News

New Nbody version 1.48
Hey All,

I have released a new version of Nbody. This version corrects some bugs in the algorithm. Also, we performed some optimization on the initialization code which allows it to run much faster. We will be looking to change the time estimate to fully account for this initialization in the future. As always, thank you for your patience.

Cheers,
Sidd 13 Feb 2015, 22:03:59 UTC · Comment

New Nbody version 1.46
Hey Everyone,

There is now a new version of Nbody, 1.46. This version calculates the initial Dwarf galaxy using a different method than previously. It should solve many of the work unit stalling issues some users were having. If there are any errors let us know.

The runs currently up are:
ps_nbody_12_19_orphan_sim_1
de_nbody_12_19_orphan_sim_1 19 Dec 2014, 19:24:07 UTC · Comment

New Nbody
Hey Everyone,

We will be releasing a new Nbody application this week. This version of the application utilizes a different method of initializing the bodies, sampling a distribution function instead of a potential. This version will hopefully resolve issues many of you have been having. 16 Dec 2014, 20:51:55 UTC · Comment

New Modfit Runs
Hey Everyone,

Just a heads up, I will be starting new runs over the next couple days that will have a different step size in a computationally intensive section of our code. Through some work we did, we found that this step size could be optimized and reduced to improve the speed at which our code runs without sacrificing accuracy. We expect to see these runs complete in about 1/5th the time depending on the platform. Credits will hopefully still be calculated correctly, but if you think they are not for these runs please post here. If these runs cause you any trouble with these runs or you notice you stop receiving work units please post that here too. These runs will all include the tag _fast_ in the work unit name so it should be easy to track.

For now, these optimizations will only be used on the Modfit code, but in the near future we plan on also using them on original separation code, too.

If you have any questions about this optimization or problems, please let me know,

Jake 9 Dec 2014, 21:36:18 UTC · Comment

New Separation Runs
Here are the runs I started if these give you any errors please post here:


ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00001
ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00002
ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00001
ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00002

ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00002
ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00002
ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00002
ps_81_DR8_rev_8_4_00002


Thank you,


Jeff Thompson 7 Nov 2014, 19:07:05 UTC · Comment

You saved MilkyWay@home!!
Dear MilkyWay@home supporters,

In the past day, we received $4432.50 in donations, which puts us over our goal to be able to run MilkyWay@home through summer 2015!!! This is a tremendous relief to the development team, and gives us time to find ways to operate into the uncertain future. We are extremely thankful to our generous donors. We will be working harder than ever to produce new and cool science results, develop new algorithms for MilkyWay@home, and keep the operations running smoothly.

Thanks again,
Heidi Newberg and the MilkyWay@home team 7 Nov 2014, 18:57:36 UTC · Comment

MilkyWay@home Fundraiser- November 2014
Hi everyone,

Here is a letter from Professor Heidi Newberg:

"Dear Milkyway@home volunteer,

Last July I sent out a plea to MilkyWay@home volunteers to help save our project when our National Science Foundation grant was not renewed. I am happy to report that we have so far raised $37,991 towards a goal of $40,480. We are so close!! Many thanks to the wonderful MilkyWay@home volunteers, my family, and the parents of my former graduate students for keeping us afloat thus far. Donations have come in by credit card, check, PayPal, transfers from donor advised funds, and we received over $3000 from BitCoinUtopia (http://www.bitcoinutopia.net/bitcoinutopia/), which is collecting cryptocurrencies to support our research.

If you are able and willing to help but have not yet made a donation, then now is your chance. To raise the additional $2489 needed, we need thirty-six people to donate $15, twenty people to donate $40, nine people to donate $100, and one very generous person to donate $250. I hope that by next week, we will be able to announce on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Milkywayathome) that we have met or exceeded the goal! Gifts made directly to MilkyWay@home are tax deductible in the US and Canada. Volunteers will receive an on-line badge for donations of any size. For every $100 donated before December 1, 2014, we will send you a free T-shirt (S, M, L, XL, XXL, or XXXL), designed by our team members, that says “I support MilkyWay@home.” After December 1, we will send T-shirts if they are available in your size, but they will not be reprinted.

Already, donated funds have supported undergraduate student Jake Weiss, who is doing a semester of employment on MilkyWay@home. It also payed for travel for our collaborator Larry Widrow to travel to Rensselaer and help us implement new algorithms. Five poster presentations on MilkyWay@home research (three students, one former student, and myself) have been accepted for the January 2015 meeting of the American Astronomical Society; travel to that meeting will be paid by your donations. So far, we are right on track with our budgeting.

Some have asked me if this is a one-time request for funding, or whether this will become the primary source of funding for MilkyWay@home. I recently saw a presentation on funding trends given by the head of the US National Science Foundation Astronomy Division, and I can tell you that the funding projections for federal grants that fund projects like MilkyWay@home are not good. I am expecting that while we need federal funding to keep our project vibrant in the long term, we cannot count on it as the only source into the future. I am working on ways to broaden our support base beyond MilkyWay@home volunteers, to include foundation and corporate support as well as tapping into new funding models for reaching philanthropists with an interest in supporting science.

If you are a person who makes year-end donations, I would really appreciate your adding MilkyWay@home to the list of organizations that you support. We have great plans to discover where dark matter is in the Milky Way over the next ten years. That goal requires significant advances in our computer algorithms that run n-body simulations and that requires the efforts of many students to achieve. Any funds received in excess of our goal this year will be used on additional student salaries. Since most of the funds will be expended on student salaries in summer 2015, we will post a report of the funding used and results achieved in September, 2015.

I and the MilkyWay@home team thank you so much for keeping our research alive!

In appreciation,
Prof. Heidi Jo Newberg and the MilkyWay@home team
" 6 Nov 2014, 17:29:53 UTC · Comment

Server Reboot and Maintenance
Hey everyone,

We will be doing a quick server reboot and some updating today. If you notice any issues please post them here.

Jake W. 15 Oct 2014, 12:55:30 UTC · Comment

New Separation Modfit Version 1.36
Hey Everyone,

I released a new version of Separation Modfit today (v1.36). If you have any issues with it please post them here.


Thank you for your continued support,

Jake W. 6 Oct 2014, 20:22:15 UTC · Comment

Rotating Database Logs
Hey all,

We're rotating some logs tonight. If you notice anything strange going on with the forums or with lack of getting work units, please let us know here.

Thank you,

Jake W. 29 Sep 2014, 23:12:31 UTC · Comment

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