Content about Education

  Opinion - International Summer School on Grid Computing: looking back, one year on Thanks to his ISSGC’07 experience, Andrew Jamieson and his colleagues are actively pursuing the possibility of gridifying aspects of their medical research work.Image courtesy of Andrew Jamieson Deadlines for the 2008 International Summer School on Grid Computing close on 5 May. Here, former student Andrew Jamieson reflects on his experiences at the 2007 summer school, held in Sweden. In 2007, with the aid of the Open Science Grid, I attended the International Summer School on Grid Computing in Sweden. Today, just over a year later, I am still involved in grid computing.My scientific background as a medical physicist researcher involves developing accurate computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) algorithms for breast mass lesions in X-ray mammography, ultra sound and MRI images. My colleagues and I are interested in using grid computing to push CAD and image analysis to a new level of exploratory power and scientific evalua

Announcement - D-Grid launches new newsletter The new D-Grid Newsletter covers the results and new science coming from projects powered by the German grid infrastructure.Image courtesy of D-GridAfter more than two years of intensive work within more than 20 research and industry grid projects, the German D-Grid initiative has this week launched a newsletter to present their results to the international grid community. The first D-Grid Newsletter covers:the current status of D-Gridbasic components of middleware and software infrastructure in D-Gridconsolidating the grid infrastructure in German astronomyC3Grid - a tool for climate researchthe HEP Community Grid project the D-Grid All Hands Meeting, andthe 3rd IEEE International Conference on e-Science and Grid Computinga list of selected publications generated from D-GridSubscriptions to the newsletter are available in German and English.About D-Grid The German D-Grid Initiative started in September 2005. The German Federal Ministry for Research and Education is funding ove

Announcement - Call for participation: International Summer School on Grid Computing, July, Hungary In all previous years the School has been oversubscribed. Selection is therefore competitive, based on information supplied on the application form and by a referee’s supporting letter. Between 60 and 70 students are expected to be accepted.Image courtesy of ICEAGEThe sixth in the highly successful series of International Summer Schools on Grid Computing will be held at the Hotel Füred Conference and Congress Centre of Balatonfüred, Hungary, from 6-18 July 2008.The ISSGC’08 program will include lectures, discussions, laboratory sessions, tutorials and group work delivered by leading authorities in the fields of advanced grid technology, applications of e-Science and distributed systems research. Reports from world leaders in deploying and exploiting grids will complement lectures from research leaders shaping future e-infrastructure.Hands-on laboratory exercises will give students experience with widely used g

Announcement - Applications due 31 March: CERN openlab student program The CERN openlab student program is an not for the faint-hearted, but if you (or your student) is up to the task, it provides numerous unique opportunities and experiences: a summer to remember. Image courtesy of CERN Applications for the CERN openlab student program are invited from B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in computer science and physics from around the world.   The openlab program is not for the faint-hearted. It involves two months of intense project work over the summer at CERN’s IT department, on the cutting edge of grid technology and scientific computing. In addition, students follow advanced lectures on a range of computing topics and participate in study tours to industrial and academic IT sites in the region. The program also provides a unique chance to be at the hub of the Large Hadron Collider project, just as the data is expected to start pouring out of the underground detectors. Candidates should be available to participate for

Link of the week - ISSGC ‘07 joins the ICEAGE This presentation from Malcolm Atkinson outlines some issues involved in grid computing, and gives examples of some common scenarios and architectures.Image courtesy of ISSGC’07A collection of 28 presentations captured at the ISSGC ’07 grid computing school have been made available online in the ICEAGE library for the first time. The topics covered include: the basics of distributed computing,an introduction to grid security,using common middlewares, real applications of grids, grid software engineering, the future of grid computing, and more. This collection provides a fantastic education for students who are interested in using or studying grid computing, and allows students from around the world to hear presentations from world experts. Speakers include Malcolm Atkinson, Qian Depei, Erwin Laure, Miron Livny, David Snelling, to name just a handful. Distributing content on distributed computingIn the past few years the International Summer School on Grid Computi

  Learn: Get on the grid with OSG Education Alina Bejan, coordinator of OSG Education Outreach and Training, would love to hear from those interested in using grid computing to power their research.Images courtesy of iSGTW Grid school veteran Ben Clifford has been involved with grids since 2000. He’s been teaching new users how to benefit from grid computing since 2002. Today, after teaching two one-day Open Science Grid workshops as part of the SC07 Education Program, Clifford sees many familiar faces in the SC07 crowd. Not all of them are new. “It’s very satisfying to see people I taught many years ago,” he says. “Many of them are working in grids or working to promote grid technology. It’s great to stay involved with such motivated people. They are still keen to learn more about how to lever grids for the benefit of their research or their students.” This enthusiasm is essential to becoming involved in grid computing, says Clifford.

Announcement - Maine students to benefit from new scientific grid portal The University of Maine Ice Sheet Model, developed by Jim Fastook, will soon be available to researchers from around the globe via a new grid portal in the pipeline at UMaine.Image courtesy of UMaineStudents in Maine schools soon will have an opportunity to experiment first-hand with variable climate change scenarios by accessing the University of Maine’s environmental modeling programs from their own classroom laptops.The UMaine Department of Computer Science has received two U.S. National Science Foundation grants, one for $200,000 to buy a second university supercomputer, and a second, for $300,000, to develop new supercomputer software to improve the transfer of massive data files.The new supercomputer, and an access portal being developed for it, will allow Maine middle school students to access the University of Maine’s Ice Sheet Model for environmental experiments. It also will enable the university to engage in much larger outreach and res

Link of the week - International Journal of Grid Computing Elsevier Science’s Future Generation Computer Systems journal targets computer scientists, managers and policy makers in information technology.Image courtesy of Elsevier Want much more on grid computing? Get your teeth into something more technical and check out Elsevier Science’s Future Generation Computer Systems journal.Sporting the unwieldy but extremely descriptive subtitle “The International Journal of Grid Computing: Theory, Methods and Application,” the monthly journal covers new theory and advances in distributed system design, collaborative environments, high performance computing and high throughput computing.Sample papers cover grid programming, efficient bandwidth utilization, data mining in grid computing environments and grid filesystem functionality. 

  Feature - PRIUS: a global university for a borderless future Susumu Date coordinates the PRIUS project, which aims to create strong leaders for next-generation distributed IT.Image courtesy of iSGTW Grid computing is as much about people as it is about computers, and international success requires leaders who can work globally and cooperatively in their field.This is the philosophy behind the PRIUS project, an initiative led by Osaka University, Japan, with the aim of promoting internationalization in grid education.PRIUS, or the Pacific Rim International UniverSity, relies on hands-on practical collaboration with research institutions and universities from Pacific Rim countries, mainly through the Pacific Rim Application and Grid Middleware Assembly, better known as PRAGMA. “PRIUS aims to develop competent leaders in integrated science,” says Associate Professor Susumu Date, who is heavily involved in the project. “We are developing an educational framework that will allow our students to learn advanced

Announcement - 4th BELIEF brainstorming session: 26-27 November, Edinburgh, UK BELIEF, or Bringing Europe's eLectronic Infrastructures to Explanding Frontiers, will hold an invitation-only brainstorming session in Edinburgh this month. Expressions of interest in attending are now open.Image courtesy of Peter Tuffy, University of Edinburgh Persons interested in recieving an invitation to the fourth BELIEF Brainstorming event on e-Education and new e-Infrastructures Communities can now register their interest. The event will take place in Edinburgh, UK, from 26-27 November 2007 at the National E-Science Centre, in collaboration with High Throughput Computing Week. The BELIEF event will take advantage of its skilled and expert audience to examine e-education and how new community members can benefit from its use through developed infrastructures. The event will also highlight the diversity that einfrastructures can bring to e-education by showcasing practical examples. This outreach event, which looks to tap into re

  Feature - I’m being shadowed: voices from the GAP Eleven female staff from CERN’s IT department were kept under close surveillance yesterday, shadowed by female students from a local high school as part of the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE project. The Shadowing Day aimed to inspire young women into careers in information technology by passing on the message that careers in science are open to both men and women, and can be rewarding and fun.The students were given a tour of physics experiment ATLAS and the CERN Computer Centre, as well as the opportunity for one-on-one interaction with CERN IT staff.  Traditionally, fewer women work in the IT sector; women currently represent 21% of EGEE staff. The Shadowing Day was held as part of the EGEE Gender Action Plan, reflecting a commitment to reducing this gender gap. Other initiatives include the adoption of best practices and equal opportunity policies for EGEE and collaborating projects.iSGTW headed to CERN to hear from those involved in the Shadowing Day

Resources - Women in information technology Help turn traditional stereotypes on their head.Sticker image and design © Jinx, Inc The percentage of women in IT has declined from 41 percent in 1996 to 32 percent in 2004,1 with women comprising only 3 to 5 percent of senior management positions.2 What's going on? Find out more, access new resources and be inspired:GHC Women in Computing conferenceFocused on the research and career interests of women in computing, the 2007 conference was held last month and attracted 1400 women and men from 22 countries. The 8th GHC Women in Computing conference will be held 1-4 October 2008 in Denver, Colorado, U.S. Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology“Writing women into technical history,” the Anita Borg Institute coordinates a number of activities including the TechLeaders program, the Women of Vision Awards and the Systers email community, which comprises 2700 members in at least 54 countries. Also on offer are some great mentoring resources and inform