v.6 no 1
February 2002
Silicon Graphics 3800 to Power Computing
The committee received proposals from several vendors and decided to replace the current SGI model 2000 with a 32 processor Silicon Graphics model 3800. The 3800 is configured with 32 gigabytes of RAM, 32 processors and is more than four times faster than the old system. It is fully expandable to 512 processors and 1 terabyte of shared physical memory. This system was purchased in December 2001, arrived in January 2002, and is due to be fully operational by early April.
About 30 of the older SGI workstations have been retained to meet the need for individual workstations in the immediate future while a subset of the Scientific Computing Committee investigates workstation needs and various alternative approaches. It will consider Linux PCs as an option for replacing some of them. A Linux PC is a less expensive Intel based machine running the open source Linux operating system.
The faculty on the Committee included Terry Boult - Computer Science and Engineering, Bruce Dodson - Math, Peet Hickman - Physics, Kamil Klier _ Chemistry, Ann Meltzer - EES, John Ochs - Mech Engineering, Bill Schiesser - Chemical Engineering, Dave Walker - Mech Engineering, Steve Weintraub _ Math, and Dan Zeroka _ Chemistry. IR was represented by Gale Fritsche, Tim Foley, Grant Hittinger, Steve Lidie, Steve Roseman, Mary Jo Schulze, and Bruce Taggart.
Other compute-intensive needs are also being addressed. Professors Terry Delph -Mechanical Engineering, and Jeff Rickman-Materials Science, working with IR and several faculty, have been investigating the acquisition of a Linux cluster (called a Beowulf Cluster) for parallel processing that does not require large amounts of shared memory. The Cluster is being purchased from Paralogic and will include a 16 node, 32 processor capability available on a fee basis to researchers. IR will provide system administration, user support and will house the full system, other parts of which are designated for specific research projects.
Intecom PointSpanTM is New Telephone Switch
Users can expect some changes. Most phones (student phones, single-line phones in faculty/staff offices, and phones in classrooms and public areas) will be converted from digital to analog units. Students will now have access to a long-requested feature: *69. Faculty and staff phones will now include a display screen to accommodate CallerID and related features. Another new feature will be sophisticated call-routing capabilities valuable to offices struggling to handle a large volume of incoming calls. There will be some interruptions in service as system equipment and phones are replaced. However, the project team is committed to minimizing these and communicating them well in advance. The schedule leading up to the May implementation has not been finalized, so the details are not yet firm. This information will be shared as soon as it is determined.
The telephone system replacement project began in early1999. At that time, Information Resources (IR) issued a Request for Proposal to a number of vendors. Intecom was the leading finalist in that initial process. However, in late 1999, it was decided to delay replacement in order to evaluate the emerging "voice over IP (Internet Protocol)" technology. In 2001, IR wrapped up two years of in-house research and also enlisted the assistance of WTC Consultants. This working group agreed that IP telephony, while promising in some situations, is not yet the best option to support Lehigh's large-scale, campus-based needs. Instead Lehigh will best be served by a traditional switch, though certainly one that offers a clear migration path to IP telephony. With this decision made, in August 2001 an update to the earlier RFP was issued. After several months of evaluation and negotiation, Intecom emerged the clear winner. Besides providing a cost-effective and technically advanced product, the campus community is already familiar with Intecom equipment, so that an upgrade will involve minimal adjustment and re-training.
Department representatives campus-wide have spent recent months working with their respective departments to clarify requirements and pass along information about this project. They have been instrumental in gettting the project off to a successful start and will continue to be so in the coming months. A project update web page is being maintained at http://www.lehigh.edu/phones/replace.html. Users are also free to contact Lizanne Hurst at 85014 with any questions.
Digital Bridges Offers Engineering Classics
A local design firm was hired to aid in the creation of a signature look for the Digital Bridges online environment. The resulting design concept reflects the historical context and character of the collection while also functioning as a clear, coherent user interface for searching and browsing digital documents. Extensive local customization and functional refinement was also completed on the open-source indexing and retrieval engine (the Greenstone Digital Library software) that is being used to build the Web site. Work is ongoing on creation of the descriptive information ("metadata" ) that will enable the Greenstone software to retrieve and present to users items in the collection in a manner that emulates the organization and internal structure of physical books. This aspect of the project _ building online "monographic objects" _ has proven the most challenging, as off-the-shelf options for implementing such services are just beginning to become widely available.
In addition to completing this basic structural work, the project team is currently developing other site features, including online glossaries of 19th century bridge engineering terminology and of bridge and engineer names mentioned in the collection. The project team's current goal is to have the Web site operational and available to the public by early March, 2002. Project team members include Ilhan Citak, Joe Lucia, Judy McNally, Phil Metzger, George Motter, and Christine Roysdon.
As reported in the April 2001 IR Connection, Information Resources and other campus groups have been reviewing campus portal products. Portal software provides users with different types of information based on their role at the university and their personal preferences. After extensive product review, Lehigh has committed to a pilot project using the Campus Pipeline portal software. This product was selected in part because Campus Pipeline has a partnership with SCT whose Banner product has been implemented at Lehigh for an entire range of administrative and student services.
The goal is to have a production level campus portal operational by July 2002. Campus Pipeline staff will visit Lehigh University in early February to conduct a campus readiness review. As part of this process focus groups of key stakeholders will be organized to address such questions as which technology-enabled services or information would be most valuable to users in their daily work. Focus groups will include faculty, students, staff, and administrators.
The portal technical committee was charged with looking at the available portal options last year by Bruce Taggart in his role as LEWIS Steering Committee Chair. The portal will replace the internal homepage with services and information that better meet the internal needs of the campus. The portal will also compliment the new web site that is being redesigned to better meet Lehigh's external communication needs.
Library Adds 25 million Titles
To use PALCI, begin at Lehigh Libraries' online catalog, ASA, and click on the box labeled, "Not in ASA? Try PALCI". Follow the easy online instructions to search the catalogs of 30 academic libraries including Penn State, Temple, University of Pittsburgh, Carnage Mellon, and Lafayette. If users find one or more books they want, they can request them online and that request will be immediately transferred to the owning library. All member libraries belong to the Interlibrary Delivery Service of Pennsylvania that speeds delivery of PALCI loans via United Parcel Service. Because PALCI also eliminates staff time to process material, PALCI books usually arrive several days earlier than traditional interlibrary loans.
Another valuable feature of the PALCI system is continuous email updates about the progress of requests and immediate online notification as soon as the material is received at Lehigh. To take advantage of the email notifications it is necessary to include one's full email address (userid@lehigh.edu) in the PALCI request.
PALCI also offers on site reciprocal borrowing to Lehigh faculty. Faculty members who are interested in borrowing directly from any of 33 participating libraries should contact Gail Kriebel for an authorization form. More information about on site reciprocal privileges is available at: www.lehigh.edu/~inpalci/onsite.htm .
Enterprise Systems Implementation is now in the process of adding an important new feature to Lehigh University's Banner system. Furnished by TouchNet Information Systems, Inc., new secure software will allow Lehigh to accept credit card payment of gifts over the Internet by mid 2002. Subsequently admissions application fees will also be payable via the Internet-based interface to Banner.
The software is a sophisticated fee payment system that accepts, authorizes, and processes credit card payments without changing banking or credit card merchant IDs when processing transactions. Online philanthropy has become increasingly popular in recent years and the online payment of application fees will be a necessary component of any future Internet-based admissions process.
There is now campus wide online access to the weekly journal Nature, which communicates original scientific discoveries in all scientific disciplines. The latest research papers often appear there ahead of print publication. Special online ele-ments include the Nature Genome Gate-way, a "feature of the week" enhanced for the Web, "naturejobs", a scientific events directory, and a grants finder.
In addition faculty and students have electronic access to Nature's monthly research titles: Nature Genetics, Nature Structural Biology, Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Cell Biology, and Nature Immunology. Nature online weekly and the Nature online monthlies are accessible through the ASA catalog at http://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/uhtbin/webcat.
Student Mural in Fairchild Library Cyber Lounge Near Completion
Eight students, working with Theater Professor Drew Francis, have begun creating a mural in the lower level of the Fairchild Martindale Library outside the Media Center. The students are: Lacey Anzelc, Edann Brady, Joseph Colangelo, Julie Meslin, Lauren Rockman, and Rebekah Tuthill.
Last summer the lounge in this area was refurbished with new furniture, lighting, carpet, network jacks and an upscale coffee machine. Information Resources wanted to bring student-produced art into the area and contacted Professor Francis who specializes in theater design. He designed a mural around the concept of reading and books as a gateway, opening the world to their readers. Engaged by the work of Mexican muralists, he wanted to communicate the ways in which reading and knowledge impact social change. Tentatively titled "Two Eyes Become One" it also incorporates motifs from around the Lehigh campus, including Linderman Library's signature stained glass skylight. The mural has frame-like detailing around the sides and the bottom, but not at the top, to capture the sense in which unlimited horizons open to those who make use of knowledge and scholarship. Work will continue through the semester until the very colorful mural is complete.