Workshop: Online Simulations and Remote Access Visualization Tools for Science & Technology Curricula

Co-organizers/Speakers:

Ahmed S Khan, Ph.D.
Fulbright Specialist (2017-2022)
Email: dr.a.s..khan (at) ieee.org

Salahuddin Qazi
Professor Emeritus, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica, NY13502.
Email: qazi (at) sunypoly.edu

Atilla Ozgur Cakmak
Grand Valley State University, Michigan

Summary:

Teaching and learning new and emerging technologies require state of the art laboratories equipped with expensive equipment. However, such facilities require large financial resources and time restraint to implement these facilities . Use of web-based simulation and remote access visualization tools enhance students learning and teaching of new and complex concepts without using expensive equipment. In addition to cost savings, web-based simulation and remote access online visualization approaches offer several other advantages: (a) allowing the user to modify system parameters and observe the outcomes without any harmful side effects (b) eliminating component or equipment faults that affect outcomes (c) supporting users progress at their own pace in discovering and understanding of concepts and issues, and (d) enhancing the presentation of “dry” concepts by integrating theory and practice.
Simulation method offers another major advantage: it is task- and learner-neutral, it just models an object/system construction and operation or learning situation. Within simulation functionality, there are no curbs on the student’s actions. Realistic simulations visualize processes occurring in the devices and enable students to observe the physical processes at different levels (from macroscopic to subatomic), analyze constraints between physical parameters, compare actual and virtual data, and much more.
The proposed workshop will discuss application of online simulation tools and remote access visualization for teaching, research and collaboration in the areas of nanotechnology, material science, environmental science, electrical engineering, biological sciences, physics, chemistry, photonics and more. These tools include 26 RAIN (Remote access Instruments in Nanotechnology) nodes for accessing visualization instruments; 500+ simulation tools at nanoHuB to simulate nanotechnology processes; interactive simulations at Phet Interactive Simulations for Physical sciences and math; and CompuCell3D & Physicell, flexible modeling platforms that allow simulations for biology, tissue engineering, and viruses such as Covid-19. Best practices and Simulation experiences at PSU & GVSU with X-ray characterization using XPS and XRD are also presented.
Remote Accessible Instruments in Nanotechnology (RAIN) is a network of 26 centers across continental US which allows students to access and control microscopes and analytical tools, to look at nanosized materials from the ease of classrooms, or home computers. Each center has tools of unique functionality, all with micro and nano capabilities. and offers its services free of charge to the students and Instructors that would otherwise not encounter these resources. Students control the tools over the Internet from these centers in real-time which is achieved with the assistance of a trained staff member at the microscope centers advising over video conferencing software. RAIN has prepared a series of nano-based labs and basic science labs which can be accessed through nanoHUB.
NanoHUB is an open and free platform, located at Purdue University, which runs in the cloud and contains more than 500 simulation tools and 6500 resources. It is a shared online platform for teachers, students and researchers which can be used to learn modelling, develop, run and share research models covering range of applications from nanoelectronics, to biological science and artificial intelligence to biological modelling. NanoHUB simulations are available to users as both stand -alone tools and part of structured teaching and learning. It is presently accessed by more than 1.5 million worldwide.
CompuCell3D and PhysiCell, also available at nanoHUB platform, offer applications in multicellular simulation of viruses like Covid19. CompuCell3D is a flexible scriptable modeling environment, which allows the rapid construction of sharable virtual tissue models, accessible to users without extensive software development or programming experience. CompuCell3D models uses multi-scale approach for modelling the behavior of multi-cell biological systems and have been used to solve basic biological problems, medical therapies, and assess modes of action of toxicants and design engineered tissues. Covid 19 virtual tissue model for simulating tissue and immune system interactions during a virtual infection was added to nanoHUB in 2021.
PhysiCell is an open source, agent-based simulation framework for simulating complex multicellular systems. It aims to provide a scalable code for simulating at least 500,000 cells in 3-D tissue on desk top computer which move according to biomechanical forces and are not constrained by the lattice positions. This simulation based on individual cell behavior and cell to cell interactions can be applied to infection diseases such as COVID19, cancer, immunology, developmental biology, micro-ecosystems and more. A comprehensive multiscale simulation framework for SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) infections in lung and gut tissues was assembled by an international coalition in 2020, to understand and test interventions in the coupled dynamics of Covid-19.

Registration:

Visit HONET registration page here.