Berni Alder’s 90th Birthday Symposium

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On August 20, 2015, the Director’s Office at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory hosted a symposium in honor of Berni Alder’s 90th birthday.

This one-day event brought together family, friends and colleagues to reflect on Berni’s illustrious 60-year research career at the Lab.

Download symposium poster

Berni Alder, Mary Ann Mansigh, and Tom Wainwright look at oscillograph traces in Berni's office.
Photo taken in Berni Alder's office. Standing is Berni J. Alder, seated are Mary Ann Mansigh and Tom Wainwright. "We are looking at oscillograph traces from the computer generated motion of particles."

Overview

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2015

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Location: B543 Auditorium, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA

Invited speakers: 

  • Tim Germann, Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • Alejandro Garcia, San Jose State University
  • Jonathan DuBois, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Todd Weisgraber, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Aleksandar Donev, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
  • Daan Frenkel, University of Cambridge
  • Robert Laughlin, Stanford University
  • William Hoover, Ruby Valley Research Institute
  • David Ceperley, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
  • Charles Bennett, Thomas J. Watson Research Center
  • Robert Dorfman, University of Maryland
  • Jan V. Sengers, University of Maryland
  • Dov Shvarts, Nuclear Research Center Negev

Agenda

The Morning

Arrival and Registration — 8:00–8:30

Event/Speaker Title Time
Dr. Bruce Tarter
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory		 Welcoming 8:30–8:45
Session 1 Chair: Dr. Bruce Tarter
Prof. Daan Frenkel
University of Cambridge		 Simple Models, Complex Structures 8:45–9:15
Prof. Jan Sengers
University of Maryland		 Long-range Correlations in Fluids 9:15–9:45
Dr. Bill Hoover
Ruby Valley Research Institute		 An appreciation of Berni Julian Alder 9:45–10:15
Coffee Break 10:15–10:30
Session 2 Chair: Prof. Richard Scalettar
Dr. Charles Bennett
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center		 Computation, Ethics, and Cosmology 10:30–11:00
Prof. J. Robert Dorfman
University of Maryland		 Non-Equilibrium is Different 11:00–11:30
Prof. David Ceperley
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign		 Quantum Monte Carlo and Berni Alder 11:30–12:00 PM

Lunch — 12:00–1:30 (by invitation)

The Afternoon

Event/Speaker Title Time
Session 3 Chair: Prof. Philip Colella
Prof. Alejandro Garcia
San Jose State University		 The Poor Man's Molecular Dynamics 1:30–2:00
Dr. Tim Germann
Los Alamos National Laboratory		 Nanohydrodynamics and Exascale Frontiers in Molecular Dynamics Simulation 2:00–2:30
Dr. Dov Shvarts
Nuclear Research Center Negev		 Late Time Evolution of Hydrodynamic Instabilities and Turbulent Mixing 2:30–-3:00
Prof. Robert Laughlin
Stanford University		 The Journey to Biology 3:00–3:30
Break 3:30–3:45
Session 4 Chair: Prof. Robert Laughlin
Dr. Todd Weisgraber
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory		 Computer Experiments on the Onset of Turbulence 3:45–4:15
Prof. Aleks Donev
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences		 The Truth About Diffusion (in Liquids) 4:15–4:45
Dr. Jonathan Dubois
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory		 Strategies for Overcoming the Fermion Sign Problem 4:45–5:15
Dr. William Goldstein
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory		 Closing Remarks 5:15–5:30

Reception — 5:30–6:30

Photos

Photos by Julie Russell/LLNL

Attendee group photo.
Berni Alder listening to the symposium's speakers.
Berni Alder, left, listened to the symposium's speakers who discussed their research and worked closely with him during his more than 60 years of research at LLNL.
Berni Alder chats with Mary Ann Karlsen.
Berni Alder chats with Mary Ann Karlsen during a symposium recess.

Contacts

Questions regarding the Symposium?

Contact:

  • Eric Schwegler, schwegler1 [at] llnl.gov (schwegler1[at]llnl[dot]gov)
  • Kim Rivera, rivera41 [at] llnl.gov (rivera41[at]llnl[dot]gov)