Parallel pattern search energy minimization

This article describes the adaptation of a pattern search algorithm, for the computational optimization of model molecular structures, to run on a parallel computer. The parallel efficiency (speedup) of the algorithm is discussed, and the rate of convergence of the parallel procedure is compared to that of the sequential implementation. More generally, the article also illustrates how inherently nonparallelizable stochastic procedures may be successfully parallelized by rearrangement of the algorithm.