Q. 79: To what extent are your computer programs known and used by other research scientists?

CPT Q. #79 – 101 Q&A on Catastrophic Plate Tectonics

Question: 79. To what extent is your computational model(s) understood, shared and used with other research scientists? To what extent is it exclusive to you the author? Has the computational model ever been independently peer reviewed or validated? If so, how, and what are the references?

Response: I developed the 3D finite element program now known as TERRA as part of my Ph.D. research at UCLA in 1981. I collaborated closely with a mathematician, Dr. Paul Frederickson, at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the formulation and implementation of the innovative numerical techniques utilized in this program. My Ph.D. thesis included an extensive suite of tests using cases with exact analytical solutions to validate the correctness of the various aspects of the numerical formulation. The thesis and the work it described had to pass the critical scrutiny of the scientists who comprised my thesis committee. Since then five graduate students have upgraded and applied TERRA as the main focus of their Ph.D. research efforts. The TERRA program is still currently in use by several research groups around the world. In this process it has been checked and validated over the years by a number of different groups and individuals. For a list of the peer-reviewed publications for TERRA and other related programs I have developed and applied see my CV at http://logosresearchassociates.org/team/john-baumgardner/cv/.