Welcome to MilkyWay@home

Profile: Rich

Your personal background.
I'm a retired computer programmer: 25 years on IBM big iron, beginning in the Air Force on the models 650, 1401, and 7094 in 1962 at Eglin AFB, Florida. Work on Silicon Graphics workstations with Unix, C, and C++ began in 1992. Like so many, my PC experience began in 1980s. I've always loved Astronomy, telescopes, the U.S. space program, etc. Reading is also a great love.
Like everyone, I'm amazed and delighted by the discoveries of extra Solar planets, especially Kepler and the search for other Earths.
Now that the Orion spacecraft is cancelled, NASA should concentrate on developing new science and engineering to do the job. Just one example was proposed by Arthur C. Clarke - the orbital tower. Another is the use of high powered lasers to launch payloads. Another idea is a world organization aimed at space exploration. The current nation based approach is inefficient, to say the least.
Living in the Northern Illinois, hibernating through the winter is a temptation. Working outside in the trees, cutting wood, is my way to fight the battle of the bulge.
My eldest son is a PhD grad of the U. of I. at Urbana in Chemistry. He is currently a deputy director of DHS in Washington, DC.
Best Wishes and Kindest Regards to All,
Rich
Your opinions about MilkyWay@home
I started running MilkyWay@home partly because it uses my 2 ATI 4870 GPUs. Running in a core of my 3 Ghz AMD Phenom II X4 940 CPU, a batch takes 4 hours, typically. Running in one of 2 GPUs, the same batch takes 3 minutes, typically! Some software people deserve a Gold Star for their work!
I'm also really interested in the structure of the Milkyway galaxy, and the Universe in general. If I can make a small contribution to a research study in this area, I'm happy to do so. Having an accurate map of the Milkyway, including stellar motions and velocities, has to be a handy thing.
Hopefully, this extremely information will start with the stars closest to Earth.
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