If space is the final frontier, OpenSpace could become the final frontier in space simulation software.

Computer scientists from the University of Utah will be working with researchers from New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to develop OpenSpace, open-source 3-D software for visualizing NASA astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary science and Earth science missions for planetariums and other immersive environments. The software also will be developed for use in schools and on home computers.

During a Sept. 12 event at the Hayden Planetarium in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, an alpha version of OpenSpace will simulate OSIRIS-REx, a mission scheduled to launch this month in which the NASA spacecraft will retrieve an asteroid sample and bring it to Earth.

The University of Utah’s renowned Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI), which produces simulation software for medical and other scientific applications, along with NYU and the Museum have received a $6.3 million grant from NASA to develop OpenSpace so it can be used by students and families as well as planetarium developers. SCI will get about $1.3 million of the grant.

“NASA has an interest in educating the public and reaching out to kids to get them interested in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Charles Hansen, a SCI associate director and professor in the University of Utah’s School of Computing. “The idea is to take NASA data and have an easy way to present it to the general public so they can see what NASA is doing.”

The original idea for OpenSpace and its early proofs-of concept were developed by researchers at Linköping University in Linköping, Sweden, and at AMNH. With the five-year grant, University of Utah computer scientists led by Hansen will help further develop OpenSpace to allow users to pull massive amounts of NASA data about space bodies, phenomenon or probe missions and convert them into striking computer space images in real time. OpenSpace is open-source software, meaning that anyone can use it free of charge.

SCI researchers specialize in creating software that can take huge volumes of data such as weather or traffic data or information about the human anatomy and visualizing it in a simulation without requiring the power of supercomputers. The Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute is comprised of mostly computer scientists from the College of Engineering’s School of Computing.

The task for SCI will be to come up with the programming that allows OpenSpace to receive enormous sets of data and instantly covert them to space images on regular PCs, Hansen said. That could give schools with just normal personal computers the power to view space phenomenon including solar winds, nebulae, planets, moons or data from a satellite. With SCI’s expertise in computer graphics, the space images also “will be more faithful to the science than what an artist can create,” Hansen said.

“You will see where interplanetary space probes are, what their instruments are looking at and what data they’re attempting to acquire, all at that very moment,” Hansen said.

While he doesn’t know exactly when the full version of the OpenSpace software will be completed, Hansen said it will be within the five years of the grant. Users can learn more about OpenSpace and download the current version of the software at openspace.itn.liu.se.

This news release and photos may be downloaded from: unews.utah.edu

Gretchen McClain, NASA’s former chief director of the International Space Station program and University of Utah mechanical engineering alumna, will be giving this year’s William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and The Quality of Life.

The lecture will be held Wednesday, Sept. 21, at noon at the J. Willard Marriott Library, Gould Auditorium, Level 1. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Her lecture is titled “Space Innovation = SUM (Talent + Leadership + Vision) = Progress: Why Society Needs the Creativity and Collaboration of Space Exploration Today More Than Ever.”

McClain is an accomplished business leader who thrives on energizing organizations and building businesses by enhancing innovation and developing exceptional leadership talent. She has more than 25 years of global experience in both Fortune 500 corporations and government service, including serving as founding CEO of an S&P 500 global water technology company, Xylem Inc., and as NASA’s chief director of the International Space Station. She has been awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the “Fortune 1000 CEO.”

McClain will share her insights on the value of creating technologies that have come from our space programs, as well as the many other advances that the space exploration has contributed to business and society — from the ways we innovate and problem solve, to the ways we create social value and collaborate. She will share her experiences overseeing the first joint U.S.-Soviet missions and the building of the International Space Station, and serving as a top business executive, where she saw space technologies and problem solving advance global business and improve our way of living. She will also pose critical questions on the future of space exploration.

She is actively involved in advocating for the technology, water, and environmental spheres, as well as women in STEM. She serves as a member of United Technologies Corporation Innovation Advisory Council; University of Utah College of Engineering National Advisory Council; the Environment and Water Technologies International Advisory Panel for Singapore’s Public Utilities Board; and the America’s Water Steering committee at the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Intermountain Healthcare Central Region.

A graduate from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, McClain received the University’s prestigious Founders Award in 2015.

Utah Industry Snapshot: Computer Science

Written by EDCUtah on 29 August 2016.

It takes more than just knowledge and experience to be an effective teaching assistant. It also takes devotion and time . . . lots of time.

Matthew Turner, a beloved TA in the School of Computing proves that all of those qualities, along with a deep understanding of what students need, are the hallmarks of a successful assistant. But don’t take our word for it. Listen to what students have to say about his work with them:

“On many occasions he would stay in the lab for hours after his allotted time slot . . . and he would spend ample time with each student who had a question,” remarked one student.

“Matthew is by far the best TA I ever had,” said another. “Not only were all of his answers quick, concise, and accurate, he also stayed after his hours to help students with the difficult assignment.”

Those were just a handful of the accolades that Matthew has received from grateful students he has supported, and there are many more. Thanks to his enthusiastic spirit and commitment to serve, the students Matthew helps can keep moving forward, knowing that he’s just a question away.

There’s more to computing than just algorithms and problem-solving. It’s also about having fun. No one knows more about that than David Johnson, the tireless organizer behind the successful GREAT Summer Camps.

This annual event is held on the engineering campus where hundreds of students from elementary, middle and high schools come to learn about computer graphics, robotics and programming. Thanks to David’s dedication, ingenuity and hard work, the summer-long camps have grown in just a short time from two sessions with 30 kids to more than a dozen camps that serve more than 700 students. And he does most of the work himself, including raising funds, finding the space, hiring and training instructors, and advertising the event. It’s because of these camps that the students come away with a new love and appreciation for computer science, many of whom later pursue an education and career in computing.

What David has nurtured is not only a valuable program for the university but an essential and treasured service for our community and its kids.