No lab coats or field mice necessary: Visit with a computational scientist
Laptop, check.
Passport, check.
The bare necessities of one computational scientist.
Computational Scientist Gabrielle Allen is living proof that a career in research can be an adventure. If images of scientists stuck in dusty laboratories make you shy away from the possibility of working in research, one CCT innovator will change your view of this fast-paced way of life.
While Allen works as the assistant director for computing applications at the CCT, she also holds a faculty position in the computer science department. Her research in computational science enables other researchers to use cutting-edge computing power in their projects. “Computational science is the interface between the scientific applications, computer science, and computational mathematics," said Allen of computational science.
A major focus in this computing field is on problem solving through interdisciplinary work. Allen’s work revolves around collaborative projects, involving colleagues in a variety of fields and spotted throughout some of the best research centers in the world. Her team works with other scientists to build computing tools for researchers in fields like computational fluid dynamics, coastal studies, physics, chemistry, and astronomy. “If we could provide infrastructure to help generate a breakthrough, that’s the best of everything," said Allen.
Collaborating with these top minds keeps Allen, or “Gab" as her colleagues and graduate students call her, close to what is innovative in computational science today. The Internet, Access Grid video conferencing, and research trips to Korea, Germany, and other destinations make working closely with a geographically broad range of people possible.
The Jet Set Life of a Modern Scientist
As
an undergraduate, Allen studied mathematics at Nottingham University, not
far from the town she grew up in east of London. Following her bachelor’s
of science degree, she earned an advanced masters, or a Certificate of Advanced
Study, in applied mathematics and theoretical physics from Cambridge University
in 1989. Allen then moved to Cardiff University to work with Professor Bernard
Schutz in applications of general relativity and astrophysics. While at
Cardiff, she obtained her PhD in astrophysics in 1993. “While I was
at Cardiff, I made my first trip to the U.S. to work with Professor Chuck
Evans at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for six months,"
Allen said. “My supervisor at Cardiff was very well respected internationally,
and I got the chance to meet a lot of really inspiring physicists and mathematicians,
such as Kip Thorne, John Wheeler, Roger Penrose, and so on."
After working at Cardiff, she moved to Potsdam, Germany, near Berlin to take a postdoctoral position at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, also known as The Albert Einstein Institute.
“They needed someone to develop the Cactus framework and they took a chance on me. I learned how to develop software and how to program," said Allen, referring to the internationally popular framework for parallel computing. “In the beginning, we were developing the code mainly for physics."
Today people in a variety of fields all over the world use Cactus to support their research using large scale computing. “Now we have a larger team of people, and the software is being extended in different ways," she said.
Slowing down in Cajun Land? Never.
Although
this spontaneous intellect has lived in some of the most exciting cities
in the world, Allen has found plenty of adventure here during her few moments
of spare time in Baton Rouge.
When she is not watching old black and white films about southern Louisiana, she is heading to Breaux Bridge to see Zydeco dancing and listening for French speakers at other tables.
“There are interesting things going on with festivals every weekend," said Allen. This vegetarian has even been persuaded to expand her menu options. “Since I’ve been here I started eating fish," she said. “The food is good here."
The Campus Experience
Life at LSU is a welcomed change for Allen. “I enjoy working with so many different people, particularly the students here, she said. “The Albert Einstein Institute was a very stimulating research environment, with a lot of opportunities, but I missed the enthusiasm that the students bring."
She is currently teaching Grid computing and beams proudly as she describes the students’ dedication. “I’m impressed with how enthusiastic they are and how self-motivated they are."
She says there are so many opportunities on campus, there is often not enough time to do all that is possible. “It’s good to be part of a campus, and here it’s great there are so many departments and centers. Here we have new faculty in distributed, Grid, and scientific computing," said Allen, “It’s a fantastic environment to be in, and people are full of ideas."
Contact Jennifer Hughes | CCT | LSU
University Relations
Highlights Team
Fall 2005
