IBM undergrad award announced at CTC reception

Anthony R. Ingraffea, the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering and of civil and environmental engineering, lectures on "How Long Can They Fly? Computer Simulation and the Aging Aircraft Problem," during the Cornell Theory Center's Distinguished Lectures in Computational Science symposium Sept. 1 in the Biotechnology Building. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

Thomas Coleman, left, Cornell Theory Center director, shakes hands with Ilarion Melnikov, the winner of the 1998 IBM Undergraduates in Computational Science Award, during a reception in the Johnson Museum's lobby Sept. 1. Charles Harrington/University Photography

The Cornell Theory Center (CTC) announced last week that senior Ilarion Melnikov is the winner of the 1998 IBM Undergraduates in Computational Science Award. The award, made possible through IBM's endowment of a partial fellowship, supports outstanding students of computer and computational science at Cornell.

The award was presented at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Sept. 1, during a reception for the award and the CTC's Distinguished Lectures in Computational Science symposium, which took place in the Biotechnology Building earlier in the day.

Melnikov, from Evanston, Ill., is a physics major working in the research group of Eberhard Bodenschatz, assistant professor of physics. Melnikov began his interest in computational science early in high school, where his work focused on molecular dynamics computer simulations of a small liquid droplet spreading on a solid substrate ­ research of importance for spray paints, ink jet printers and similar devices.

After coming to Cornell in 1995, Melnikov first became involved in experimental work in Bodenschatz's lab and then in theoretical research that involved developing a computer program that allows ultra-fast pattern processing and analysis. In the course of his undergraduate research career, he has conducted large-scale simulations of three-dimensional fluid flow using CTC's IBM RS/6000 POWERparallel System (SP), learned to use scientific visualization and analysis tools, and he spent a summer working at Duke University on high-energy physics theory. Last semester, he visited the University of Bayreuth (Germany), where he continued his research and collaborated with German physicists in the development of scalable codes for the SP and other high-performance computing systems. He has presented numerous talks and posters at professional society meetings. Melnikov expects to graduate this spring and to pursue a Ph.D. in theoretical physics.

Nominations for the IBM Undergraduates in Computational Science Award can be submitted by any member of the Cornell faculty. To be considered for the award of $3,000, a student must be an undergraduate at the time the award is made and must be doing research in computational science. Computational science can be broadly defined as the search for the solution to scientific and engineering challenges through the use of computing and related technologies. The winner of the award is selected by CTC's executive committee.