The ISIS Excitations Group operates four world-class neutron instruments and has started a major software project to enable a dramatic increase in the rapidity and quality of the data analysis of the experiments performed on the instruments in the Group. The project, christened PACE (Proper Analysis of Coherent Excitations), aims to provide an integrated data visualisation, analysis, simulation and fitting environment on parallel and distributed computing, and will interface to materials modelling codes to enable interpretation of the experimental data. The goals are to allow scientists using the instruments to simulate experiments before and during experiments using the instruments, and to enable quantitative analysis and interpretation of the full datasets – up to 0.5 terabytes each – with proper account of the instrument resolution functions.
PACE is based on the successful Horace software suite for the data analysis of neutron scattering experiments (http://horace.isis.rl.ac.uk/Main_Page), together with associated modelling codes for the simulation of the scattering in the target materials of these experiments.
You will join the current team of developers and participate in all aspects of implementing PACE, including parallelization and redesign of its algorithms, improvements in handling large datasets, and interfacing with applications that model the scattering written by users and academics who specialise in creating modelling codes.
Duties of the position include:
- Development of the data analysis framework together with the other PACE developers.
- * Development of a generic API to third party modelling codes, which may, for example, simulate atomic vibrations and magnetic excitations, and to other codes in response to the scientific needs of users of the instruments.
- * Development of parallel and distributed computing algorithms and deployment of the software in cloud and other parallel environments.
- * Agile development of the first release of PACE in response to feedback from instrument scientists and users during the year-long beta release period.
- * Participate in the continued maintenance and development of PACE after the full release.
As well as the PACE development, you will be working closely with members of the ISIS Excitations Group and interacting with users of the instruments once the beta release period is underway.
