WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Facebook for scientists — but built to facilitate serious research rather than socializing — and an award-winning method for putting idle computers to work on scientific breakthroughs are Purdue-developed technologies in the spotlight at the SC09, the world’s largest high-performance computing conference.

Purdue's DiaGrid team includes, from left, Andy Howard, Phil Cheeseman, John Campbell, David Braun, Preston Smith and Carol Song. The team is posing with images from the scientific research enabled by DiaGrid, projected in a multiwalled virtual environment at ITaP's visualization facility. Campus Technology Magazine selected DiaGrid for a 2009 international Campus Technology Innovators Award. (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)

Purdue is highlighting the HUBzero and DiaGrid technologies at the university’s booth at SC09, which opens today (Monday, Nov. 16) in Portland, Ore.

HUBzero is a soon-to-be open source software platform developed by Purdue for deploying and applying computational research tools, visualizing and analyzing results interactively and publishing them, all through a familiar Web browser. Built-in social networking features akin to Facebook create communities of researchers and educators in science, engineering, medicine and almost any field or subject matter.

DiaGrid works by pooling computers over the Purdue campus network and off campus via the Internet and fast research networks. Whenever machines in the pool are idle, such as at night or when their owners are at lunch, the system sends work to them. Campus Technology Magazine selected DiaGrid for a 2009 international Campus Technology Innovators Award.

Purdue has created an automated system to link the computers of SC09 participants to the pool during the conference. The Purdue booth includes a scoreboard to keep track of whose machines are running the most jobs.

The booth is designed to promote Purdue; Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP), the university’s central information technology organization; and the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing, ITaP’s research and discovery arm. ITaP technologists developed HUBzero and DiaGrid.

“DiaGrid and HUBzero are model technologies for enabling research that Purdue is making available to the world,” says John Campbell, associate vice president in charge of research computing for ITaP, who heads the Rosen Center. “As the premier conference for research computing, SC09 is a prime place to showcase these technologies.”

Purdue’s booth also will provide academic information to potential Purdue students and information to job seekers about positions with Purdue, ITaP and the Rosen Center. Nearly 10,000 people attended the conference in 2008.

Purdue has become a recognized leader in cyberinfrastructure with the development of HUBzero, which powers nanoHUB.org and many other Web-based “hubs” for research collaboration, says Michael McLennan, senior research scientist and hub technology architect at Purdue. NanoHUB is an international resource for nanotechnology theory, simulation and education with tens of thousands of users.

“Like no other platform, HUBzero can host interactive simulation tools. So, users aren’t just reading about research, they can experience it,” McLennan says. “HUBzero allows users to work together as they interact with content.”

Other hubs link researchers transforming laboratory discoveries into new medical treatments, and Purdue is now working in a consortium with Indiana and Clemson universities and the University of Wisconsin to advance the technology even further.

A hub will be at the center of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), a $105 Million National Science Foundation program announced in September, which is led by Purdue. Purdue electrical and computer engineering Professor Rudolf Eigenmann, co-principal investigator of NEES, will give a workshop titled “Cyberinfrastructure for Earthquake Engineering” at the Purdue booth.

McLennan will host two workshops on HUBzero and one about nanoHUB during the conference. Purdue scientist Mathieu Luisier will offer a workshop on using massive supercomputers to simulate nanoscale electronic devices for the next generation of electronics, a central focus of nanoHUB.

DiaGrid includes computers in student computer labs, offices, server rooms and supercomputing clusters and is the first multi-campus collaboration of its kind. Purdue’s partners in DiaGrid are IU, Indiana State University, the universities of Notre Dame, Louisville and Wisconsin, Purdue’s Calumet and North Central campuses, and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Together, they now make nearly 30,000 processors available for research jobs ranging from understanding the Solar System’s formation to imaging the structure of viruses at near-atomic resolutions in an effort to develop new ways of battling viral illnesses, from swine flu and the common cold to West Nile virus and AIDS.

“The sheer size and ingenuity of the initiative, as well as the diversity of computing resources represented in the grid, really set the project apart,” Geoffrey Fletcher, editorial director of Campus Technology, said in announcing the Campus Technology Innovators Award for DiaGrid.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As winter weather approaches, Purdue University is advising students to prepare.

“Many of our students come from areas with a much different climate, so we especially want to urge them to take steps now so they are prepared when winter arrives,” said L. Tony Hawkins, dean of students. Hawkins advises:

• Wear several layers of lightweight, warm clothing.
• Wear a hat to prevent body heat loss from your head. Scarves and hoods also help.
• Use mittens that fit snugly at the wrists. Mittens are warmer than gloves because fingers maintain their warmth better when they are in contact with each other. Reduced surface area reduces heat loss.
• Wear boots or shoes that provide good traction. Waterproof/resistant boots are also a good idea. Wet socks/feet lose heat much faster than dry socks/feet.
• Take the Purdue tunnels and enclosed walkways.
• Ride CityBus.

CityBus is free to everyone with a Purdue student, faculty or staff identification card. Bus stops are located all around campus, and buses run throughout Lafayette and West Lafayette.

The university considers many variables when making decisions about schedule changes due to weather, said Carol Shelby, senior director of environmental management and public safety. For example, in addition to temperature and wind chill, administrators consider the entire forecast for the day, snow cover, anticipated snowfall, icing, the conditions of roads and parking lots, and the ability to heat buildings and remove snow.

Consideration also is given to how far people need to walk outdoors, which is greater for students than for faculty and staff, most of whom park in lots and garages near the campus.

Information about the weather-related status of classes and work at the university, as well as weather information, wind-chill charts, frostbite and maps of the tunnels and CityBus routes, are available from Purdue Home Page, http://www.purdue.edu. Just click on Weather.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Student Health Center has received 400 doses of H1N1 vaccine through the Tippecanoe County Health Department.

The Health Center also reported that the supply of seasonal flu vaccine has been exhausted and that no additional supplies are expected to be available this year.

H1N1 vaccines will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in Room 43 at the center. Because of the limited supply, only those in established priority groups will be eligible for vaccines. The priority guidelines have been set by the Tippecanoe County Health Department based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those considered top priority include the following:

• Pregnant women.

• Caregivers for children younger than 6 months.

• University health-care and emergency medical personnel.

• Individuals with underlying health conditions that put them at risk for complications of flu-related illness.

Individuals considered to be at risk are those who have: cancer, blood disorders, chronic lung disease (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, etc.), diabetes, heart disease, kidney or liver disorders, neurological or neuromuscular disorders, or otherwise weakened immune systems.

Individuals may call the Student Health Center’s Urgent Care Unit at 765-494-1724 to determine if they have a qualifying health condition.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Home Hospital Home Health and St. Clare Home Health Care – both divisions of St. Elizabeth Regional Health – have been named to 2009 HomeCare Elite’s Top 500 Agency listing, a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the United States. This annual review identifies the top 500 agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.

“Our staff members have worked incredibly hard over the past few years to accurately collect patient data and to use that data to improve our care models so that we can in turn improve clinical outcomes for our patients,” said Bea Lamb, R.N., MBA, regional director of Home Hospital Home Health Care and St. Clare Home Health Care. “I am proud to see our efforts produce measurable positive results and I thank each and every staff member for their hard work on behalf of our patients.”

The HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry. The HomeCare Elite is provided by OCS, Inc., the leading provider of health care informatics and DecisionHealth, publisher of home care’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line.

Home Hospital Home Health Care and St. Clare Home Health Care serve Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Putnam, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties and can be reached by calling (765) 449-5046 or (765) 362-5114.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The entry deadline for the December 6th Lafayette Christmas Parade is approaching quickly. Monday, November 16th marks the deadline for all entries. The entry fee is $10 for nonprofits and $25 for corporate entries.

To register for the parade, groups and bands must complete the applicable entry form (there is one for groups and a different form for bands) and either drop them off at 337 Columbia Street, Lafayette IN, or mail them to: Greater Lafayette Commerce, P.O. Box 348, Lafayette, IN 47902

Download Entry Forms

• Band Entry Form
• Float/Group/Business Entry Form
• 2009 Lafayette Christmas Parade Rules

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is the 2009 theme and will be lead by co Grand Marshals Jim and Wes Shook of the Shook Agency. Float entries have the opportunity to win prizes in three different categories depending on the quality of the float and how well it applies to the theme. The parade is in its fifth decade of existence and is the largest holiday parade in the state of Indiana.

The Parade will follow a slightly different route this year. In order to incorporate more of the downtown community the Christmas Parade will begin at 10th and Main Streets in Lafayette and will conclude at Tapawingo Drive and Brown Street in West Lafayette. There will be viewing area on the upper block on 11th Street as well. All businesses are welcome to open their doors and entertain parade patrons.

The Christmas Parade is part of the Holiday Weekend which also features Dickens of a Christmas and The Community Light & Sing in Downtown Lafayette-West Lafayette. The weekend is sponsored by Lafayette Savings Bank and hosted by Greater Lafayette Commerce.