Simpleware used for dinosaur movie

In May 2009, Dr Phil Manning and Dr Lee Margetts from the Manchester Research Computing Services, and a National Geographic film crew enjoyed a warm welcome from staff at the Barcelona Supercomputer Center.

They filmed in and around Mare Nostrum, one of Europe's largest supercomputers. The footage was recorded to articulate how advanced supercomputing technology is being used to help Palaeontologists better understand dinosaurs.

One of the uses reported is for biomechanics simulation. Fossil dinosaur bones have been scanned using Manchester's new Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility. The images are converted to 3D finite element models comprising millions of elements using Simpleware software. The models are analysed using ParaFEM, software developed by Manchester Research Computing Services that scales to 8000 processors. A Lego dinosaur was used to help dinosaur enthusiasts (from age 5 upwards) to understand the basic concept behind the finite element method.

The documentary will be screened in 2010 on the National Geographic Channel.

About Manchester Research Computing Services (RSC)
RCS provides advanced computing expertise, services and facilities for research and teaching use throughout the University of Manchester alongside research and development activities to innovate and enhance these services. In particular, RCS supports advanced computational modelling and simulation through the use of high performance computing, Grid and e-Science technologies, the visualization and management of data, and the use of advanced collaboration environments such as Access Grid.
For more information on Manchester Research Computing Services, visit: http://www.rcs.manchester.ac.uk

About Barcelona Supercomputer Center (BSC-CNS)
Early in 2004 the Ministry of Education and Science (Spanish Government), Generalitat de Catalunya (local Catalan Government) and Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) took the initiative of creating a National Supercomputing Center in Barcelona. BSC-CNS is the National Supercomputing Facility in Spain and was officially constituted in April 2005. BSC-CNS manages MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, located at the Torre Girona chapel. The mission of BSC-CNS is to investigate, develop and manage information technology in order to facilitate scientific progress. With this aim, special dedication has been taken to areas such as Computational Sciences, Life Sciences and Earth Sciences.
For more information on the Barcelona Supercomputer Center, visit: http://www.bsc.es/

About Simpleware
Simpleware provides and develops world-leading mesh generation software for the conversion of 3D scan data (e.g. MRI, CT, MicroCT, etc.) into high-quality computer models used for CAD, Finite Element simulation, and Rapid Prototyping. The ease and unprecedented accuracy with which models can be generated have opened up computational analysis (FEA and CFD) and rapid prototyping to a variety of research fields, including: Industrial Reverse Engineering, Implant Design and other Biomedical Engineering fields, Materials Research, Geosciences, Oil & Gas, Paleontology, and other Natural Sciences. Unlike other approaches, Simpleware provides a complete software solution from importing 3D images through to direct export to commercial FEA/CFD solvers and CAD packages. This means that with Simpleware software users can produce better models in a fraction of the time taken with alternative software.
For more information on Simpleware, visit: http://www.simpleware.com