Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations – CIPI
Combining supercomputer with the most advanced laser technology
World-class researchers and scientific breakthroughs at the Canadian Institute
for Photonic Innovations, one of Canada's 20 federal Networks of Centres
of Excellence, have helped to attract over $1 million in sophisticated equipment
to develop one of the country's most advanced supercomputing facilities.
In November 2001, IBM Canada donated 30 workstations and computing nodes
for installation at the Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory at the Université
de Sherbrooke. The new equipment will enable a research team, led by Dr. André
Bandrauk, a Canada Research Chairholder in Computational Chemistry and
Photonics, to further the work being done on simulating the dynamics of
the interaction between intense laser fields and atomic or molecular systems.
The equipment will increase the speed and power of the computer system
used in Dr. Bandrauk's laboratory.
A world-leading expert in the area of high-performance computing, Dr. Bandrauk
is recognized for a recent research breakthrough in collaboration with
another network team led by Dr. Paul B. Corkum of the National Research
Council's Steacie Institute in Ottawa. The two researchers are credited
for combining the power of super computing and the latest laser developments
to "control and manipulate" matter with lasers at the molecular
level, both spatially and temporally. The research could lead to advances
in materials technology, biophotonics and high-bandwidth telecommunications
by using ultra-short lasers to image molecular structure and its evolution
on a very short time scale.
The measurement of nuclear motion in molecules on an infinitesimal time
scale was the result of highly sophisticated simulations by the Bandrauk
group, and detailed measurements with current advanced laser technology
by Corkum's group. "This revolutionizes the way we do research,"
said Dr. Bandrauk. "By using supercomputers and the most advanced
laser technology, we can do computer simulations that open brand new research
directions."
The IBM equipment will also be available to other network investigators
involved in CIPI's research projects. IBM Canada joins over 40 affiliate
members – all of them companies and research organizations working
in the area of photonics – that support CIPI's projects through
cash or in-kind donations.
www.cipi.ulaval.ca
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