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Scientific Complexity

Ernest Orlando Lawrence founded his Berkeley laboratory in 1931, basing it on the concept of team science in which physicists, engineers and others pooled their expertise to develop and deploy unique experimental facilities. Computing Sciences staff carry on this heritage by working closely with scientists to understand their challenges, map future strategies and develop the applications and resources needed to meet those challenges. For example, staff from ESnet and NERSC meet regularly with scientists in each of the DOE Office of Science program offices to learn about future directions, determine the necessary resources and then develop long-range plans to deploy those resources in a timely manner.

In the Computational Research Division, teams of applied mathematicians and computer scientists work with domain scientists to develop algorithms for studying problems such as climate change, combustion, environmental remediation, understanding the size and age of the universe, and creating cleaner sources of energy. And just as these tools help advance scientific discovery, developing the methods also drives the advancement of applied mathematics and computer science.