Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute

Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute
Established1994
Research typeComputer science and translational research
Field of research
Scientific visualization, High performance computing, Image analysis
DirectorDr. Manish Parashar
LocationSalt Lake City, Utah
AffiliationsUniversity of Utah School of Computing
University of Utah School of Medicine
University of Utah College of Engineering
Operating agency
University of Utah
Websitewww.sci.utah.edu

The Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute is a permanent research institute at the University of Utah that focuses on the development of new scientific computing and visualization techniques, tools, and systems with primary applications to biomedical engineering.[1][2] The SCI Institute is noted worldwide in the visualization community for contributions by faculty, alumni, and staff.[3] Faculty are associated primarily with the School of Computing, Department of Bioengineering, Department of Mathematics, and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with auxiliary faculty in the Medical School and School of Architecture.

History

The Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute started in 1992 as a research group in the University of Utah School of Computing by Chris Johnson and Rob MacLeod. In 1994 this group became the Center for Scientific Computing and Imaging, and in 2000 the name was changed to the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute. In 2007, the SCI Institute was awarded funding from USTAR to recruit more faculty in medical imaging technology. The SCI Institute was recognized as an NVIDIA CUDA Center of Excellence in 2008.[4] In 2011, USTAR funding allowed faculty recruitment for genomic signal processing and information visualization. in 2014, Intel partnered with the SCI Institute to form the Intel Parallel Computing Center for Scientific Rendering to research and develop large scale and in situ visualization techniques for Intel hardware.[5]

Research

The overarching research objective of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute is to conduct application-driven research in the creation of new scientific computing techniques, tools, and systems. Given the proximity and availability of research conducted at the University of Utah School of Medicine, a main application focus is medicine. SCI Institute researchers also apply computational techniques to scientific and engineering sub-specialties, such as fluid dynamics, biomechanics, electrophysiology, bioelectric fields, scientific visualization, parallel computing, inverse problems, and neuroimaging.

Open source software releases

A CT scan of a human torso rendered with ImageVis3D
Volumetric data of an aorta labeled with regions of interest using Seg3D and then interactively rendered in SCIRun.

The SCI Institute releases open source software packages for many of the projects developed by researchers for use by the scientific visualization and medical imaging communities. All projects are released under the MIT software license. Notable projects released by SCI include:

Notable researchers and alumni

References

  1. ^ "Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute – Home". Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  2. ^ Lipson, Hod; Kurman, Melba (2013). Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley. p. 121. ISBN 978-1118350638.
  3. ^ Shneiderman, Ben. The New ABCs of Research: Achieving Breakthrough Collaborations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-19-875883-9.
  4. ^ Humber, Andrew (31 July 2008). "NVIDIA Recognizes University Of Utah As A Cuda Center Of Excellence". NVIDIA. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Intel® Parallel Computing Center at SCI Institute, University of Utah | Intel® Software". Intel Developer Zone. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2017.

40°46′3.72″N 111°50′42.00″W / 40.7677000°N 111.8450000°W / 40.7677000; -111.8450000