Council on Academic Computing
2008-2009 Activities Report
COUNCIL CHARGE
On September 25, Provost James V.
Maher delivered the Council’s charge. He
asked Council members to
Provost Maher emphasized that
Council members can provide advice on the computing resources that the Schools
require. Due the complex computing needs
of faculty researchers, Universities must do more than simply manage computing
software. The Center for Simulation and
Modeling and CSSD also can respond to these needs.
NEXT YEAR’S AGENDA
Members of the Council met on May
21 to create an agenda for the upcoming academic year. Areas of interest included:
COMPUTING SERVICES
Jinx Walton, Director of CSSD,
frequently reported on the unit’s activities.
Computing milestones and achievements often were announced. The following is a breakdown by area:
Strategic Plan
CSSD is developing a new strategic
plan, which will formalize the unit’s priorities for the next three years. Ms. Walton’s staff is conducting benchmarking
surveys in order to gauge how other universities manage their computing
resources. CSSD will then solicit input
from the University’s faculty members, staff, and students.
Internet Spam
University graduates are permitted
to maintain a University account for one year after graduation. Many former students forward mail from this
account to another provider, such as Google’s Gmail. As a result, spam that would have been caught
by the University’s spam filter is redirected elsewhere. The University has been flagged as a spam
source several times. CSSD is working to
correct this problem.
Miscellaneous Issues
Several changes to CSSD systems
were discussed, such as updates to or launches of:
Other topics of discussion
included:
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Center for Simulation and Modeling
Ken Jordan, Professor of Chemistry,
discussed the Center for Simulation and Modeling, which he co-directs. The most challenging computational problems
in a wide range of disciplines require multi-scale techniques, which allow
simulation to bridge orders of magnitude in time and length scales. The Center will provide the know-how and
resources to develop methods that exploit multi-scale modeling. In particular, the Center will provide
technical support for faculty members and students, sponsor and coordinate
courses in advanced computing, and support a lecture series on topics related
to advanced computing.
Multi-scale techniques require
greater computing power than is typically available to a single
researcher. Until recently, increases in
CPU speed almost singlehandedly drove enhancements in computing power. Further significant developments will depend
upon increased numbers of cores per CPU and parallel computing. The Center will provide computing resources
that build upon these advances.
Resources will be available at the Center for Molecular and Materials
Simulations; via a campus-wide network called PittGrid;
and at the
Department of Computer Science
Rami Melham, Chair of the
Department of Computer Science, discussed his department’s research foci. Departmental faculty conduct research in each
of the core areas of computer science: artificial intelligence, algorithms,
databases, systems, and networks.
Faculty members are also expanding into new areas, such as data
visualization and medical imaging. The
department’s research is often interdisciplinary in nature. Individuals within the department collaborate
with faculty members from other departments within the School of Arts and
Sciences and from the University’s other schools. Many of these research programs carry over
into the department’s educational mission.
Interdisciplinary educational programs include: intelligent systems,
scientific computing, computer engineering, computational biology,
bioinformatics, and telecommunications.
MISCELLANEOUS
Council members discussed several
other issues during the year. They
include:
MEMBERS
|
Chair |
|
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George E. Klinzing |
Office of the Provost |
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Arts and Sciences |
|
|
William Layton |
Mathematics |
|
Taieb Znati |
Computer Science |
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Health Sciences |
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Julius Kitutu |
Nursing |
|
J.B. McGee |
Medicine |
|
Michael McCue |
SHRS |
|
Michael Zemaitis |
Pharmacy |
|
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Professional
Schools |
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Aaron Swoboda |
GSPIA |
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Robert Parker |
Engineering |
|
Esther Gal-Or |
KGSB |
|
George Pike |
Law |
|
Doug Metzler |
SIS |
|
Kevin Kim |
Education |
|
|
|
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Regional Campuses |
|
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Melanie Anderson |
Titusville/Business |
|
Lisa Bell-Loncella |
Johnstown/Chemistry |
|
Amber McAlister |
Greensburg/Fine Arts |
|
|
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|
Senate Computer
Usage Committee |
|
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George Pike |
Law |
|
Fran Yarger |
Health Sciences Library System |
|
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Staff Liason |
|
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Jinx Walton |
Computing Services and Systems
Development |