ACM TechNews

Virtual World Is Sign of Future for Scientists, Engineers

Purdue University News (07/16/08)

Purdue University's virtual environment for dynamic atomic force microscopy (VEDA) is a virtual environment that enables scientists and engineers to interpret raw data collected by dynamic atomic force microscopes, which use a tiny vibrating probe to gather information on materials and surfaces at the nanometer scale. The online tools are believed to be the first of their kind for the instruments. "We will see more and more of this sort of thing for many other types of instruments that are being used around the world," says Purdue professor Arvind Raman. "This allows researchers to spend more time doing research and less time and money developing simulations." More than 300 researchers from around the world have used VEDA since it went online about a year ago. The online tools are provided through nanoHub and operated by the Network for Computational Nanotechnology at Purdue. The nanoHub uses TeraGrid, a high-speed, fiber-optic network. The online simulation tools are becoming popular with researchers who otherwise would have to either purchase or create their own complex software to interpret data from the microscopes. "These are the first Web-based simulation tools for atomic force microscopy available online," Raman says. "There are a dozen or so research groups around the world with the capability of doing accurate simulations the way we do for dynamic atomic force microscopy, but there are hundreds of researchers who need these tools." Specialized software is needed to interpret data regarding the probe's changing amplitude, which provides information on a material's magnetic, electrical, and physical properties, the contours of surfaces, and the shapes of objects.

http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008b/080716RamanAtomic.html

---

© Copyright 2008 Information, Inc. This service may be reproduced for internal distribution.