CT Briefs
:: NEWS
A NEW SICORTEX 5832 will result
in super energy savings at Purdue,
says VP for IT and CIO McCartney.
GOING SUPER GREEN. A new
supercomputer deployed at Purdue
University (IN) is expected to provide
energy savings on the order of 75 to 80
percent. All told, the SiCortex 5832 will use only about
one-fortieth the power of “traditional”
supercomputers, hopes Gerry McCartney,
VP for IT and CIO at Purdue. The
machine’s processors draw just 600 milliwatts
of power each, about the same
power requirement as a cell phone or
small flashlight. By comparison, a standard
supercomputer contains thousands
of processors that each require about 25
watts (25,000 milliwatts) of energy.
“The electricity needs of supercomputers
and the associated cooling can
sometimes limit the
amount of science that
can be done,” McCartney
says. “This is an
experimental machine
in the sense that we are
just now learning how
to use it to make real
scientific discoveries.”
FOOTHILL CC
BOLSTERS E-MAIL
SECURITY. If you
have an anti-spam and
antivirus protection
system in place, but
are still flooded with
user complaints, what
do you do? To increase
the effectiveness of its firewall,
Foothill-DeAnza Community College
District (CA) installed the Abaca
E-Mail Protection Gateway EPG 3000
and ReceiverNet Premium Service. Explains Foothill IT
Director Chien Shih, “Instead of scanning
for patterns, [the Abaca solution]
examines the relationships between people
who exchange e-mail. When something
out of the ordinary happens, it
checks for spam.” Read more here.
CONSTITUENT CARE. At Del
Mar College (TX), new support for student
services, enrollment, and financial
aid is among the highlights of a move to Datatel Colleague.
The school’s plan to create enhanced
web-based, self-service capabilities for
constituents also benefits staff through
the solution’s financial management,
human resources, and institutional
advancement components. Additionally,
Del Mar will deploy Datatel’s Active-
Campus Portal, a workgroup collaboration
system built on Microsoft SharePoint. Says
CIO August Alfonso,
“By acquiring Colleague,
the college is
geared to provide
advanced technology
and a personalized,
compelling user experience
for students, faculty,
and employees.”
SECURITY CRASH
COURSE. Dartmouth
College’s (NH) Institute
for Security Technology
Studies has
launched a new twoweek
course in computer
security, aimed at
introducing the basics of public key
infrastructure (PKI), vulnerability
assessment, and network analysis tools.
The course is a component of ISTS’
Secure Information Systems Mentoring
and Training program, designed to
help students gain practical computer
security expertise. “There is an urgent
need to bring students up to speed in
these topics,” says Tom Candon, associate
director of ISTS. “The network
security field needs professionals with
hands-on training in secure systems,
but only a few colleges or universities
have these programs.” Read more here.
A HEALTHY NEW DEGREE
ONLINE. Western Governors University (online), recognized for its
established degree programs, has
recently added a new bachelor of science
degree in health informatics. The
degree combines health care with IT,
preparing graduates to design, develop,
and operate health information systems. Read more here.
:: PEOPLE
DIVERSITY DEAN JOINS IU. On
Aug. 1, Maureen Biggers began her
post as assistant
dean for diversity
and education
at the Indiana
University School
of Informatics.
Throughout her
career, Biggers has worked extensively
in programs and research projects
relevant to the inclusion of
women and minorities in computing
and technology. She also serves
actively in the leadership of several
national diversity initiatives, including
the NSF’s Broadening Participation
in Computing Alliance for the
Advancement of African-American
Researchers in Computing and the National
Center for Women & Information
Technology. Biggers
has held academic and studentfocused
roles at several universities,
most recently at Georgia Tech’s
College of Computing.