Scientific visualization from inside the metacomputer

Summary form only given, as follows. Historically, scientific visualization has been carried out in two primary modes: interactive on desktop computers, and batch on high-performance computers. The next decade will see a merging of these two approaches with the advent of high-speed networking. The networking is hierarchical in speed from Ethernet to FDDI to HiPPI. This network effectively unites desktop computers with higher-value remote resources into a single metacomputer. To take advantage of this new hardware configuration, distributed visualization software is being developed which allows the flexibility of the local workstation to be coupled with the computing power of distant supercomputers. Examples are discussed for 2D raster graphics and 3D rendered surface and volumetric graphics. These new capabilities are having a remarkable impact on computational science.<
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