[MITgcm-support] Algorithmic/Automatic Differentiation - calling Asia

[Patrick Heimbach]

Hello,

this message may be relevant to MITgcm users in China (and "nearby" countries) who are working with or interested in algorithmic/automatic differentiation - AD (e.g., for adjoint code generation, etc.). Our colleague 
Jean Utke who leads the OpenAD tool development (see http://www.mcs.anl.gov/OpenAD/ ) contemplates proposing a workshop on AD to be held next summer at the University of Chicago Beijing Center. A draft workshop abstract is appended below. 

Jean is gauging whether there is sufficient interest (e.g. from MITgcm users in Asia) to make a workshop worthwhile. If you are (seriously) interested in attending such a workshop, please reply to Jean directly at utke at mcs.anl.gov. 

Please DO NOT REPLY to mitgcm-support (i.e., please don't just hit the "Reply" button).

Apologies for receiving this message to those not interested in AD.

Cheers
Patrick

---

Tentative abstract for a workshop to be proposed to the University of Chicago Beijing Center to take
place at a date to be determined in 2014 in Beijing:

Computing derivatives via algorithmic (or automatic) differentiation (AD) has become an established method
in science and engineering. It relies on semantic augmentation of the computer program that evaluates the
numerical model/simulation of interest. The ability of AD  to compute even higher-order derivatives at machine precision and
particularly to compute adjoints (gradients) at a computational cost that is a small, fixed factor over the cost of the original model
and independent of the size of the gradient make it far superior to finite difference approximations and thus an enabling
technique for large-scale applications.
At the same time, both the practical use of adjoints in an application context, e.g. sensitivity analysis, optimization, UQ, as well as
the technical hurdle of applying AD tools to a given model for large-scale computations  require insight and some experience.
The workshop aims at bringing together AD experts and tool developers with existing or potential users of AD to
initiate an exchange about the needs of the users and the established practices that derive from the accumulated
experience in the AD community particulalry aiming at bringing together researchers from the US and Asia.

---
Patrick Heimbach | heimbach at mit.edu | http://www.mit.edu/~heimbach
MIT | EAPS 54-1420 | 77 Massachusetts Ave | Cambridge MA 02139 USA
FON +1-617-253-5259 | FAX +1-617-253-4464 | SKYPE patrick.heimbach

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