Big Data

As described in the LSU Office of Research & Economic Development's latest Research magazine, "Big Data" issues are of interest for the department's astrophysics, LIGO, and medical physics groups. In the area of astrophysics, the National Academy's most recent Decadal Survey of Astronomy identified the next two highest priority projects in astronomy to be WFIRST and LSST, one space-based and one ground-based telescope to survey the skies for transient events, producing terabytes of data each night. In the case of LIGO, when Advanced LIGO comes online later this year, it will require large amounts of computing power to perform its simulations and the data analysis needed to identify rare gravitational radiation events. And in medical physics, using imaging data to build a profile based on an individual patient's specific genetic makeup holds promise in personalizing medical care. 

In the same Research magazine, the Quantum Physics and Quantum Gravity groups' work applying fundamental quantum mechanics to the development of quantum computers and to the cosmology of the early universe are highlighted in "Schrödinger's Killer App: Quantum Technology at LSU".