SC07: Coolest demo I saw today

Go to the PSC (Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center) booth. Look at the Wii-steered molecular dynamics. Do some bowling with bucky balls using the Wii. In 1990, I wanted a VR system, and a data glove to position my atoms for my MD simulations. Vi is not a great user interface to configuration.

In 2007 the folks at PSC did a bang up job (great job) showing what could be done. This isn’t just a cute demo, it has real potential, for people studying specific reaction pathways, or needing to explore CVD, or protein misfolding (their alanine example shows guided folding), or … Provide enough computing power, and you create an enabling technology. Provide good tools to leverage the power, and you can enable people to do wonderful things. Like this. It is IMO the best demo of the conference. I should note that this is just the first day, but it impressed me this much. Good job PSC, good job!