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Multiscale modeling and cinematic visualization of photosynthetic energy conversion processes from electronic to cell scales

Journal Article · · Parallel Computing
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [2]
  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
  2. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
  3. University of Sheffield (United Kingdom)
+ Show Author Affiliations
We report conversion of sunlight into chemical energy, namely photosynthesis, is the primary energy source of life on Earth. A visualization depicting this process, based on multiscale computational models from electronic to cell scales, is presented in the form of an excerpt from the fulldome show Birth of Planet Earth. This accessible visual narrative shows a lay audience, including children, how the energy of sunlight is captured, converted, and stored through a chain of proteins to power living cells. The visualization is the result of a multi-year collaboration among biophysicists, visualization scientists, and artists, which, in turn, is based on a decade-long experimental-computational collaboration on structural and functional modeling that produced an atomic detail description of a bacterial bioenergetic organelle, the chromatophore. Software advancements necessitated by this project have led to significant performance and feature advances, including hardware-accelerated cinematic ray tracing and instanced visualizations for efficient cell-scale modeling. The energy conversion steps depicted feature an integration of function from electronic to cell levels, spanning nearly 12 orders of magnitude in time scales. This atomic detail description uniquely enables a modern retelling of one of humanity’s earliest stories—the interplay between light and life.
Research Organization:
Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; European Research Council; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC); University of Illinois
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001035
OSTI ID:
1850691
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1776469
Journal Information:
Parallel Computing, Journal Name: Parallel Computing Journal Issue: C Vol. 102; ISSN 0167-8191
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING