UW’s Kirby Wins NSF Grant for Computing Research

Andrew Kirby, an associate research scientist in the University of Wyoming’s School of Computing, has received a $175,000, two-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to modernize his research for new computing architectures -- specifically for graphics processing units (GPUs).

All large U.S. supercomputers use GPUs.

Kirby’s project, “Dynamically Adaptive Unstructured Mesh Technologies for High-Order Multiscale Fluid Dynamics Simulations,” is being funded by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure at NSF through the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering’s CRII program. This very competitive program supports research independence for untenured faculty or early-career research scientists.

Kirby’s research focuses on the development of computational simulation and data analysis tools to gain insight into fluid mechanics in the context of aerospace and wind energy. He has developed codes that have resulted in the highest-fidelity wind farm and rotorcraft simulations to date. His long-term research goals are to develop multiscale high-order numerical methods applicable to renewable energy and aerospace computing.

Kirby’s success in securing this award highlights and recognizes his interdisciplinary research across mechanical engineering (fluid dynamics), computer science and applied computing/applied mathematics. This is his first academic NSF research grant.

Asked what he enjoys most about his research, Kirby says: “Being able to visualize what I programmed into the computer.”

Visualizing complex data is valuable, as it speeds up communication, understanding and decision-making, he says.

The grant covers partial salary, graduate student support and travel to present at wind energy and aerospace conferences, along with publishing costs. The investment in a graduate student will aid in the research having broad impact.