Scientist at Work: Geoffrey Fox
Arctic ice sheets are melting faster than the experts had originally projected. Earthquakes strike without warning. Geoffrey Fox, an IU professor of informatics, is working to bring predictability to the natural world with his implement of choice -- the computer.
Although the degrees on his wall from Cambridge read mathematics (undergraduate) and theoretical physics (master's and doctorate), Fox has worked with computers throughout his academic career. He used his passion to create a program that allows scientists to quickly and efficiently analyze field data on the biggest, fastest computers in the world.
"The huge amounts of data scientists can now gather and analyze is revolutionizing science," said Fox.
One of Fox's current projects, the National Science Foundation-funded Polar Grid, will model the melting rates of polar ice in the Arctic. Fox says measurements show the ice is melting twice as fast as it did 10 years ago, but how and why is not yet understood. With his colleagues at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) and the University of Kansas, Fox hopes to find new answers about global warming.
IU's role in the Polar Grid project is designing and developing the "cyberinfrastructure" to analyze the massive amounts of data field scientists will gather. To accomplish this, Fox and his colleagues are building a network of computers and data banks that can quickly and efficiently analyze lots of data, even in the harsh climates of the North and South poles.
"There's no way to send that much data here in real time from the poles," said Fox. "With our cyberinfrastructure, scientists in the field will analyze the data on-site in order to guide the expedition's next step. After the field teams return, the data will undergo a detailed analysis at Indiana University and ECSU."
Fox is serving in a similar capacity with a large collaboration -- including the APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology -- working to provide warnings in advance of earthquakes. He began working on the project in 1997, and he and his collaborators plan to help launch satellites that may prove useful in sensing geological and topographical changes that precede earthquakes. Eventually, computer search agents will sift through data for patterns that suggest an earthquake or large aftershock is imminent.
Outside the lab, Fox devotes substantial time to mentoring. During his undergraduate studies, he had the opportunity to work in a laboratory with Nobel Prize-winner Francis Crick, who is credited with co-discovering the DNA molecule. Fox has mentored 57 Ph.D. students in his career, including the California Institute of Technology's Steven Wolfram, who patented and marketed Mathematica -- a powerful software package used by scientists, mathematicians and statisticians around the globe.
Whether teaching in the classroom or creating computer applications, Fox has always had pragmatism in mind.
"I like to be useful," Fox said, leaning forward over a desk littered with practical research materials. "And making computers more useful is the only reason I've ever worked with them -- or ever will."
Watch an IU-produced video about Fox's work here:
http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/bem/productions/polargrid/PolarGrid_Video.html.
