Computer Science expert to host lecture on how data has shaped big experiments

A Professor in Computer Science is to give a lecture at the University of Derby on how Big Data has enabled key science experiments to take place – as well as the challenges large data can cause.

Manish Parashar is a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Rutgers University, in the United States, and the founding Director of the Rutgers Discovery Informatics Institute (RD12).

His inaugural lecture, called Big Data Challenges in Simulation-based Science, will take place tomorrow (Wednesday, October 14) at the University’ of Derby’s Kedleston Road site.

He said: “Data-related challenges are quickly dominating computational and data-enabled sciences, and are limiting the potential impact of scientific applications enabled by current and emerging high-performance distributed computing environments.

“In my lecture I will be exploring data grand challenges in simulation-based science and how various solutions can be used to address these data challenges at extreme scales.”

Richard Hill, Head of Department of Computing and Maths, Engineering and Technology at the University of Derby, said: “As technology continues to develop new capabilities, researchers use Big Data approaches and techniques to find the next big scientific breakthrough.

“Simulation of cancer gene mutations, physical particle collisions or the creation of the universe requires considerable computational power, often resulting in massive data sets, or Big Data.

“This event will explain how cloud computing and Big Data technologies have been used to perform experiments beyond what we can imagine.

“We are honoured to host Professor Parashar as he describes his own experiences of e-science on a massive scale, as well as his vision for addressing grand challenges of the future. This lecture will be of interest to all of those with a natural curiosity for science.”

The free public lecture takes place tomorrow at Heap Lecture Theatre, at the University of Derby, from 5.30pm-6.30pm.