Using the world’s most powerful supercomputers, Dr. Wetzel generates cosmological simulations to study the formation of cosmic structures like galaxies and their stars. These simulations serve as theoretical laboratories, allowing his team to develop models of galaxy formation, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, and the nature of dark matter. Thanks to high-performance computing, the arduous calculation— in the past done with pencil and paper, can now be done much faster and with greater ease.  

Once the simulations are run on external supercomputers, Dr. Wetzel’s team leverages HPC@UCD resources to analyze data and derive insight to publish their findings. Dr. Wetzel says that one of the best parts about working with HPC@UCD is the facility’s flexibility in accommodating the varying needs of different research groups. He also commended its reliability in maintaining uptime ensuring progress for researchers despite technical challenges. Given the complexities of galaxies, high-performance computing is essential for their modeling.