles, Liaison Librarian for Computing Science and Math/Statistics

From: Todd M. Mundle

Head, Collections Management

tmundle@sfu.ca 

Date: February 15, 2001

Here is the Library Report regarding the proposed Centre for Scientific Computing.

I've read over the proposal the Centre for Scientific Computing and I am satisfied that the

Library can support this Centre. There are no outstanding issues at this point but as with

all Centres there may be future hiring of faculty with specific interests outside the current

scope of the proposed Centre for Scientific Computing.

When hiring such individuals it would do well to compare the compatibility of their

research interests with existing Library resources. If a mismatch is determined and new

resources are required, payment for new books, journals or databases would have to come

out of the existing library materials budgets assigned to associated departments

(Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry and Computing Sciences). Alternatively a

novel budgeting process could be struck between the Faculty of Science and the Library.

This is a general concern regarding new hires and not specific to the Centre for Scientific

Computing.

Costs:

THERE

ARE NO ADDITIONAL LIBRARY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH STARTING

THIS CENTRE

If you have any questions regarding this report, please don't hesitate to contact me by

phone (3263) or by email, tmundle@sfu.ca

C^

SCUP 00-33

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

OFFICE OF VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH

TO: Sue Roppel, Secretary

Senate Committee on University

Planning (SCUP)

RE: Centre for Scientific Computing

FROM: Bruce P. Clayman

Vice-President, Research

DATE: January 12, 2000

Attached is a proposal from Dr. Willie Davidson, Dean of Science, for the

establishment of a Centre for Scientific Computing as a Schedule ACentre.

The Governing Committee for Centres and Institutes recommends that the

Centre be granted approval by SCUP. Once approved by SCUP, the proposal is to be

forwarded to Senate, followed by submission to the Board of Governors.

Governing Committee:

Dr. John'-IT. Wa'terhese-

Vice-President, Academic and Provost

(Z3%UCQ

Dr. Bruce P. Clayman

4r-

Vice-President, Research

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

•

MEMORANDUM

To: B.P. Clayman,

From: W.S. Davidson, Dean

Vice-President, Research ?

Faculty of Science

Subject: Centre for Scientific Computing ?

Date: November 20, 2000

I am pleased to support establishing the Centre for Scientific Computin as

Schedule University Centre under the authority of the Dean of Scicnce—cQJ

The Centre for Scientific Computing will pull together faculty from several

departments and faculties across the University. It builds on existing strengths and it

is timely, having support from the directors of MITACS and PIMS. The membership

of the Centre, its governance, and initial financial support are well documented.

There are no long-term budget implications for the University.

RESEARCH

'1-

rdr@cs.sfu.ca

, 1111/01 10:30 AM -0800, re: Re: January 10, 2001

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 10;30:41 -0800 (POT)

From: rdr@cs - sfu . ca

To:

bra 1phfu . ca

Subject; re: Re; January 10 2001

Dear

Willie,

nights agt at ze January Senate meeting I raised rir' concern

with

3-ice Clayman that :ur Centre for Scientific Computing proposal be on the

February Senate meeting agenda for approval as a Schedule A Centre.

A: that time, as he explains inhis email below, he mentioned that

scme clarification was required vis a vis

the need for our Centre given that NITACS and PINS already exist.

This ciarifica:ion is fairly straightforward:

First, the applied and

computational xathera:ics group in the Department of Math

tics and

Statistics has been developing its Centre proposal for some time, and

was only after the proposal was in its final

form

that the possibility

that a relationship with PINS could facilitate substantial funding for

our Centre arose.

But regardless, our Centre will be involved in precisely

the same types of activities as the other SFU Sch

dule A Centres. ?

It has

obtained very broad support from researchers in scientific computing

across campus, stimulating cross disciplinary research in this focussed

area. ?

In addition. the Centre will be involved in the graduate training

of applied/computational mathe.'ratics students, playing basically the

same role as the Institutes for applied mathematics at the Universities

of British Columbia and Alberta.

We need "official status" in order to

adequately promote our activities and recruit our graduate students.

The role of

TACS, to fund industrial interactions with select groups

of researchers (primarily in Mathematics and Computing Science), is much

more specialized and only peripherally related to our proposed Centre.

On the other hand, PINS is a cross university effort to fund the

mathematical sciences in a very broad sense (as, of course, you ciow).

The members of our Centre are dedicated SFU researchers whose activities

are relatively independent of whether PINS exists or not.

It seems only

reasonable that the Centre benefit from the facilities available to PINS

(primarily in ways which at this point we can only speculate on), as do

other related Centres such as the CECM benefit from the existence of PIMS,

and we would hope that the SF

F J Administration is supportive of our finding

creative ways of obtaining financial support.

It has never been in our minds that the Centre's existence would be based upon

that of PINS.

We are an independent, focussed, important research unit at

Sr-U, quite distinct from the broad PINS structure, and we are most eager

to obtain our "official" SFU Schedule A Centre status and move forward in

serving the SF!J research corrrtunity.

Please let me know asap if any further clarification is necessary.

Thanks very much, Bob

Author of message: Robert Russell 

Dept of 1'Iathematics 

&

Statistics 

.

'6.

Application for Creation of an SFU Schedule A Centre: ?

Centre for Scientific Computing

1. Scientific Computing & Modern Science

It is no overstatement that scientific computing, as a primary subdiscipline of ap-

plied mathematics, has experienced changes of revolutionary proportion over the past

decade. The explosive growth in capacity of large-scale computing and high-speed

data networking has made real the

virtual laboratory.

More than just a simulation

and visualization tool, the computer has now itself become an indispensible environ-

ment for scientific research. This new role for the computer demands interdisciplinary

research teams combining strong mathematical and computational expertise with in-

depth specialized technical knowledge.

The importance of basic applied mathematics has grown largely because for many

of the industrial and technological applications of computing, the central challenges

are mathematical ones. In the words of Tom Brzustowski, NSERC President, at the

first MITACS Annual General Meeting this year,

"Mathematics is the language of high technology. Indeed it is, but I think

it is also becoming the eyes of science."

With the field of Scientific Computation evolving at the

speed of technology,

main-

taining a leading position within this research community requires vitality and adapt-

ability.

Over the past seven years, the Applied Mathematics group in the Department of

Mathematics and Statistics has undergone extensive revitalization. The department

has been fortunate in attracting some exceptionally talented young applied mathe-

maticians, enhancing its considerable strength in scientific computing while adding

new strengths in mathematical modeling and nonlinear analysis. With the addition

of new members, the group possesses renewed energy and has established collabora-

tions within the university, as well as with other universities, industry and research

laboratories.

It is noteworthy to point out related changes in other SFU departments. New fac-

ulty with expertise in mathematical modeling and scientific computing have been and

are being hired in Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Biology, Comput-

ing Science, Earth Sciences, Kinesiology, and Engineering. These are generally new

priorities for many of the departments which have been motivated by the expanding

role played by scientific computation and mathematical modeling within the disci-

plines. In addition, a traditionally high level of support for mathematical research

exist within the theoretical group in Physics. A major mission of the Centre for

Scientific Computing is to provide an organized focus for these shared connections

between the Applied Mathematics group and the broader SFU computing community.

2. Scientific Computing & Mathematical Sciences at SFU

This proposal of a new Centre coincides with a time of significant opportunity for

the mathematical sciences at SFU. Key support, in the form of resources and admin-

istration, is forthcoming from the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences (PIMS)

and the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS)

National Centre of Excellence. The directors of these programs, Nassif Ghoussab

(PIMS) and Arvind Gupta (MITACS), have made clear the willingness of these orga-

nizations to act as catalysts for the new Centre's growth. Indeed, the new Centre at

SFU fits in well with PIMS's long-range plan for the endowment of university-based

mathematical research centres, and PIMS has committed short-term institutional in-

frastructure (temporary space, staff support, visibility, etc.). The recent relocation

of the national MITACS headquarters to Burnaby substantially strengthens the Uni-

versity's commitment to Applied Mathematics at SFU. Both PIMS and MITACS,

located in the East Annex Laboratory Building, are eager to provide the physical

focal point for computing labs, postdoctoral offices and research workshops. Bal-

Finally, the recent award from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for a

high-performance computing environment involved a joint proposal between the Cen-

tre for Experimental and Constructive Mathematics (CECM) and faculty members

from four departments (Mathematics & Statistics, Computing Science, Physics, and

Chemistry). This brings to the campus significant new capacity in parallel computa-

tion, making SFU ideally poised to take on the leadership role in Canadian scientific

computing research.

3. A Central Focus for Scientific Computing

The major purpose of the Centre is to provide SFU with a visible focus for compu-

tational research, on the campus and in the wider Pacific Rim research community.

Specifically, the Centre's goals are to facilitate discussion between scientific com-

puting research groups (through seminars, workshops, and conferences), to provide

advanced instruction in computational techniques and applications (through gradu-

ate and postdoctoralprograms), and to actively pursue joint research ventures with

industry, government, and laboratories.

Although the current impetus for the formation of this Centre is being driven

by the members of the Applied Mathematics group, the vision for the Centre is to

create a fertile mix of scientific and industrial discourse cutting across traditional

disciplinary boundaries.

Blueprint for a Centre

Specific activities with the required resources to make them viable are listed below.

Research Environment

a MITACS Projects: A team led by Promislow in the Applied Mathematics group

at SFU has been instrumental in the development of the highly successful MI-

TACS research collaboration with Ballard Power Systems, the world leader in

proton exchange fuel cell technology. The working group for this MITACS

project, also involving researchers at UBC and University of Calgary, supports

two postdoctoral fellows and numerous graduate students through funding from

MITACS and Ballard Power Systems. The initiatives also include members from

departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Computing Science.

b Computing Laboratory: Three members of Applied Mathematics group (Mu-

. raki, Russell, Ruuth) are Co-Principal Investigators in .

the recently successful

CFI grant for High Performance Computing. The resources available will bring

state-of-the-art parallel computing machines to the SFU campus. While severe

space limitations in the Mathematics Department will not permit sufficient lab

space to fully utilize this computing capability, it is hoped that PIMS/MITACS

support will generate the needed space that can accommodate both the Centre

for Scientific Computing and the CECM.

Seminars: The Applied and Computational Mathematics seminar series has

been moved to the PIMS conference facility. A series of joint colloquia between

Applied Mathematics and the Departments of Physics and Computing Science

has been initiated. It is hoped that further interdisciplinary forums will be

similarly hosted by PIMS. Additional funding from PIMS will also allow more

speakers to be invited from outside of the Pacific Northwest region.

d Research Conferences: PIMS is open to hosting several research conferences and

workshops with themes in scientific computing. This year's Numerical Analysis

Potlatch and Fast Multipole Workshop, organized by the Applied Mathematics

group (Trummer/Ruuth and Kropinski) are hosted and supported financially

by PIMS and SFU.

e Visitor Program: The PIMS/MITACS facility offers office and staff support for

long term visitors (such as sabbatical visitors). Such an arrangement can help

establish the East Annex facility as a meeting place for scientific computing.

f Industrial Problem Solving Workshops: PIMS's most successful industrial in-

teraction to date has been these week-long workshops, held annually since 1997,

which draw local industries together with Canadian and international faculty

members. The Centre will continue a strong level of commitment to these highly

successful workshops, as well as to the affiliated graduate student workshops (see

below).

g PIMS industrial projects: PIMS has expressed the desire to expand its collabo-

rative activities with industry, and the Centre would be well-positioned to play

a leading role in this.

Education & Professional Development

a Postdoctoral Fellows: Currently, between the Applied Mathematics group and

the CECM, there are a large number of PDFs involved in computational math-

ematics. They are supported through a combination of industrial, NSERC,

PIMS, and MITACS funds, as well as some being jointly supervised with fac-

ulty at UBC. These PDFs play an essential role in the PIMS/MITACS facility,

focussing the research activities and contributing to the intellectual energy of

the Centre.

b Graduate Program Recruitment: A major benefit derived from the Centre

will be the increased visibility and identity gained for SFU's computationally-

oriented graduate programs. The organization of lab facilities and research

groups around the Centre will certainly project the full vitality of computing

activity at SFU.

c Graduate Industrial Mathematical Modeling Camps: This high visibility na-

tional program has been run successfully for two of the last three years by the

Applied Mathematics group, in conjunction with PIMS. This event places a

spotlight on the computational strengths at SFU for potential graduate stu-

dents, as well as providing an opportunity for SFU's industrial partners to

communicate their computing needs.

d The eventual aim of the Centre is to host joint graduate courses between de-

partments. The connections fostered through external memberships will help

facilitate interdisciplinary graduate coursework.

e MSc in Scientific Computing: The feasibility of providing an MSc option in Sci-

entific Computing is being investigated with the Schools of Computing Science

and Engineering, with whom the Applied Mathematics group has close ties.

Professional Outreach

a CAlMS Newsletter - The Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society

(CAlMS), the major applied mathematics organization in Canada, publishes its

newsletter at SFU under the leadership of G. Graham, a member of the Applied

Mathematics group and the Secretary of CAlMS.

b Thematic Programs: The Centre will provide a mechanism, through the aus-

pices of PIMS/MITACS, for the organization of thematic programs. An annual

research theme can be coordinated with the PIMS Distinguished Speaker Pro-

gram.

5. Centre Governance

Schedule The Centre for Scientific Computing shall be a Schedule University

Centre under the authority of the Dea-ef4e- e4by-aFStiirce. Jic- -

orci''.

Administrative Officer The Dean of the Faculty of Science shall be the Adminis-

trative Officer for the Centre for Scientific Computing

Director The Centre for Scientific Computing shall have a Director who shall be

elected for renewable three-year terms. An Associate Director may be appointed by

the Director in consultation with the membership.

Day-to-day administration of the Centre for Scientific Computing shall be the re-

sponsibility of the Director. The Director shall exercise the rights of the Centre under

the terms of Section 5.1 of AC 40.01 and shall meet the obligations set out in 5.2 of

AC 40.01.

Membership The Director of the Centre shall be a regular employee of the Uni-

versity. Regular membership in the Centre for Scientific Computing shall be available

only to Simon Fraser University faculty. Regular membçrship in the Centre will be

obtained through a majority vote of the Board of Advisors following application to

the Director. Associate memberships, which entitle individuals to all the benefits of

regular membership save a vote in Centre proceedings, shall be available. Associate

members must be

approved in the same fashion as regular members. Additional cat-

egories of membership may be established by the Director in consultation with the

membership and with the approval of the Administrative Officer.

The initial membership of the Centre for Scientific Computing will include the

following individuals, who have agreed to participate:

• The Board of Advisors - Initially, the Board shall consist of R. Russell (the first

Director), M. C. Kropinski, S; Ruuth, and two members of the Centre from

other departments.

• Other regular members from the Mathematics Department - J. Borwein, P.

Borwein, R. Choksi, L. Goddyn, C. Graham, A. Lewis, D. Muraki, M. Monagan,

E. Pechianer, K. Promislow, C. Shen, and M. Trummer.

• Members of other SFU departments who have agreed to be members include

Bhattacharya, Gupta, Hafer, Krishnamurti, and Moeller from Computing Sci-

ence; Ballentine, Bechhoefer, Hayden, Kirczenow, and Plischke from Physics;

Lockhart, Sitter, and Swartz from Statistics; Cavers, Gupta, Jones, Saif, and

Trajkovic from Engineering Science; Baille and Pio from Molecular Biology

and Biochemistry; Roitberg and Delaney from Biology; Wilkie from Chemistry;

Finegood from Kinesiology; Allen, Calvert and Stead from Earth Sciences; and ?

Choo, Love, and Warburton from Business.

• Various associate members from other PIMS universities, including University

of British Columbia, University of Victoria, and University of Washington.

• Various associate members from industry and government.

Budget

An initial start-up reserve of $5, 000 per year to cover general expenses has been

allocated from the Dean of Science office for the first two years of operation. As well,

modest nonfinancial support will be sought from the Department of Mathematics.

Commitments of initial support in kind have been received from the Directors of

both MITACS and PIMS. They consist of the following:

• secretarial support for promoting The Centre's activities such as workshops and

conferences, graduate recruitment, seminar coordination, visitor coordination,

and webpage maintenance.

• initial financial support ($1, 000 per semester) for seminar expenses.

• limited office space in the East Academic Annex.

Obligation to Act in Accordance with University Policy

The Centre for Scientific Computing acknowledges its obligation to conduct its

activities in accordance with University policies. ?

p/Il