Special Issue on Computational Science and Engineering

Leading-edge science and engineering depend on advanced computing for understanding, prediction, and control. In response to these needs, the field of computational science and engineering (CS&E) is evolving rapidly, to the point that it is now widely considered to be a new discipline by itself and a third pillar of the scientific enterprise, a peer alongside theory and physical experiment. CS&E is unique in that it enables progress in virtually all other disciplines by providing windows of discovery when traditional means of research reach their limits. Because of its flexibility, computer simulation has become a universal tool. A simulation may serve as a virtual microscope that lets scientists observe the world of quantum physics much smaller than an atom, or it may be employed as a virtual telescope that allows us to explore how galaxies are forming in the universe. In this way, CS&E helps scientists to reach beyond our physical limitations in space and time. When physical experiments are too dangerous, too time-consuming, too expensive, or simply impossible, then advanced simulation techniques enable us to perform virtual experiments and to obtain scientific results otherwise beyond our capabilities. Just as scientists employ computer simulations to improve our understanding of the world, engineers can use them to design better products. Virtual prototypes--simulated devices and processes--can increasingly replace their real counterparts to save time and to reduce cost, while simulation-based optimization techniques help engineers to develop better products. CS&E is used for research into innovative materials, to make vehicles safer and environmentally friendlier, to construct buildings that can withstand earthquakes and hurricanes, to improve energy efficiency everywhere, and to advance health care, among many other applications. To begin CS&E research into a specific problem, researchers generally build a simulator that can correctly represent what has been experimentally observed. The creation of a successful simulator is often a very useful accomplishment in itself, since the work required for such a creation will typically lead to a much improved understanding of the physics (or chemistry, etc.) behind the observations. A working simulation will illuminate which effects are essential in the physics under study, which are essential for the observed behavior, and which can be neglected. In this phase, relatively simple scenarios and model geometrie