News 11-29-2002
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and listen to audio interviews with established leaders and creative thinkers
in higher education as they discuss the good, the better and the best uses of
IT on campus. This week, Judith B'ettcher speaks with Michael Giordano, Instructional
Designer and Manager of the Instructional Development Center at the University
of New Hampshire, on using technology to create collaborative workspaces.
U. Buffalo Bolsters Research Computing Cluster
The University at Buffalo added a 300-node high-performance computing cluster
to its Center for Computational Research (CCR). The increased capacity will
support scientific research projects, including groundwater modeling and computational
chemistry. It is the second Dell Computer Inc. cluster at the university, adding
to a 2,000-node cluster deployed earlier this year. "Many of our scientists
need to exploit a large number of processors operating in a coordinated fashion
to jointly solve leading-edge scientific problems that could not be solved in
a reasonable amount of time on smaller systems," said Russ Miller, director
of the CCR and a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
"Efficient, massively parallel processing techniques can be applied to many
scientific problems in order to provide cost-effective solutions via clusters
based on standard components."
Duke Meets Key Medical Imaging Benchmark
Duke University Medical Center said it has performed 15,000 scans on a positron
emission tomography (PET) scanner, imaging technology that allows physicians
to detect serious health problems in oncology, neurology, and cardiology. The
15,000th patient scan was performed with a GE Advance PET scanner. PET differs
from X-ray because it creates images of high metabolic activity that represent
changes in cells and variations in metabolism even before anatomical changes
can be detected. The image helps physicians determine if a cancer disease is
present, its location and extent, and how rapidly it is spreading. Edward Coleman,
M.D., director of the Duke division of nuclear medicine, said the system has
helped "make this technology more widely available to patients throughout North
Carolina and the United States."
Firm Markets Campus Homeland Security App
A firm that specializes in Web infrastructure software unveiled an application
to help colleges and universities meet the requirements of the Student and Exchange
Visitor Information Service (SEVIS) operated by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service to manage information on international students with education visas.
Mountain View, Calif.-based SynergyLink Inc. said its SEVISLink application
will help universities meet an aggressive SEVIS compliance deadline early next
year by seamlessly linking to relevant campus information systems. The company
also said it had made a deal with Oracle Corp. that made the application compatible
with Oracle database and application service products.
Vanderbilt Holds MBA eHealth Strategy Contest
Vanderbuilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management opened its 2003
eStrategy Contest last week, a competition to award $25,000 to a team of MBA
students which develops the best eHealth care strategy based on a select case.
The contest, co-sponsored by Roche Diagnostics, an Indianapolis company specializing
in diagnostic systems, is open to graduate students around the world. The winner
will be announced during the final round of competition in Nashville in February
2003. Bill Christie, dean of the Owen school, said eHealth was chosen as the
focus on the contest this year, "due to the rapid speed with which the Internet
is transforming the healthcare industry. We believe the healthcare industry
can benefit from the strategic insights from graduate students who truly understand
the future of the Internet."
For more information, visit: www.estrategycontest.com
"Buckeye Bullet" Takes on eCar Speed Record
Ohio State University students are attempting to break the world speed record
for electric vehicles with the "Buckeye Bullet." The student-engineered car
is the result of a joint project by OSU's Center for Automotive Research and
Intelligent Transportation and Ashland Specialty Chemical Co. The car was tested
recently at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah, where it reached a
top speed of 241 mph—less than five miles short of the 245.5 mph speed record.
The vehicle, driven by professional driver Craig Taylor, had the fastest speed
registered in an electric vehicle engineered by students. Ashland said it was
drawn to the project because it combines its work on composite materials that
deliver high strength-to-weight ratios with "green vehicle" technology.
Awards, Deals, Contracts in Higher Education
SUPERCOMPUTING—The University of Tokyo's Human Genome Center purchased
an SGI Inc. Origin 3900 server. The system, which is scheduled to begin operations
in January, will be used for human genome analysis and computational chemistry
applications. It has 512 CPUs and 512GB of memory, and 5TB of storage.
INFRASTRUCTURE—Seattle University signed a five-year agreement
with higher-ed infrastructure provider Collegis Inc. to update the Jesuit school's
campus information systems. Initial plans include the upgrade of a student,
financial, human resource and institutional advancement system; Web services,
including the creation of a convenient, online student information portal; and
additional academic computing and network services. Collegis said the University
of Seattle is the 13th Catholic higher-ed institution it serves.