The development of computers over the past 30 years has dramatically changed working methods in scientific research.
For many disciplines, computers are simply useful tools.
In the case of disciplines such as Mathematics and Computer Science, but also in some areas of Physics and Engineering, the computer itself, how it works, and computer networks are the actual subject of Scientific Research.
For this reason, the Department of Mathematics has its own Center for Scientific Computing, with its own network, its own computer room, and its own computational laboratories, where our researchers work with collaborators from all around the world.
Of course, not all mathematical research needs to use computers in this way, and for much research, the computer is used exactly as in other less technological disciplines.
The research groups that currently use the resources of the CS more intensively are:
- The Celestial Mechanics Group
This group has eigth servers in the computer room, for the development of software and algorithms for calculating the orbits, recognizing, identifying and tracking celestial bodies. Furthermore, on two of our servers we host the NEODyS-2 and AstDyS-2 web servers, used for monitoring asteroids. Currently only NASA has a comparable system.
- The Numerical Analysis Group
This group has two servers in the computer room, for the development of software and algorithms for numerical calculation, and web sites (Bezout and Riccati) for the distribution of software.
- Group for Research in Mathematical Didactics
This group has one server in the computer room, which it has used for many years, for testing Moodle.
Other research groups include:
- The Computer Algebra Group
- The Geometry Group
- The History of Mathematics Group
These groups have in the past required our computers and have developed various mathematical software, so they have four servers in the computer room which they still use occasionally.
The CS collaborates with C.A.F.R.E .
Finally, for historical reasons the computer room hosts the web server from the Galileo Galilei Project.