GOVERNMENT

The first day will focus on the need for a Grid computing system to link two-year colleges, universities, and public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. Various applications of computers will be addressed on the second day. Titled "Computational Applications and Cyber-Infrastructure," the two-day conference sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant is part of a statewide effort led by The University of Tennessee Space Institute to stimulate competitive research through an emphasis on science and technology. Middle Tennessee State University is hosting the session Jan. 19-20 at the Double Tree Hotel in Murfreesboro. "Infrastructure is especially crucial for Tennessee because this is a rural state - long and narrow and separated geographically," said UTSI Professor George Garrison. "Our major population centers have good access to computers, but those of us who don't live in the five large cities need better access." He cited as potential benefits to rural Tennessee (1) improving the quality of education in K-12; (2) increasing access to college education, particularly in science and engineering; (3) providing opportunity for life-long learning through distance education; (4) improving the quality of medical services, and (5) encouraging business growth. Garrison leads the statewide "Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research" (EPSCoR), which encourages cooperation among Tennesseans in their search for Federal-funded research, development, and education funds. Paula Short with Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) and Brice Bible from UT will discuss Tennessee's Cyber-infrastructure Statewide Initiative during the first session, which opens on the afternoon of Jan. 19. Also that day, Terry Moore, UTK, and Doug Hurley, University of Memphis, will report from the Tennessee Research Computing Committee. Tom Danford, TBR, and John Lankford, UT, will discuss the Tennessee Optical Team Network Status. Multiple uses of computers will be emphasized on the second day, which starts with a continental breakfast and poster session at 7:30 a.m. "Applications can range from modeling and simulating aircraft flight or jet and rocket engines, to biological processes, chemical reactions and many others," Garrison said. "We'll also be discussing techniques for clustering of computers to increase their capacity." Speakers on Jan. 20 will include Dr. Joseph Majdalani discussing computational research at UTSI, Dr. Dave Whitfield, computational research at the UT Chattanooga SimCenter, and Dr. Ralph Butler, MTSU, talking about scalable process management in High Performance Computer clusters. Dr. Greg Sedrick, a UTSI adjunct faculty member, will discuss working with the Trilateral Alliance (Arnold Engineering Development Center, Oak Ridge National Lab, and NASA and Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville). Sedrick is executive director of the Tennessee Small Business Development Centers. Dr. Mel Ciment of the EPSCoR Foundation in Atlanta will talk about technical help that is available through the NSF-Center Development Initiative to assist researchers in preparing large proposals for NSF funding. A $50 registration fee is payable in advance. Persons may register by contacting Penny Morris (pmorris@utsi.edu) at the Institute (931-393-7293). Reservations at the Double Tree Hotel may be made by calling (615) 895-5555. To receive a $60 special rate, callers are advised to refer to the conference function as "the MTSU College of Basic and Applied Science."