Computing in Science and Engineering

In my end-of-the-year message in the November/December 2005 issue, I listed the items that I had made major priorities during my first year as editor in chief and gave an overview of how I've grappled with them throughout the year. I characterized this ...

Although the Internet is manmade, its exact structure is a mystery. Most of its component networks are owned and managed by private companies that keep their hardware specifications secret for commercial and security reasons. In this respect, the ...

The term Monte Carlo method stands for any member of a very large class of computational methods that use randomness to generate "typical" instances of a problem under investigation. Typical instances are generated because it's impractical or even ...

Since 1953, researchers have applied the Monte Carlo method to a wide range of areas. Specialized algorithms have also been developed to extend the method's applicability and efficiency. The author describes some of the algorithms that have been ...

The author discusses the recently developed geometric cluster algorithm for the simulation of fluids. Building on earlier approaches, this Monte Carlo method permits the efficient simulation of cases in which conventional simulation methods fail, such ...

Monte Carlo algorithms often depend on Markov chains to sample from very large data sets. A key ingredient in the design of an efficient Markov chain is determining rigorous bounds on how quickly the chain "mixes," or converges, to its stationary ...

Although the Metropolis algorithm dates back to at least 1953, the fact that it could be used for approximate counting has become clear only in recent years. An algorithm specifically designed for counting was created around the same time as the ...

Muscular dystrophy is a degenerative disease that destroys muscles and ultimately kills its victims. Researchers worldwide are racing to find a cure by trying to uncover the genetic processes that cause muscular dystrophy. Given that a key process is ...

In this review, the authors describe new computational approaches--based on new theoretical concepts--for analyzing physiological time series. They'll show that the application of these methods could potentially lead to a novel diagnostic tool for ...

We seldom get it right the first time. Whether we're composing an email, seasoning a stew, painting a picture, or planning an experiment, we almost always make improvements on our original thought. The same is true of engineering design; we draft a plan,...

Two assumptions underlie the Fourier transform process: stationarity and linearity. When signals deviate from these conditions, the transform outcomes are suspect. A chirp, which by definition has a frequency that varies with time, doesn't satisfy these ...

This is the second article in an occasional series on Web application development. The first installment, published in the September/October 2005 issue ("A Hike through Post-EJB J2EE Web Application Architecture," vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 80-88), focused on ...

In March 2003, the members of the American Physical Society met in Austin, Texas, to hear and talk about their research. As Physics Today's news editor, I went there too. Covering a big physics meeting is grueling. Unlike real scientists, science ...