The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) held the Fifth Annual Windows on the Future Conference Wednesday March 8 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton Town Center. The conference was co-sponsored by OSC's networking division (OARnet) and high performance computing (HPC) divisions.
The Windows on the Future Conference united internationally-recognized experts to discuss new and emerging computing, networking, and related technologies, as well as the impact these technologies will have on future research, applications, and Ohio's economy.
Windows on the Future provided a forum in which academic institutions, research centers, and industry and government researchers shared knowledge, exchanged ideas, and formed collaborative relationships that collectively benefit Ohio's higher education, industrial and manufacturing communities. Major conference themes for 2005 included Biomedical Discovery and Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering.
Manufacturing firms are increasingly using sophisticated software programs to test new materials, design products, and simulate operations. They are also using high-speed networks to share data, collaborate in the design process, and share expensive instrumentation. The technologies promise to improve efficiency and reduce costs, providing a return on investment that makes the adopting firms more competitive in the international marketplace.
Still, many firms face problems such as inadequate infrastructure, software limitations, and an insufficiently trained workforce. Conference speakers will provide insights into current and future advances in computer-based modeling and simulation.
Biomedical researchers are applying a variety of technologies to assist in the discovery of new drugs, individualized treatments for diseases, and the relationships among genetics, disease, and treatment effectiveness. The conference will focus on approaches to modeling biological systems and subsystems; handling, indexing, and analyzing increasingly large datasets; and simulating/visualizing the complex interactions among physical and biochemical systems.
Conference speakers included; Joseph Gardner of Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals; Dr. John McKibben of Procter & Gamble Fabric and Home Care Modeling & Simulation; Dr. Stanley Ahalt, Director of the Ohio Supercomputer Center; Dr. Hamish Fraser, Eminent Scholar in Materials Sciences at the Ohio State University; Dr. Chris Butson of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation; Michael P. Bouchard, PE, head of the Aerospace Mechanics Division at the University of Dayton Research Institute; Dr. Wolfgang Sadee, Director of the OSU Program in Pharmacogenomics; and Tony Pan, a Biomedical Informatics researcher in the College of Medicine at Ohio State.
