When the large computers of the future, combined with the advances in the computational tools arrive, we can expect to see all-atom models studying millions of atom-sized structures and producing statistical-thermodynamic results based on a sampling scale in the microsec­ond range. Modeling techniques will grow into the multi-scale modeling arena such that large-scale structures can be modeled reliably including the cell wall and the large structures associated with it. Figure 8.5 depicts one potential approach to developing a programmatic solution for modeling the plant cell wall, starting with the simplest problems addressable today (e. g., still a challenge today) and building toward computational interpretations of the

wall system using codes and processors not yet available. Computational approaches to the cellulose hydrolysis problem will only become more vital to the full understanding of the processes involved as the computational architectures and methods evolve, working harmo­niously with experimental and theoretical approaches to solve what are now unapproachable problems.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the DOE Office of the Biomass Program and by the NSF via the Strategic Applications Collaboration program at the San Diego Supercomputer Center.