Charlotte, N.C. –  The University of North Carolina at Charlotte along with the University of North Carolina at Asheville have teamed up on a groundbreaking research project addressing air quality analysis in North Carolina. The EPA funded project is creating a new kind of collaborative computing environment called the “VisualGrid” and is poised to set the standard for future growth not only in North Carolina but the nation as well.

“This is very significant for both UNC Charlotte and UNC Asheville as it allows both universities to work on real world problems of vital interest to the state and region,” said Bill Ribarsky, Bank of America Endowed Chair in Information Technology in UNC Charlotte's College of Computing and Informatics, and head of the VisualGrid project. “In the long run this information will impact how we use our resources, our quality of life and economic development.”

Grid computing is a technology that uses numerous networked computers spread across different locations to work together on large, complex computational problems. The main objective of the VisualGrid is to use the grid computing environment to attract and support a community of individuals from different places and with diverse backgrounds but who have a common interest. This community uses interactive visualization as the ”common picture” binding models, economic studies, exploratory analyses, and knowledge creation. In this case, their common interest is understanding the factors affecting air quality in Western and Central North Carolina and how decisions, including power plant placement and population growth control, affect economic development and quality of life.

Because of the complexity of the air quality problem and the need to understand in detail how interacting outputs from air quality models impact the environment, inhabitants, and economic development, this is a grand challenge problem. (Over a hundred interacting 3D, time-dependent fields are involved in the model used. By contrast, a typical weather simulation may have only a couple of interacting 3D, time-dependent fields, say, rainfall intensity and wind pattern.) This is why the VisualGrid environment is essential; the great bulk of interactions in the atmosphere that affect air quality and the environment are at present hidden from view and from understanding. Chemical, meteorological, environmental, and economic analyses must be applied in concert and in a common picture to build understanding of how this interplay affects the environment.

“While the focus in the initial development of the VisualGrid is a system that joins the high performance computing resources of Charlotte and Asheville, of greater importance are the intellectual connections that are being made between the two cities,” said John Stevens, Director of the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center at UNC Asheville. “We are creating an Asheville-Charlotte corridor linking the two regions that will result in regional economic development. The VisualGrid provides the structure to solve atmospheric problems that are of interest to society that cannot be solved by either of the two partners (Asheville and Charlotte) individually. VisualGrid brings together the expertise and the high performance computing resources of Asheville and Charlotte.”

Phase I of the VisualGrid is nearing completion with the grid infrastructure in place, the basic community formed, and initial visual analysis and environmental impact tools operating. During Phase II, the operating environment will be greatly expanded with much more detailed simulations and analyses. When complete, the VisualGrid will provide a set of capabilities available nowhere else that will be accessible to local, state, and regional governments. They will be useful to existing businesses and will be very attractive to potential new businesses and businesses that might move from elsewhere. The Charlotte and Asheville regions will be poised to pursue maximum growth with optimal use of resources. Government and business will be able to manage growth and resources while preserving natural assets, quality of life, and developing intellectual potential, which are the most important resources in Central and Western Carolina.