Organization profile

The primary goal of the Center for Computational Heliophysics is to develop data analysis and modeling tools in the area of heliophysics – the study and prediction of the Sun’s magnetic activity – by combining expertise from computer scientists in the Ying Wu College of Computing with that of physicists and mathematicians in the College of Science and Liberal Arts. We work in partnership with NASA’s Advanced Supercomputing Division at the NASA Ames Research Center. The center’s work is focused on novel, innovative approaches, including the development of intelligent databases, automatic feature identification and classification, realistic numeric simulations based on first-physics principles and observational data modeling. The center develops synergies among these approaches to make substantial advances in heliophysics and computer science. Our new methods and tools can be used in broader scientific and engineering applications for developing new approaches to intelligent big data databases, as well as for image-recognition and characterization methodologies in collaboration with the Computer Science Department. The computational models have been used for modeling the magnetic activity of other stars in support of NASA’s Kepler mission and the search for extraterrestrial life.