ITC Research Computing Support Newsletter - October 2007
This is the October 2007 newsletter for ITC Research Computing Support. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the information presented here, please contact ITC Research Computing Support by emailing Res-Consult@virginia.edu, or phoning either the Research Computing Lab in Brown Library at 243-8799 or the Scholars' Lab in Alderman Library at 243-8800.
Contents
- UVa Computational Science Speaker Series Kicks Off on October 15 with Larry Smarr
- Software and Hardware
- Events and Announcements
- Usability Lab in the Research Computing Lab Now Open
- Scholars' Lab Programs for Fall 2007
- Mathematica 6 in Education and Research Talk, October 23
- Digital Media Lab Short Courses
- Learn GIS Skills with ESRI
- Mathematica Free Online Seminars
- Miller Center Colloquia and Conferences for Students
- ITC Announcement/ftp.Virginia.EDU Retirement [10/30/07]
- ITC Announcement/Migration to Exchange Calendaring Services
- Proxy Server Account Management - Change to Login Method
- October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month
- Sign Up for UVa Alerts
- Announcing Apple Training at the University of Virginia
- SAS Presents 10th Annual Data Mining Conference October 1-2
- International Conference on e-Social Science, October 7-9
- 2007 Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and Networking Conference, October 18-19
- Directions 2007 SPSS Conference, October 28-November 1
- SESUG '07 Planned for November 4-6, 2007
- Reading Days Schedule for Scholars' and Research Computing Labs
- New Horizons in Teaching and Research Seminar Scheduled for October 8
UVa Computational Science Speaker Series Kicks Off on October 15
The inaugural event of the UVa Computational Science Speaker Series is:
"How Global-Scale Personal Lightwaves are Transforming Scientific Research"
Presented by Larry Smarr
October 15, 2007 at Noon
Harrison-Small Auditorium
Reception to follow the talk
All members of the University community are invited to attendDr. Smarr will describe how the development of user-configurable LambdaGrid "metacomputer" platforms are opening new frontiers in collaborative work environments, digital cinema, interactive ocean observatories, and marine microbial metagenomics.
Smarr, a pioneer and widely-quoted authority in information technology and telecommunications, is the Harry E. Gruber Professor of Computer Science at UC San Diego, and director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology. He is Principal Investigator on the NSF OptIPuter LambdaGrid project, and Co-PI on the NSF LOOKING ocean observatory prototype.
Prior to his involvement with UCSD, Larry Smarr was the founding director of both the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the National Computational Science Alliance. The first Web browser, Mosaic - the predecessor to Netscape Navigator - originated at NCSA during Smarr's tenure there.
The Computational Science Speaker Series is co-sponsored by James Hilton, UVa Vice President and Chief Information Officer; the College of Arts & Sciences; and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Additional talks are planned for this fall, so you should bookmark the Computational Science Speaker Series web site.
Software and Hardware..........
New Elder Cluster Available for Large-Memory Jobs
ITC's newest Linux cluster, Elder (elder.itc.virginia.edu), is now available for large-memory jobs. Elder has 12 nodes, each consisting of a dual-core Intel EMT Xeon processor; moreover, each node has 32 GB of main memory. Because of its small size and large memory per node, Elder is intended for large-memory serial jobs. A user may run a maximum of four jobs at once with an aggregate total of four cpus among all jobs. In order to support the large memory, Elder's operating system is a 64-bit installation and the compilers available on Elder produce 64-bit code. This means that user codes should be recompiled for use on the machine, and all such codes must be 64-bit clean. Standard ITC applications such as Matlab and Mathematica are available on Elder in 64-bit versions.
If you have questions about running jobs on the new Elder cluster, please contact ITC Research Computing Support at 243-8800 (Scholars' Lab, Alderman Library) or 243-8799 (Research Computing Lab, Brown Library), or by email to Res-Consult@virginia.edu. Need Help Parallelizing Code?
Andrew Grimshaw of the UVa Computer Science department is teaching an introduction to parallel computing course this semester. The graduate students in his class are required to do a project - parallelize some application of their choice. If you have an application that you think would benefit from a high-performance parallel implementation, you might be able to help one another. The students will parallelize your code - while you help the students that select your code to understand what it is doing, inputs, outputs, etc.
Requirements:
- You must have the sources - and must be legally permitted to modify the sources.
- The application must be worth parallelizing - generally that means more than a few hours to run (either one big job, or a large set of smaller jobs).
- You must be willing to spend some time with the students - don't just dump a pile of code on them and expect success.
- Ideally an easy-to-compile code - and ideally less than 100,000 lines of source.
If you are interested please send email to Mr. Grimshaw at Grimshaw@cs.virginia.edu with the following information: your name and department, a brief description of the application, coding language (C, Fortran, C++, Java, etc.), and application run times.
For those projects that the students do not select, PIs should contact the Research Computing Lab in the Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library in Clark Hall to request assistance.S-PLUS 8.0.4 for Windows Is Now Available
The latest version of S-PLUS is now available for download by eligible users from the ITC Research Computing licensing database (web.virginia.edu/rescomp). New objects and datasets as well as such new functions as string manipulation and functions for R compatibility have been added to S-PLUS 8.04.
In order for S-PLUS 8.04 to work with Windows Vista, you must change the default location of the working directory (that is, S_PROJ). Version and installation information as well as details on path name changes for Vista users are contained in the S-PLUS release notes.
Module Support
UVa has a site license for the following S-PLUS modules supported in version 8.0.4:
- S+FinMetrics ®
- S+Wavelets ®
- S+EnvironmentalStats ®
- S+SpatialStats ®
These modules require a seperate license from the S-PLUS base package to use. The license as well as the installation file for these S-PLUS modules are available from the ITC Research Computing licensing database (web.virginia.edu/rescomp). Once the base S-PLUS product is installed, the module's release notes may be located in the SHOME/modulename directory.
If you have questions about this new version of S-PLUS, please contact ITC Research Computing Support at 243-8800 (Scholars' Lab, Alderman Library) or at 243-8799 (Research Computing Lab, Brown Library), or by email to Res-Consult@virginia.edu
Data Mining at UVa
Because of recent progress in data acquisition and storage, many researchers need to make sense of huge volumes of data from heterogeneous locations. Data mining tools facilitate the exploration and visualization of data in a variety of ways, providing useful customized analytical results in both graphical and tabular formats.
Data mining can be defined as the process of discovering hidden patterns in large amounts of data. The typical data mining suite combines a set of statistical tools with a graphical user interface mapping out the workflow allowing for repeatable processes and easier modification.
Two data mining products are being made available to students, faculty, and staff at UVa: SAS Enterprise Miner 4.3 and Insightful Miner.
SAS Enterprise Miner 4.3
Licensed UVa users of the SAS Education Analytical Suite on Windows (version 9.1.3 EAS) can now make use of SAS Enterprise Miner from within SAS. A tutorial is built in the product for getting started (summarized also in this pdf file).As part of the larger SAS product, it is installed automatically with the default configuration for current SAS installations.
Insightful Miner 8.0
Insightful Miner is the data mining application from the makers of S-PLUS statistical software. Insightful Miner is now available for student use and may be licensed and downloaded in the ITC Research Computing licensing database (web.virginia.edu/rescomp). Insightful Miner will be included in the Spring ITC Labs and Classrooms build, and will also be available on the UVa network for faculty and staff soon. Unlike SAS, Insightful Miner is not part of S-PLUS. Rather it is built around an embedded version of the S-PLUS engine. System requirements for Insightful Miner are included in our installation instructions.Open Source Data Mining Tools
While not officially supported by ITC, researchers who wish to use data mining tools on other platforms can choose from a variety of commercial and open source tools. Two open source tools that we've experimented with are Weka and R Rattle as mentioned in the Data Mining Powerpoint.SPSS 15 for Windows: HotFix Patch Allows SPSS 15 to Work on Vista Machines
SPSS has put out a patch which will allow SPSS 15 to run on the Vista OS. The patch is available from the ITC Research Computing licensing database (web.virginia.edu/rescomp). SPSS 15 for Windows is also downloadable from this same web site.
SPSS 16 is Coming!
SPSS, Inc has announced the release of Version 16, however shipping is not expected to start until after Thanksgiving. Therefore we do not expect to have it tested and ready for installation until the end of this fall semester at the earliest, assuming they ship it the end of November as announced. This is a significant release for SPSS, as it is the only version that will allow SPSS to be run on Intel Macs. There are currently no supported versions of SPSS for the Intel Mac, so we are very excited for this release. Watch this newsletter space for more information!
If you have questions about this new version of SPSS, please contact ITC Research Computing Support at 243-8800 (Scholars' Lab, Alderman Library) or by email to Res-Consult@virginia.edu
eXceed 12 Now Available
eXceed 12 is now available for free via download from the ITC licensing website. The Security Connectivity Suite is also bundled in the download and you must install it as well as eXceed 12 in order to connect to any ITC supported Unix workstations or servers on-grounds (e.g., blue.unix, dogwood.itc, oak.itc)
If you have questions about eXceed or downloading the software, please contact ITC Research Computing Support at 243-8800 (Scholars' Lab, Alderman Library) or at 243-8799 (Research Computing Lab, Brown Library), or by email to Res-Consult@virginia.edu.
SAS Site License Renewed
The UVa site license for SAS on Window PCs, Macintoshes, Linux, Solaris, and RS6000 (e.g. blue.unix) computers has been renewed (updated). SAS in all the ITC Public Microcomputer facilities and the UNIX SAS licenses for the Linux, Solaris, and RS6000 installations have been updated and tested.
SAS will not run after October 13, 2007 unless the user updates the license file (SETINIT or SID). Email reminders have being sent out to currently registered users of SAS at the University notifying them of the availability of the new 2007-2008 SETINIT/SID license codes for their SAS software in our software license/registration Web database.
Current SAS users who do not receive this notice, have misplaced it, or need assistance licensing their copy of SAS should contact the Research Computing Support Group by phoning 243-8800 or by sending email to Res-Consult@Virginia.EDU.
If you are interested in SAS or other Research Computing software, visit the Web page at http://web.virginia.edu/rescomp/software.html.
Events and Announcements..........
Usability Lab in Research Computing Lab Now Open
The Library's usability lab in the Research Computing Lab, Brown Science and Engineering Library in Clark Hall is now available for use by other UVa units. There is an important connection between usability testing and user requirements and such research can help guide the focus of studies. For help incorporating usability testing into the design processes for your websites, please check out the online tutorials on Morae, the usability testing software in use in the Library's usability lab.
To reserve time in the Library's usability lab, contact Andrew Sallans at als9q@Virginia.EDU, Manager of the Research Computing Lab. Library staff can also help you get started using the lab and conducting your own usability studies and point you towards books, journals, websites, and other resources for your self-education!
Scholars' Lab Programs for Fall 2007
The Scholars' Lab is presenting a series of technology workshops and presentations this fall semester.
Shuming Bao, China Data Center, University of Michigan, will speak on "Understanding China Census Data with GIS" on Friday, October 19, at 1:00 PM in New Cabell Hall Room 138. This talk is co-sponsored with with the East Asia Center. A workshop, "Intro to the Online China Data Service," will be held from 10:00 - 11:30 AM in the Scholars' Lab Classroom, in Alderman Library."Copyright 101: How the law affects teaching, scholarship and publishing in a digital age" will be presented by Madelyn Wessell, Special Advisor to the University Librarian and Liaison to the Office of the General Counsel, in Alderman Library, Room 317, on Tuesday, October 30, from 12:30-2:00 PM
and again on Friday, November 30, from 12:00-1:30 PM.Technical workshops
Bring your lunch and learn a trick or two. These hands-on workshops held in the Scholars' Lab classroom are designed to get you started with technical tools for the digital scholar. We'll provide the cookies.
- XML Encoding: Whats, Whys & Hows
Tuesday, October 2, 12:30-1:30 PM or Friday, October 12, 12:00-1:00 PM- Dealing with Datasets: An introduction to SPSS
Tuesday, October 16, 12:30-1:30 PM- Map Yourself with GPS and Google
Friday, October 26, 12:00-1:00 PM or Tuesday, November 13, 12:30-1:30 PM- From Text to Web in Ten Minutes
Friday, November 9, 12:00-1:00 PMIf you have questions these presentations or workshops, please contact ITC Research Computing Support at 243-8800 (Scholars' Lab, Alderman Library) or by email to Res-Consult@virginia.edu.
Mathematica 6 in Education and Research Talk, October 23
Wolfram Research, Inc., makers of Mathematica, will give a talk, "Mathematica 6 in Education and Research" on Tuesday, October 23rd 3:00pm-5:00pm (including time for questions and answers) in Clark Hall Room 133 at the Research Computing Lab, in the Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library.
Prior knowledge of Mathematica is not required!This talk illustrates capabilities in Mathematica 6 that are directly applicable for use in teaching and research at UVa. Topics of this technical talk include:
Current users will benefit from seeing the many improvements and new features of Mathematica 6.
- 2D and 3D visualization
- Dynamic interactivity
- On-demand scientific data
- Example-driven course materials
- Symbolic interface construction
- Practical and theoretical applications
- Wolfram Workbench Development Environment
- gridMathematica
Digital Media Lab Short Courses
Information about the Digital Media Lab Short Courses is now available online. These courses cover a variety of topics in digital media and are free to students, faculty and staff. Basic introductory-level courses are offered for popular software packages like Photoshop, Flash, Maya and Final Cut Pro as well as Web technologies, including HTML, CSS and PHP/MySQL. Advanced and specialized topics are also offered by knowledgeable and experienced staff and students.
To check out the list of diverse digital media learning opportunities and sign up for these courses, please visit the Digital Media Lab homepage and click on the link to our Tutorials and Short Courses. You can also go directly to the Short Courses website.
If you have questions about the Short Courses, please contact Will Rourk, DML, will@virginia.edu, 434-243-6300.
Miller Center Colloquia and Conferences for Students
The Miller Center holds several colloquia and conferences that are open to students. Below is some brief information about this month's colloquia. Lunch is served, followed by a brief presentation of a working paper and a 45-60 minute Q&A session. For more details, please see www.millercenter.org/academic/gage/schedule. The Miller Center is located on 2201 Old Ivy Road. By bus, you can take the blue route and get off at the Faulkner stop. Then, walk up the driveway to the left and go to the front of the building.
Progressive Publicity and the Origins of Political Consulting
Adam Sheingate, Department of Political Science at The Johns Hopkins University
Friday, October 12, 12:30-2:15 PM
Forum Room, Miller Center of Public Affairs
RSVP by 10/10: snh4h@virginia.edu or (434) 924-4694Rhetoric, Power, and the Making of U.S. Security Policy
Ronald Krebs, Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Thursday, October 25, 12:30-2:15 p.m.
Forum Room, Miller Center of Public Affairs
RSVP by 10/23: acm8k@virginia.edu or (434) 243-8726Please see http://www.millercenter.org/academic/gage/schedule for the speakers' abstracts and papers.
Learn GIS Skills with ESRI
For those of us who are not familiar with GIS (Geospatial Information Systems), the concept of learning to do GIS can be intimidating. ESRI, the industry leading maker of GIS software products, has produced several ways to learn GIS. As a member of the statewide site license for these products, members of the U.Va. community can:
So, take advantage of these learning opportunities to familiarize yourself with GIS. Any data that can be visualized and analyzed spatially can be mapped with GIS. And for those users of SAS: we now have the EAS SAS Bridge module to ease your SAS data into GIS for analysis.
- Obtain a copy of ArcGIS 9.2 - the newest version of the leading software package - for their own personal use!
- Can sign up for FREE Web-based training modules on Virtual Campus at
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/reference/help/esri/virtualcampus/
These are self-paced, comprehensive teaching modules that cover many of the most popular tasks involved in learning GIS. They are widely viewed as very good and challenging materials, and you obtain a completion certificate at the completion of these modules.- Recently, ESRI has offered a 40 percent discount on instructor-led classes. These classes are led by expert ESRI instructors, and are held in person at designated sites. The site nearest U.Va. is located in Vienna, VA (Northern Virginia area).
Mathematica Free Online Seminars
The Wolfram Education Group has begun offering free online seminars to Mathematica customers worldwide. Taught by experienced Wolfram Research staff, presentations are given twice weekly. The seminar series began with S10: A Technical Overview of Mathematica located at
http://www.wolfram.com/weg/seminarsFor a list of dates and to enroll, visit:
http://www.wolfram.com/weg/calendarFurther information on how to access and use Mathematica can be found on the Research Computing Services Web page at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/mathematica/Please contact ITC Research Computing Support if you have questions by emailing Res-Consult@Virginia.edu or by telephoning or visiting either the Research Computing Lab in the Brown Science and Engineering Library (243-8799) or the Scholars' Lab in Alderman Library (243-8800).
ITC Announcement/ftp.Virginia.EDU Retirement [10/30/07]
ftp.Virginia.EDU (also known as pluto.itc.Virginia.EDU), an FTP server administered by ITC, will be retired from service on Tuesday, October 30, 2007.
The anonymous account and all private accounts supported on ftp.Virginia.EDU are included in this retirement. The anonymous service has allowed files to be placed on the server temporarily for access by other users, both local and remote.
For UVa users, alternative storage space and FTP functionality options include:
- Home Directory Service (HDS), http://www.itc.virginia.edu/homedir
- Collab, http://collab.itc.virginia.edu, a free service that may be used to share files both within the University (local) and with non-University community members (remote).
- SharePoint, soon to be available as part of the Exchange for-fee service, may be used to share files with other SharePoint users within the University (local).
- Personal Web space (www.people.virginia.edu)
Individual account holders whose needs are not met by these alternatives should contact their Local Support Partner (LSP) or department's technical staff to see if disk space is available on departmental servers. Commercial solutions are also available; free or for-fee plans depend on specific file sizes, storage space and download bandwidth required. This information is available from ITC; please email a request and/or any other questions about this service retirement to service-comments@virginia.edu.
ITC Announcement/Migration to Exchange Calendaring Services
In the coming months, Oracle Calendar users at the University will be migrated to Microsoft Exchange for online calendaring services. The University's decision to retire Oracle Calendar and migrate to Exchange was based primarily on the growing use of Exchange and the need for a central calendar solution. Departments involved in the Exchange community have raised significant concern about further segmentation of the University scheduling solution. The timetable for this effort will be based on a combination of contract expirations, resource allocation needs and the University academic calendar. In short, Exchange, which has already built a significant presence at UVa, will become an even more critical part of our institutional operations in 2008.
In addition to a calendar service, Exchange encompasses a suite of applications - including electronic mail, attachment management, and an online collaboration tool (Sharepoint) - that employees can choose to use or not. Those who elect to use the optional applications will find that they make the calendar easier and more efficient to use, and vice-versa. The full suite will be made available to departments with no per-user or departmental charges.
ITC will provide additional information about the transition plan and timing over the next few weeks.
Proxy Server Account Management - Change to Login Method
As part of the University effort to eliminate, wherever possible, use of Social Security Number as a personal identifier, ITC has revised the proxy service account management website at https://proxy.virginia.edu/ to give people a choice of the login method to be used. At the present time it is not possible to convert the entire site to use NetBadge, although NetBadge should be login method selected for most people.
A NetBadge login is possible for anyone with either ITC or HS/CS email or computing accounts. However, some people at UVa and the UVa College at Wise are not eligible to have computing accounts from either ITC or HS/CS, but are permitted to use the UVa proxy service. An alternate login method, currently the old method of getting proxy accounts, remains available for people who cannot use NetBadge.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The widespread availability of computers and connections to the Internet provides everyone with 24/7 access to information, credit and financial services, and shopping. The Internet is also an incredible tool for educators and students to communicate and learn.
Unfortunately, some individuals exploit the Internet through criminal behavior and other harmful acts. Criminals can try to gain unauthorized access to your computer and then use that access to steal your identity, commit fraud, or even launch cyber attacks against others.
The National Cyber Security Alliance's Top Eight Cyber Security Practices are practical steps you can take to stay safe online and avoid becoming a victim of fraud, identity theft, or cyber crime.
- Protect your personal information. It's valuable.
- Know who you're dealing with online.
- Use anti-virus software, a firewall, and anti-spyware software to help keep your computer safe and secure.
- Be sure to set up your operating system and Web browser software properly, and update them regularly.
- Use strong passwords or strong authentication technology to help protect your personal information.
- Back up important files.
- Learn what to do if something goes wrong.
- Protect your children online.
While there is no single cyber security practice or technological solution that will prevent online crime, these recommended cyber security practices highlight that using a set of practices that include Internet habits as well as technology solutions can make a difference.
For more information: http://www.whoswatchingcharlottesville.org/
http://www.staysafeonline.info/Sign Up for UVa Alerts
UVa Alerts, the University of Virginia's Emergency Text Messaging Service for students, faculty and staff is free and an optional service that will be used only for potential, developing, or existing emergencies. You will receive a UVa text message alert advising you of the situation and directing you to additional information on http://www.virginia.edu.
Nothing else. No advertisements. No gimmicks. No hassle. Just UVa safety alerts and advisories when you need them.
You may choose any user name and password for your UVa Alerts account, they are not your UVa computing ID and Netbadge password.
You can sign up and learn more at https://www.virginia.edu/uvaalerts/
An important reminder: the UVa website - http://www.virginia.edu - is the primary and most complete resource for current emergency information. The UVa Alerts text messaging service is just one of the methods the University will use to communicate emergency information. If appropriate, global e-mails, the telephone switchboard, flyers, local media and other communication tools will also be used.
Announcing Apple Training at the University of Virginia
The Office of Learning and Development and Information Technology and Communication are proud to announce that the University of Virginia is now an Apple Authorized Training Center.
Under this designation, UVa will offer hands-on courses, led by Apple certified instructors, designed for IT professionals who are responsible for planning, maintaining, and integrating Mac OS X workstations and solutions into their network environments. Classes are open to both UVa and non-UVa persons.
- Course information
- Registration information - complete and submit the form. Note: After completing steps 1 and 2, UVa employees need to register and submit PTAOs through the Integrated System Production and Self Service.
- Enrollment fees for Apple Training are non-refundable unless you cancel your registration by midnight ten (10) business days prior to the course date.
- Parking and Classroom Information
SAS Presents 10th Annual Data Mining Conference October 1-2
Only M2007 - SAS's 10th Annual Data Mining Conference - brings the intelligence, innovation and leadership of the data mining field together in one place - Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas - at one time - October 1-2, 2007. You'll learn best practices, new techniques and the latest trends through case studies, keynote presentations, hands-on training and workshops. There will also be plenty of time for catching up with old friends, making new acquaintances and connecting with the leaders and technologists redefining the discipline of data mining.
If you need further convincing of why you should attend... read on!
The Top Five Reasons Why You Should Attend M2007, SAS's Data Mining Conference
- It's our 10th Anniversary which means we have 10 solid years of experience delivering the best educational content in the field of data mining through speakers, training, networking opportunities and more. In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we've moved to the Las Vegas strip!
- Take home the knowledge to make a difference. Leave M2007 with new insights from industry visionaries, new skills in data mining best practices, knowledge of cutting-edge tools and techniques, and a network of valuable contacts. M2007 is the largest data mining conference in the world – learn unique information you won't get anywhere else.
- Get Certified. Take the exam to become a SAS Certified Predictive Modeler and get the recognition you deserve. Set yourself apart from the competition and enhance your credibility as a SAS technical professional.
- Present to your peers. The M2007 Call for Posters is now open. Submit an abstract for a chance to be recognized by the data mining community for the innovative work you've done in the field. Posters will be displayed in the Exhibit Hall throughout the conference. Register today, submission deadline is August 3, 2007.
- Experience hands-on training. Take advantage of pre- and post-conference training opportunities to learn the latest in data mining techniques using SAS software. A variety of courses are offered for all levels.
If these five reasons have convinced you to attend M2007, now is the time to register! Learn more at the M2007 official website.
International Conference on e-Social Science, October 7-9
The third annual International Conference on e-Social Science will be held October 7–9, 2007 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2004, the UK ESRC-funded National Centre for e-Social Science (NCeSS) was formed to explore how new forms of distributed, computer-based infrastructure (known as the "Grid" in the UK and "cyberinfrastructure" in the US) can be applied to benefit the social sciences. Essentially, cyberinfrastructure is the computing and networking technologies that will enable the discovery, access to, integration, manipulation, analysis and display of the huge bodies of digital data that are becoming available. The conference provides a forum for researchers to meet and exchange experiences and ideas on how the Grid/cyberinfrastructure might benefit social science research.
If you have other questions about e-Social Science 2007, check out the website at
http://ess.si.umich.edu/index.htm2007 Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and Networking Conference, October 18-19
The Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and Networking (VA SCAN) will be hosting its fourth annual conference October 18-19, 2007 at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Don't miss this opportunity to hear leaders in the higher education and K-12 security field discuss current issues and share ideas on effective security practices with colleagues.
Who should attend? IT managers, security professionals, technical staff, and auditors from Higher Education, K-12, Government, and Law Enforcement.
Keynote Speakers:
Shon Harris, president of Logical Security and author of two best-selling CISSP® books, will discuss the barriers and mistakes that almost every organization is making today with their attempts to develop a holistic security program, roll out a security governance framework, and integrate security into business processes. More information on Shon is available at http://www.logicalsecurity.com/company/company_news.html.
David J. Bianco, who teaches and lectures internationally and consults with clients including Fortune 1000 companies, Wall Street firms, public utilities and the US Military, will conduct a TCP/IP Weapons School session. Participants will walk up the layers of the OSI model, examining packet traces that detail the various ways attackers abuse core TCP/IP functionality. More information on David is available at http://www.vorant.com.Conference Program: Shon Harris and security and audit professionals from various colleges and universities will be presenting on Thursday, October 18th. The following day two concurrent workshops will be conducted: David Bianco's TCP/IP Weapons School and management sessions on emergency preparedness, the intersection of IT security and legal compliance, and security standards.
Conference Fee: Registration is $100 and pre-registration is required. In addition to the conference program, the fee includes lunches and breaks for both days and a Thursday evening reception.
To obtain more detailed conference information and to register, see http://vascan.org.
The mission of VA SCAN, a collaboration of George Mason University, James Madison University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech, and the Virginia Beach Public School System is to strengthen information technology security programs within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Directions 2007 SPSS Conference Planned for October 28-November 1, 2007
At SPSS Directions, more than 700 attendees will gather to learn the latest trends and best practices in statistics, data mining, market research, predictive analytics, and business intelligence technology. As an attendee, you will gain practical product tips and tricks to do your job more efficiently. And gain new ideas that may just inspire you to do more.
The conference will be held from October 28 through November. 1 at the Omni Orlando Resort, in ChampionsGate, FL. Registration is now open and if you register before October 17, you will receive a $100 discount. More details are available at the conference's website.
Top 10 Reasons to Attend SPSS Directions:
- Get inspired by new ideas
- Gain insight into the challenges and opportunities your business faces every day
- Learn new ways to address business challenges with analytics
- Elevate the use of analytics for advanced insight
- Increase ROI and improve business results
- Improve your understanding of analytic technologies
- Network with peers, industry thought leaders, and SPSS experts
- Learn best practices and successes from your peers
- Preview new and upcoming offerings from SPSS
- Learn to work more efficiently and effectively with specific tips, tricks, and techniques for using SPSS products
On Monday, October 29, you can experience high-flying adventure as you join your Directions colleagues for an exclusive evening at Fantasy of Flight, the "World's Greatest Aviation Attraction."
Meet and mingle with fellow Directions attendees at Fantasy of Flight's spacious art deco facility, home to some of the finest military aircraft in the southeast. Listen to music, view rare and vintage planes; enjoy dinner, dessert, and an open bar - and test your piloting skills with interactive flight experiences.
Activities during this three-hour event include:
- Corsair Simulator - fly a daring WWII mission over the Pacific
- Virtual Flight Explorer - test your skills on this full-motion simulator
- Hang-in There Simulator - take a spin in a state-of-the-art hang-glider simulator
This event is free for all SPSS Directions attendees. Guest tickets are available for $100 per person. Tickets can be purchased at the SPSS Directions Registration/Information desk. Transportation will be provided. See www.spssdirections.com or call 1-800-543-5815 for further information.
SESUG '07 Planned for November. 4-6, 2007
The SouthEast SAS Users Group (SESUG) is planning an exciting fall conference (SESUG '07) in Hilton Head, South Carolina, November 4-6, 2007.
Learn more and register; special registration rate for SESUG conference ends October 2.
Featured presentations include:
Weekend Workshops include:
- Keynote Presentation: Version 9 - Onward and Upward, Rick Langston, Senior Manager, Software Development, SAS
- Futures Forum: A Panel Discussion, by Rick Langston, David Kelley, Vince DelGobbo, Robert Ray and Eric Gebhart
- Understanding Why Your Macros Don't Work, Michelle Buchecker, Technical Training Specialist, SAS
- Separating the Interface from the Engine: Creating Custom Add-in Tasks for SAS Enterprise Guide 4.1, Peter Eberhardt, Fernwood Consulting Group Inc.
- Intermediate ODS: Formatting ODS Output (Part 1), Advanced ODS: Understanding ODS Objects (Part 2), Greg Nelson, Thotwave Technologies LLC
- SAS 101: The Basics, Janet Stuelpner, Independent Consultant
- An Introduction to SAS Macro, Ian Whitlock, retired, and Quentin McMullen, Brown University
During this conference, you'll discover the latest capabilities of SAS 9 and JMP software, as well as explore SAS services, including the SAS Alliance, SAS Press, SAS Certification, SAS Education, SAS Publications, SAS Health and Life Sciences, SAS Technical Support and SAS Users Groups.
Other conference activities include: ten presentations by experts from SAS; an Exhibit and Demo Room where you can speak one-on-one with SAS presenters and visit information booths about SAS services; an Internet Cafe provided by SAS so you can check email; and a networking social on Monday from 5:30 to 7 PM, provided by SAS.
The SESUG Speaker Sharing Program can provide one SESUG-sponsored speaker for your Local Users Group meeting per year. We will be happy to speak with you about this during the SESUG BOF at SAS Global Forum! Details are also available at http://www.sesug.org/SESUGOrganization/SpeakerSharingProgram.htm.
Check out the newly updated SESUG website at
http://www.sesug.org/SESUGOrganization/index.htm
for more information.Reading Days Schedule for Scholars' and Research Computing Labs
The Research Computing Lab in Brown Library will have the following hours during the Reading Break:
- Friday, October 5: open 8 AM until 8 PM; staffed until 5 PM
- Saturday, October 6: open noon until 6 PM; no consultant on-duty (email Res-consult@virginia.edu)
- Sunday, October 7: open 1 - 10 PM; no consultant on-duty (email Res-consult@virginia.edu)
- Monday, October 8: open 8 AM until midnight; staffed from 8 AM to 5 PM
- Tuesday, October 9: open 8 AM until 2 AM; staffed from 8 AM to midnight (normal hours)
The Scholars' Lab will be open and staffed the same hours as Alderman Library:
- Friday, October 5: open and staffed from 8 AM until 9 PM
- Saturday, October 6: open and staffed from noon until 6 PM
- Sunday, October 7: open and staffed 1 - 10 PM
- Monday, October 8: open and staffed from 8 AM until 12 midnight
- Tuesday, October 9: open and staffed from 8 AM until 12 midnight
For more information, please see the Web pages at
Research Computing Lab
Scholars' Lab
or call the Scholars' Lab, 243-8800, or the Research Computing Lab, 243-8799.New Horizons in Teaching and Research Seminar Scheduled for October 8
The University of Virginia community is cordially invited to a New Horizons follow-on event in the Harrison Institute auditorium of the UVa Library on Monday, October 8, from 10 AM until 12 noon. Ed Berger and Sylvia Blemker of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department will share their experiences developing and using podcasts as cutting-edge tools for teaching and learning.
A reception follows, featuring information centers for questions and exploration of podcasting and other exciting education technologies.
New Horizons is presented in partnership with The University of Virginia Library, Arts and Sciences Center for Instructional Technology, and Information Technology & Communication.
Now is the time to encourage your colleagues and students to join us and learn about research computing support at U.Va. We only send out an e-mail once or twice a month to this mail list. Anyone can subscribe to this "itc-research" mail list via the Web page at:
http://list.mail.virginia.edu/mailman/listinfo/itc-researchPlease encourage your colleagues to subscribe to our Research Computing mail list today!
