The Impact of Multicore on Computational Science Software

The idea that computational modeling and simulation represents a new branch of scientific methodology, alongside theory and experimentation, was introduced about two decades ago. It has since come to symbolize the enthusiasm and sense of importance that people in our community feel for the work they are doing. But when we try to assess how much progress we have made and where things stand along the developmental path for this new “third pillar of science,” recalling some history about the development of the other pillars can help keep things in perspective. For example, we can trace the systematic use of experiments back to Galileo in the early 17th century. Yet for all the incredible successes it enjoyed over its first three centuries, the experimental method arguably did not fully mature until the elements of good experimental design and practice were finally analyzed and described in detail by R. A. Fisher and others in the first half of the 20th century. In that light, it seems clear that while Computational Science has had many remarkable youthful successes, it is still at a very early stage in its growth.