Europe to begin computer science study
The European Science Foundation plans a computational science study is to help develop programs that support U.S. researchers.
Although Europe plays a leading role in the development of computational techniques and programs, particularly for the simulation of materials at the atomic scale, foundation officials say scientists must spend increasing time and effort learning how to use new tools and ensuring they run on their computer systems.
High Performance Computing Centers exist, providing support for local software development but there is no coordinated European support. The foundation's new "Forward Look" study is an effort to provide a conclusive guide for policy makers on what researchers in the field need to keep Europe's leading position.
The aim of Forward Look is to develop a vision on how computational sciences will evolve in the coming 10 to 20 years.
Foundation officials say the study will help develop a European infrastructure similar to the "e-environment" of supporting services available to U.S. researchers.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
