XSEDE Happenings
Don’t Forget – XSEDE12- Call for Participation
The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) invites participation in its inaugural conference in the form of papers, panels, posters, visualizations, Birds of a Feather sessions, and tutorials. The Call For Participation, including submission guidelines and key dates, is at https://www.xsede.org/xsede12-call-for-participation . XSEDE12 -- "Bridging from the campus to the extreme and beyond" -- builds on the success of the recent TeraGrid conferences, offering a full agenda, networking opportunities, and all that the host city of Chicago has to offer. The conference is located at the InterContinental Chicago (Magnificent Mile) and runs from July 16-19, 2012, with XSEDE meetings to follow on July 20. Conference information can be found at https://www.xsede.org/xsede12, and registration opens in May 2012.
Call for NSF CiSE Magazine Contributions
Barry Schneider of the National Science Foundation has been appointed as one of the editors of CiSE magazine. His role is to find contributors who are willing to write short (4,000 words or so) “snappy” articles on interesting simulations or other computational developments that would be appropriate for the readers of CiSE. Please contact him at bschneid@nsf.gov if you have questions and anything that might be appropriate for consideration as an article.
XSEDE Around the World
XSEDE Will Be Appearing at HPCS 2012 n
May 1 - 3, 2012 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
John Towns, NCSA Director of the Distributed Cyberinfrastructure Program Office, will provide the keynote address at this upcoming conference. He provides leadership and direction in the support of an array of computational science and engineering research projects making use of advanced computing and data resources. For more information on the conference and to register, please visit http://2012.hpcs.ca/.
XSEDE Partner PRACE to Establish Six Advanced HPC Training Centers
The Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) has selected the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the CSC-IT Center for Science, the University of Edinburgh, Cineca, Maison de la Simulation, and the Gauss Center for Supercomputing as PRACE Advanced Training Centers (PATCs). PATCs will provide training and education activities to the European research community on utilizing PRACE's computational infrastructure. PRACE ultimately wants the PATCs to serve as hubs and key drivers of European high-performance computing (HPC) education. "The establishment of the PRACE Advanced Training Centers is one of the most visible achievements of PRACE to the European researchers," says CSC's Pekka Manninen. "The PATC network enables us to synergize European HPC training activities for the benefit of the whole of Europe." PRACE has initially selected six of its member sites as PATCs, but it will assess the location centers every two years, and the sites may vary over time. To read further, please visit http://www.prace-ri.eu/PRACE-to-establish-six-advanced.
Webinars, Seminars and Workshops
XSEDE: An Advanced Integrated Set of Digital Resources for Science and Engineering- A Tutorial in Conjunction with the American Physical Society
February 28, 2012 – Boston, Massachusetts
If you are a graduate student, postdoctoral student, faculty or researcher, you are encouraged to participate in the tutorial, "XSEDE: An Advanced and Integrated Set of Digital Resources for Science and Engineering," Sunday”. The tutorial is held in conjunction with the March meeting of the American Physical Society. It will provide an introduction to the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) project, funded by the National Science Foundation, and includes information on accessing XSEDE resources, user support, XSEDE architecture, science gateways and community applications, and ways that XSEDE is supporting science and engineering research education. To participate in the tutorial, send email to Barry I. Schneider, NSF, Office of Cyberinfrastructure: bschneid@nsf.gov. For details on the tutorial, please see: http://www.aps.org/meetings/march/events/tutorials/4.cfm. (NOTE: Online registration is no longer being accepted; you must send email to Barry Schneider to register.)
2012 Broadening Participation in Data Mining Workshop – Call for Participation
April 27-28, 2012 – Anaheim, California
The primary aim of the workshop is to foster mentorship, guidance, and connections of underrepresented groups in Data Mining, while also enriching technical aptitude and exposure. Graduate students and postdocs from underrepresented groups and those with disabilities are encouraged to apply. To apply for the workshop, please submit your application through our web portal at http://dataminingshop.com/application.php. For further questions or information about the Broadening Participation in Data Mining Workshop, please visit the website at http://dataminingshop.com/ or email questions@dataminingshop.com.
Campus Champions
Campus Champions Fellows Program
The Fellows program partners Campus Champions with ECSS staff and research teams to work side by side on real-world science and engineering projects. Fellows will develop expertise within varied areas of cyberinfrastructure, and they are already well positioned to share their advanced knowledge through their roles as the established conduits to students, administrators, professional staff, and faculty on their campuses. A directory of Fellows will expand the influence even further by creating a network of individuals with these unique skill sets. In addition to the technical knowledge gleaned from their experiences, the individual Fellows will benefit from their personal interactions with the ECSS staff and will acquire the skills necessary to manage similar user or research group project requests on their own campuses. The Campus Champions Fellows program is a unique, rare opportunity for a select group of individuals to learn first hand about the application of high-end cyberinfrastructure to challenging science and engineering problems. Accepted Fellows make a 400-hour time commitment and are paid a stipend for their efforts. The program includes funding for two one- to two-week visits to an ECSS site to enhance the collaboration and also funding to attend and present at a Fellows symposium at an XSEDE conference. For more information, please visit https://www.xsede.org/ccfellows.
Educator Curriculum and Opportunities
Johns Hopkins University Offers Summer Teaching Opportunity for Computer Science Teachers on East and West Coast
Session 1: June 21 - July 14, 2012
Session 2: July 14 - August 4, 2012
The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) is seeking instructors and teaching assistants for our summer programs. CTY offers challenging academic programs for highly talented elementary, middle, and high school students from across the country and around the world. Positions are available at residential and day sites at different locations on the east and west coasts (California, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington).
They are currently seeking individuals with graduate course work and expertise in a number of Computer Science related subjects:
* Introduction to Robotics
* Foundations of Programming
* Fundamentals of Computer Science
* Data Structures and Algorithms
For detailed course descriptions, please visit http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/employment/math_cs.html. More information on the CTY program can be found at http://www.cty.jhu.edu/summer. Instructor position (job description, terms of employment, desired qualifications) information can be found at http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/employment/inst.html. Teaching assistant position (job description, terms of employment, desired qualifications) can be found at http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/employment/ta.html. For a full list of locations and dates, please visit http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/employment/sites_dates.html. CTY also have an international program in Hong Kong. Questions? Please call (410) 735-6185 or ctysummer@jhu.edu. Follow them on Facebook for updates on open positions and opportunities! Facebook.com/CTY.SummerEmployment.
Robert Noyes Teacher Scholarship Program
Letter of Intent Deadline - February 27, 2012
Program Guidelines: NSF 12-525
The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The Noyce Scholarship Track provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends, and academic programs for undergraduate STEM majors and post-baccalaureate students holding STEM degrees who earn a teaching credential and commit to teaching in the classroom. More information can be found at .http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5733&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39&WT.mc_ev=click.
Student Engagement and Opportunities
Google Supports Female Students in STEM Subjects
Excerpt from SmartPlanet
Google's Mind the Gap! program is aimed at encouraging female students to enter the engineering profession and help equalize the ratio of men and women in scientific and technology-driven industries, says Google's Michal Segalov. The program is a collaborative effort with the Israeli National Center for Computer Science Teachers, and includes monthly school visits for girls to the Google office in Israel and annual technology conferences at academic institutions. Google hopes that by exposing young women to careers in science, technology, engineering, and math fields, they will learn more about the opportunities available to them, changing the stereotype that those professions are male-oriented. Since the program began in 2008, more than 2,500 girls have visited the Google offices, and about 40 percent of those elected to pursue computer science as their high school major after attending. To read further, please visit http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/google-supports-female-students-in-stem-subjects/22492.
NASA Ames Research Center Seeks Research Fellows
NASA Ames Research Center has an established track record in biotechnology and fundamental biology research, with applications in astrobiology, radiation biology, biosensors, biofuels, bionanotechnology, human health and bioregenerative life support. Ames is seeking to infuse synthetic biology into these and other applications. Two positions are available for Research Fellows in the newly established Synthetic Biology Innovation Laboratory, a cross-disciplinary research group formed to create new technologies that meet NASA needs. Fellows will be expected to develop research projects in collaboration with NASA scientists, engineers and outside experts with the intention of demonstrating, publishing and/or patenting relevant new technologies and applying them to NASA missions.
Research will create both enabling technologies for space exploration and foundational tools to make biological systems easier to engineer. Projects taking advantage of flight opportunities on the International Space Station and aboard small satellites are encouraged. Fellows may also participate in mentoring a student team to take part in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM). Applicants should have a Ph. D.., substantial experience in molecular biology and a strong drive to bring synthetic biology concepts to space exploration. To view the official job posting, please visit http://nasaames.theresumator.com/apply/job_20101118003403_9KRFT3V0HPQYSOZN/Research-Fellow.html?source=INDE.
Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair
March 20-25, 2012 – Balboa Park, San Diego, California
Our mission of the Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair is to maintain a continuous process that encourages and rewards professional excellence, promotes educational enrichment, and provides unique opportunities for independent achievement in science and technology for the thousands of seventh through twelfth grade students of all private, parochial, and public schools of the Greater San Diego Region wishing to participate. For more information, applications and volunteer opportunities, please visit http://www.gsdsef.org/home.asp.
Faculty Opportunities
NASA Glenn Research Center Faculty Fellowship Opportunity
Application Deadline – February 24, 2012
NASA John Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is accepting applications from full-time, qualified STEM faculty in accredited US colleges and universities, for the summer 2012 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship Program (NGFFP). The ten-week Fellowship starts on Monday, June 4, and ends on Friday, Aug. 10. The opportunity is open to US citizens. However, US permanent resident faculty members who are interested in analytical/fundamental research will be considered. Under-represented faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit https://rt.grc.nasa.gov/main/university-affairs/ngffp/.
Last but Not Least – Odds and Ends of Interest
Lenovo to Launch App Programming Class
Excerpt from US News & World Report
Lenovo is collaborating with the National Academy Foundation to teach teens how to design, program, and market their own Android apps. Lenovo and the foundation will offer an app programming class in five U.S. high schools in the spring, and expand the pilot program to 70 schools nationwide in the fall. Students will be required to take an introductory programming course before they are admitted into the 12-week program. Participants will work in small groups, use the standard Android developer toolkit to create their own app, and eventually release their app on the Android market. "We want to make sure they have a good experience doing something that is potentially marketable at the end of the course," says Lenovo's Michael Schmedlen. "We want students to be prepared for the future." The program will make the curriculum, materials, and lectures available free online for teachers who want to emulate the class. For more information, please visit http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/stem-education/2012/01/24/lenovo-mit-to-launch-app-programming-class.
Could the Internet Ever Be Destroyed?
Excerpt from the Scientific American
There are many aspects of the Internet that are under threat of loss or ruination. Although the Net can survive and recover from in-country physical damage, it is possible that one country could hinder another's access to its share of the Internet via severance of the cables that relay data between nations, warns Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) computer scientist David Clark. More potentially harmful to the Web's status quo existence than physical damage is government suppression or censorship, although experts such as Clark and MIT economist William Lehr note that workarounds to such blockage will inevitably surface, as the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt demonstrated. In fact, such developments have sparked an Internet arms race, and Lehr points out that "the tools for fighting the war are mostly defensive, but also can be offensive." Imposing a tax on Internet access or raising the price of access so most people cannot afford it is an even more subversive measure that governments could apply toward crippling Web use. Lehr also warns that the openness of the Internet could be lost or greatly reduced through poor regulation, and he says new security models should be developed to ensure privacy and security without impeding the Web's functionality. To read further, please visit http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=could-internet-ever-be-destroyed.
