06 December 2022, 10:32 AM
wtgThe 1980s are calling
quote:
Crucial Computer Program for Particle Physics at Risk of Obsolescence
Maintenance of the software that’s used for the hardest physics calculations rests almost entirely with a retiree. The situation reveals the problematic incentive structure of academia.
Recently, I watched a fellow particle physicist talk about a calculation he had pushed to a new height of precision. His tool? A 1980s-era computer program called FORM.
https://www.quantamagazine.org...solescence-20221201/06 December 2022, 01:53 PM
Mary AnnaIf I could just remember all that FORTRAN I did back then, I might be able to manage a lucrative few years before I hit retirement age.
06 December 2022, 02:22 PM
wtgToo funny, MA. I sent the article to a friend of ours who retired a couple of years ago from Argonne National Laboratory. He was part of the group working on the ATLAS experiment.
https://www.anl.gov/hep/atlas-...-hadron-collider-lhcPost-retirement income!
For total geeks, here's something he put together:
https://slidetodoc.com/overvie...avid-malon-malonanl/)
For non-geeks, one of the final slides from the presentation:
06 December 2022, 05:03 PM
NinaThis is happening everywhere, unfortunately. There were a large number of volcanologists who entered the field or were active during the large eruptions in 1980 - 2000ish, including St Helens, Mt Pinatubo, and El Chichon. As a result, these folks learned the telltale signs of an imminent eruption and more importantly, how to help organize an effective evacuation. However, due to the march of time many if not all of these people have retired, and budget cutbacks have meant that their positions aren't being refilled, or those positions are going elsewhere.
Do I think about this when I look out my window at Mt Hood, Mt St Helens, Mt. Adams, etc.? You betcha!