As a theoretical physicist studying the fundamental elements of matter, UConn graduate student Daniel Hoying creates calculations so large and complex they require supercomputers to perform them.<\/p>\n
So Hoying is obviously excited that he will soon have regular access to one of the world\u2019s most powerful supercomputers at the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, N.Y. The system is outfitted with Intel\u2019s powerful new Knights Landing Xeon Phi chip. The chip\u2019s 8 billion transistors and other cutting-edge technologies can carry the heavy processing loads that scientists like Hoying need to do their work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis represents an enormous opportunity for me,\u201d says Hoying, who is headed to Brookhaven as a recipient of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Award. \u201cThe level of precision offered by these processors allows us to make calculations that we would never have conceived of a few years ago. The on-site expertise can\u2019t be discounted either. There are a lot of people there who know a lot of things I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s very exciting to have an opportunity to learn from them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starting in July, Hoying will spend 12 consecutive months conducting part of his dissertation research at Brookhaven. Only 53 graduate students around the country received SCGSR awards this year. Other winners included students from Yale, Princeton, MIT, Duke, Cornell, CalTech, and Michigan State.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SCGSR program prepares graduate students for science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science\u2019s mission,\u201d says Steve Binkley, acting director of DOE\u2019s Office of Science. \u201cWe are proud of the accomplishments these outstanding students already have made, and look forward to following their achievements in years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoying\u2019s research focuses on the Standard Model<\/a> of particle physics. The Standard Model explains how the basic building blocks of matter interact and are governed by fundamental forces such as gravity and electromagnetism. It is the most fundamental theory of nature.<\/p>\n