NA Digest Sunday, April 26, 1992 Volume 92 : Issue 17 Today's Editor: Cleve Moler The MathWorks, Inc. moler@mathworks.com Today's Topics: Multiprecision Computation Translator Multivariate Optimization SIAM Meeting Advance Registration Deadlines Position at University of Vienna Contents: Journal of Supercomputer Applications Submissions for NA Digest: Mail to na.digest@na-net.ornl.gov. Information about NA-NET: Mail to na.help@na-net.ornl.gov. ------------------------------------------------------- From: David Bailey Date: Tue, 21 Apr 92 10:46:38 -0700 Subject: Multiprecision Computation Translator Some of you may be aware of a multiprecision computation package and a multiprecision Fortran translator that I have developed during the past year or two. I am now pleased to announce that this software has been approved by NASA Ames for unlimited international distribution, at no cost. A brief description of this software is as follows: The first package contains approximately 85 Fortran subroutines that perform a variety of arithmetic operations and transcendental functions. The basic arithmetic routines are very efficient, and for extra high levels of precision (about about 1000 digits), some additional routines are available that employ advanced algorithms, such FFT-based multiplication and the Borwein transcendental algorithms, for additional speedup. On some problems these routines are over 200 times faster than certain other multiprecision tools. However, as with other such packages, manually converting a program to use these routines is a tedious and error-prone process. To facilitate such conversions, I have now developed a multiprecision translator for Fortran programs. By means of source directives (special comments) placed in a standard Fortran-77 program, the user declares the precision level and specifies which variables in each subprogram are to be treated as multiprecision. The translator program reads this source program and outputs a program with the appropriate multiprecision subroutine calls, which can then be linked with the multiprecision package and executed. This translator program supports multiprecision integer, real and complex datatypes. The required array space for multiprecision data types is automatically allocated. In the evaluation of computational expressions, all of the usual conventions for operator precedence and mixed mode operations are upheld. Furthermore, most of the Fortran-77 intrinsics, such as ABS, MOD, NINT, COS, EXP are supported and produce true multiprecision values. Both the multiprecision package and translator are written in highly portable Fortran-77 and have been successfully implemented on a variety of systems, ranging from parallel supercomputers to workstations. If anyone is interested in obtaining this software, plus the accompanying documentation, please send me a note. I eventually intend to place this software on public media such as netlib, but for the time being I prefer to keep a list of users, so that any bug fixes or enhancements can be promptly distributed. David H. Bailey NASA Ames Research Center dbailey@nas.nasa.gov ------------------------------ From: Eildert Groeneveld Date: 23 Apr 92 14:42 Subject: Multivariate Optimization We are performing multivariate (dimensions of 60 and more) numerical optimization on functions which are very costly to evaluate: each evaluation might take 30 minutes CPU time or more. So far we have used some Downhill Simplex and QuasiNewton procedures. However, there may be recent algorithms out there that I am not aware of. Thus, I am looking for an optimization algorithm that meets the following conditions: 1. very efficient in regard to number of function evaluations 2. able to recover from non smooth function values (indicating a set of function parameters that are not defined) 3. constrained or unconstrained optimization. Efficiency is of great importance, but also robustness. Any pointers would be greatly appreciatated. Address: Eildert Groeneveld Institute of Animal Husbandry and Animal Behaviour Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) W-3057 Neustadt 1 Mariensee Hoeltystr. 10 Germany Tel : 05034 871 155 Fax : 05034 871 143 e-mail : groeneveld@tierzucht-mariensee.fal-braunschweig.dbp.de ------------------------------ From: Tina Flores Date: Tue, 21 Apr 92 15:15:20 EST Subject: SIAM Meeting Advance Registration Deadlines Just a friendly reminder..... Deadlines for advance registration: Fourth SIAM Conference on Optimization ------ May 4, 1992 Sixth SIAM Conference on Discrete Mathematics-- June 1, 1992 For your convenience, you can register either by phone, FAX or e-mail. Call 215-382-9800. FAX 215-386-7999. E-mail meetings@siam.org VISA, MC and AE credit cards are welcomed. Contact SIAM now and furnish the following information: registrant's name, affiliation and address; name of conference; SIAM member or non-member; type of credit card, number and expiration date. We look forward to your presence at these conferences. Thank you. SIAM Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics ------------------------------ From: Herbert Muthsam Date: Wed, 22 Apr 92 09:12:20 MEZ Subject: Position at University of Vienna University of Vienna/AUSTRIA Institute of Mathematics The Institute of Mathematics invites applications for a newly created tenured full professorship in computational mathematics. Requirements include successfull scientific activity in the development resp. analysis of computer-aided solution methods for mathematical, scientific or technological problems. The successful candidate will be ready to enhance pertinent teaching activities and cooperate with neighbouring scientific disciplines at the university. Knowledge of the German language is necessary. Candidates should send applications (including curriculum vitae, publication list, etc.), to: University of Vienna, FN Dekanat, Karl Lueger-Ring 1, A-1010 Vienna, Austria. Applications should arrive before June 15, 1992. ------------------------------ From: Jack Dongarra Date: Thu, 23 Apr 92 16:45:29 -0400 Subject: Contents: Journal of Supercomputer Applications International Journal of Supercomputer Applications Table of Contents Volume 6.2 summer 1992 EDITORIAL Page 127 The Frankenstein Project: Building a Man in the Machine and the Arrival of the Computational Physician M. Witten PAPERS Protein Sequence and Structure Comparison on Page 138 Massively Parallel Computers by R. Jones Thinking Machines Corporation Parallel Computation for Medicine and Biology: Page 147 Applications of Linda at Yale University D.F. Sittig, M.A. Shifman, P. Nadkarni, P.L. Miller Yale University Computational Methods for Bone Mechanics Studies Page 164 R.T. Hart, Z.M. Oden, S.W. Parrish, *D.B. Burr Tulane University, *Indiana University Solid Modeling on a Massively Parallel Processor Page 175 By D. Strip, M. Karasick Sandia National Laboratories, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center History Matching for Multiphase Reservoir Models Page 193 on Shared Memory Supercomputers by J. Zhu, Y.M Chen Mississippi State University ------------------------------ End of NA Digest ************************** -------