Special Issue on Computational Science and Engineering

Leading-edge science and engineering depend on advanced computing for understanding, prediction, and control. In response to these needs, the field of computational science and engineering (CS&E) is evolving rapidly, to the point that it is now widely considered to be a new discipline by itself and a third pillar of the scientific enterprise, a peer alongside theory and physical experiment. CS&E is unique in that it enables progress in virtually all other disciplines by providing windows of discovery when traditional means of research reach their limits. Because of its flexibility, computer simulation has become a universal tool. A simulation may serve as a virtual microscope that lets scientists observe the world of quantum physics much smaller than an atom, or it may be employed as a virtual telescope that allows us to explore how galaxies are forming in the universe. In this way, CS&E helps scientists to reach beyond our physical limitations in space and time. When physical experiments are too dangerou...