nomics. Consequently there are many opportu- 

 nities for application of the methods of chaos. 



Computing capability makes the new approaches 

 possible. The methods of chaos focus on the 

 geometry of behavior of a system as a whole and 

 are computationally intensive. Underlying pat- 

 terns of behavior are best revealed through the 

 use of graphical representation of data. It is only 

 with the a\ailability of high speed processing 

 and improved technologies for graphical display 

 of data that it has become possible to explore a 

 range of behavior of nonlinear systems suffi- 

 ciently large to permit observation of patterns 

 within complexity. The need for geometric 

 approaches to such problems has been known for 

 many years - it was first demonstrated by 

 Poincare in 1892 in his proof that the three-body 

 problem could not be solved by linear or simple 

 curve approximation methods. However, com- 

 putational complexity of the problems prevented 

 Poincare's methods from being widely applied 

 until the advent of high performance computing. 



As a field chaos is less than 30 years old. but its 

 methods are now being applied to problems in 

 many fields of science and engineering. For 

 example, in physics chaos has been used to 

 refine the understanding of planetary orbits, to 

 reconceptualize quantum level processes, and to 

 forecast the intensity of solar activity. In engi- 

 neering, chaos has been used in the building of 

 better digital filters, the control of sensitive 

 mechanisms such as ink-Jet printers and lasers, 

 and to model the structural dynamics in such 

 structures as bucklins columns. In medicine it 



has been used to study cardiac arrhythmias, the 

 efficiency of lung operations, EEC patterns in 

 epilepsy, and patterns of disease communication. 

 In psychology it has been used to study mood 

 fluctuations, the operation of the olfactory lobe 

 during perception, and patterns of innovation in 

 organizations. In economics it is being used to 

 find patterns and develop new types of econo- 

 metric models for everything from the stock 

 market to variations in cotton prices. 



As an example of the multi-applicability of 

 chaos research products, a research group at the 

 University of Maryland is developing control 

 methods for highly sensitive chaotic processes. 

 The control methods are to be used in such 

 diverse applications as laser control, arrhythmi- 

 cal cardiac tissue, buckling magnetoelastic rib- 

 bon, and, in conjunction with Oak Ridge 

 National Laboratory, tluidized bed de\'ices used 

 in chemical and energy applications. 



Because chaos is new, growing and deeply inter- 

 disciplinary, it benefits greatly from the emerg- 

 ing NREN services for access to remote systems, 

 for sustaining collaborative research activities, 

 and for initiating and maintaining scientific dia- 

 logue. 



SPONSORING AGENCIES AND 

 ORGANIZATIONS 

 DOE 



PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS 

 Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

 Triangle Center for the Study of Complex Systems 

 University of Maryland at College Park 



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