Council on Academic Computing

September 12, 2002

Meeting Summary

 

GREETINGS AND INTRODUCTION

 

Dr. George Klinzing summarized the major issues of last year: 

 

HPNAI

 

Six High Performance Network Attachment Initiative (HPNAI) projects were funded last year, but only three were funded this year.  More grants will be made if finances become available.  All grantees will be asked to present their results to the Council.

 

Academic Training

 

The Council worked with the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education (CIDDE) to facilitate faculty training in electronic learning.  The faculty is dissatisfied with the University-wide approach and recommends a more specialized, department-level approach.

 

Communications Survey

 

The Council completed the communications survey, and a report was delivered to the Provost.  The faculty generally preferred electronic forms of communication.

 

THIS YEAR’S AGENDA

 

Dr. Klinzing introduced several issues that the Council will address in the next year:

 

  • Computing needs of the faculty are a continuing concern.  The Council must explore how the University can satisfy the future needs of both the academic community and the individual researcher.  Dr. Klinzing will soon participate in a round-table at IBM on this issue.  The results of this meeting could provide some direction.

 

  • The University portal is a web-based interface that allows students to tailor University web pages to their own interests.  Individuals can integrate information from throughout the University into a personalized University home page.  The Council will explore how the portal can be applied to faculty needs.

 

  • A new initiative will replace HPNAI.  The Council will work with the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center to provide broader access to the center’s high-speed processors.  The program will favor researchers who might not otherwise use these resources.  The award process will follow the format developed for HPNAI.

 

  • As stated previously, the Council and CIDDE analyzed the adequacy of faculty training in electronic teaching.  The Council and CIDDE determined that this training was ineffective because it did not focus upon the needs of specific departments.  The Council will continue to work with CIIDE to resolve this issue.

 

The Council also discussed several questions related to membership and meeting format. 

 

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF COMPUTING SERVICES AND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

 

Jinx Walton summarized recent CSSD and computing activity.

 

The Technology Plan

 

The gigabit ethernet upgrade has been completed in the academic buildings, and it will be completed in the administrative buildings next month.  The residence halls will be the last phase of the project to be finished.

 

Bandwidth Usage 

 

A good deal of bandwidth is used to download copyrighted material, particularly movies.  The entertainment industry has contacted the University about this issue.  Many of the machines that are used to download this material are also compromised:  Hackers operate in the background to launch attacks against other machines.

 

Sponsored Accounts 

 

CSSD has attempted to weed out those sponsored accounts that are no longer valid.  Sponsored accounts are used for people not affiliated with the University, department websites, extra e-mail accounts, etc.  While initially successful, the number of sponsored accounts has recently increased.

 

Wireless Networking 

 

CSSD is working to provide wireless network access to students in the Cathedral of Learning (Commons Room), Hillman Library, Peterson Events Center (study area by the food court), and Posvar Hall (Second Floor).

 

Ms. Walton commented on several other topics:

 

  • The link between the University and PSC has been upgraded to a gigabit.

 

  • Blackboard 5.51 was upgraded last summer

 

  • CSSD is working on a faculty web portal.