Speaker:Bonita Saunders, NIST
Title: Numerical Grid Generation Applied to Interactive Complex Function Visualization in the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions

Abstract: In this talk we discuss the application of a structured grid generation technique to create computational grids for the accurate plotting of complex function data. The technique uses a tensor product B-spline grid generation mapping the author originally designed for problems in aerodynamics and solidification theory. While unstructured methods such as Voronoi or Delaunay triangulations and quadtree designs may also be used, the grid generation technique is less important than how closely the grid lines follow the contours of the function. Our mapping generates a boundary/contour fitted mesh that accurately captures such attributes as zeros, poles, branch cuts and other singularities. This work has been used to create over 200 interactive 3D visualizations of complex function surfaces for the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions (DLMF) released in May 2010. The NIST DLMF and its hardcopy version, the NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions, replace the well-known 1964 NBS Handbook of Mathematical Functions edited by Abramowitz and Stegun.

Time: Friday, Mar. 25, 2011, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Place: Science and Tech I, Room 242

Department of Mathematical Sciences
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 3F2
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
http://math.gmu.edu/
Tel. 703-993-1460, Fax. 703-993-1491