Invited lectures

Prof. Dr. Walter Kaiser Chair for the History of Technology RWTH Aachen University June 25th, 08.30 am Walter Kaiser received his Ph.D. from University of Stuttgart in 1975. In 1984 he passed his “Habilitation” at University of Mainz, concentrating on the History of Science. During the academic year 1985/86 he was a visiting scholar at the Office for History of Science and Technology at University of California, Berkeley. Since 1987 he holds the Chair for the History of Technology at Aachen University RWTH.

Forces and Fields - The Intrinsic Beauty of Antennas and Machines

Abstract:
Images of fields of magnetic forces indicate the very beginning of Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. Among others, Hopkinson, Rowland, and Steinmetz started with tentative calculations of electric machines with help of “magnetic circuits”. Only the advent of FEM and of digital computers allowed for the development of efficient computational methods. Even more of a problem was the radiation from antennas and the propagation of electromagnetic waves.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmitz-Rode Chair of Applied Medical Engineering RWTH Aachen University June 26th, 08.30 am After studying mechanical engineering (diploma 1982) and medicine (M.D. 1989) at RWTH Aachen University, Thomas Schmitz-Rode obtained training as a radiologist. Since 1996, he has worked as a consultant radiologist and since 1999 as associate professor at the Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology of the University Hospital Aachen. After specializing in Interventional Radiology, he received a full professorship in Experimental Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology in 2003. Since 2005 he has held the Chair of Applied Medical Engineering within the Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering of RWTH Aachen University and is presently Managing Director of the Helmholtz Institute.

Magnetic Fields for New Applications in Medicine

Abstract:
The talk illustrates novel applications of magnetic fields in medical therapy, with an emphasis on the following: (1) the design of an electromagnetic drive system for implantable organ support systems, in particular that for a total artificial heart; (2) targeting strategies of nanoparticles in pathologic lesions by means of externally applied magnetic fields, and (3) focusing experiments with free-floating and filament-bound nanoparticles within the Niobe Stereotaxis system (magnetic positioners in conjunction with digital subtraction angiography) for improved target navigation beyond cardiac catheterization.

Prof. Dr. Christian Bischof Institute for Scientific Computing Center for Computing and Communication RWTH Aachen University June 27th, 08.30 am Christian Bischof obtained a Ph.D. in computer science at Cornell University in 1988, supported by a Fulbright Fellowship. Thereafter, he joined the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory as the first Wilkinson Fellow in Computational Mathematics, and then continued as a staff member until June of 1998, when he joined RWTH Aachen University.

Parallel Computers Everywhere

Abstract:
Chips with multiple computing cores, so-called multicore chips, are becoming common place from laptops to servers alike. Hence, there is no alternative to parallel programming. In this talk, we highlight the architectural basics of multicore systems and illustrate how the use of the OpenMP programming standard can deliver good programming productivity as well as good performance for numerical methods characteristic for solving partial differential equations, even on non-uniform data distributions and workloads.
This is joint work with Dieter an Mey, Christian Terboven, and Samuel Sarholz.