LSU'S Biweekly Newsletter for Faculty & Staff
July 14, 2006 |
VOL. 22, NO. 22 |
LSU has announced its plans for a new supercomputer called Tezpur, which will advance the university’s standing into the top-tier high-performance computing environment. It will be one of the most powerful supercomputers owned by any university in the nation and will be one of the top 50 most powerful supercomputers in the world. With more than 15 teraflops of capacity, Tezpur will outperform LSU’s SuperMike, and provide nearly three times SuperMike’s computational speed.
The new commodity linux cluster will be called Tezpur – named for one of the world’s hottest peppers – and the platform will be true to its namesake. Tezpur will consist of a Linux Intel Cluster built by Dell Inc. that will deliver more than 11 million hours of computational resources and be capable of performing approximately 15 trillion numerical operations per second.
“Today, LSU steps further onto the forefront of the national stage, solidifying its place as a real supercomputing power. The presence of this kind of resource sets LSU into the rarest of company when it comes to the enablement of research and teaching using the latest and most powerful tools information technology has to offer. These are the kinds of resources available only at top, flagship-level research institutions – and LSU has them,” said LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe.
“These new resources can help to increase our research productivity that will, in turn, support the economic development of the state of Louisiana. The technology will also contribute to the quality of our graduate and undergraduate environments,” said LSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Risa Palm.
Tezpur marks only the beginning in LSU’s efforts to create a top-tier high-performance computing environment, and stems from the recently announced partnership between the LSU Center for Computation and Technology, or CCT, and LSU Information Technology Services, or ITS. Tezpur should become operational at the end of this summer.
“Tezpur will dramatically advance our ability to study complex systems of importance to the region and nation, such as coastal erosion or storm surges from hurricanes or erosion, as well as providing insight into mysteries of the universe, such as computing detailed signals from black holes and supernovae,” said CCT Director Ed Seidel.
“The acquisition of Tezpur is part of a broader effort – in line with LSU’s new Flagship Information Technology Strategy – to grow the array of high-performance computing resources available for researchers, and through the partnership between CCT, ITS and campus researchers to build capacity in support of research endeavors,” said LSU Chief Information Officer Brian Voss.
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| LSU’s new Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri speaks at his first LSU press conference. |
Paul Mainieri, who directed Notre Dame to 533 wins and nine NCAA Tournament appearances in 12 seasons, was introduced Wednesday, June 28, as LSU’s 25th head baseball coach by athletics director Skip Bertman.
Mainieri was a 1976 LSU baseball letterman who also played two seasons at the University of New Orleans.
“When I began the search for a new LSU baseball coach, I was looking for a unique individual,” Bertman said. “It would take someone special to lead this program, someone who would demand excellence in both athletics and academics, someone who would represent LSU with dignity and class, and someone who would thrive in the high expectations of a championship program.
“I believe LSU has found that man, and his name is Paul Mainieri.”
The 48-year-old Mainieri established an unparalleled standard of excellence during his tenure at Notre Dame (1995-2006), leading his teams to 11 forty-win seasons, nine conference titles and a berth in the 2002 College World Series, marking the school’s first CWS trip since 1957.
Mainieri, a Miami, Fla., native, is ranked 22nd among active Division I coaches with 864 career victories. His Irish teams have combined for the nation’s fourth-best winning percentage during the decade of the 2000s (.728; 324-120-3), trailing only Rice (.752), Oral Roberts (.737) and Florida State (.734).
“I have known Paul for over 30 years,” Bertman said, “dating back to my days in Miami when I knew his father, the legendary Demie Mainieri at Miami-Dade North Community College. Paul’s strong baseball pedigree is one of his most admirable and valuable traits.
“ He has Louisiana roots. He played at LSU and at UNO. He understands our culture and he appreciates the nuances of our people.”
Notre Dame has advanced to an NCAA Regional in every season since 1999, making the Irish one of 10 teams to appear in each of the past eight NCAA Tournaments – the others include Miami, Texas, Rice, Cal State Fullerton, Florida State, Stanford, Clemson, Tulane and Oral Roberts. Notre Dame also joined six other schools (LSU, Miami, Rice, South Carolina, Stanford and Texas) as the only programs to reach an NCAA Regional final every season from 2000-05.
Mainieri, who earlier spent six years as head coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy, completed his 24th year of coaching on the collegiate level in 2006 with an overall record of 864-492-4 (.637). He ranks second on the Notre Dame baseball career coaching wins list (533-213-3/.714), trailing Jake Kline (558-449-5; 1934-‘75).
Forty-nine of Mainieri’s Notre Dame players were drafted or signed free-agent contracts, and 18 were selected in the first 10 rounds of the Major League draft. His Irish players also combined for 14 All-America and 10 Academic All-America seasons.
Mainieri’s Notre Dame teams combined for a 100-percent graduation rate (71 of 71) among players who completed their eligibility. Twelve players who signed professionally after their junior year have returned to Notre Dame to complete their degree requirements.
Notre Dame was the only Division I baseball program to produce Academic All-Americans each year from 2000-04, with two honored every season from 2000-03. The 2006 squad combined for an impressive 3.28 team GPA during the spring semester.
“At Notre Dame, Coach Mainieri achieved things that were never before accomplished in South Bend,” Bertman said. “ He was undeterred by the natural weather impediments of a Northern school in the sport of baseball. And while other coaches in the North and Midwest complain about their plight, Coach Mainieri never complains. He just wins.”
Notre Dame’s 45 wins in 2006 tied for the 10th-most in the nation while the team’s .722 winning percentage ranked 12th. The Irish also won the Big East Tournament for the fifth straight season, representing the nation’s second-longest streak of consecutive conference tournament titles (Oral Roberts has won nine straight Mid-Continent Conference titles).
“One thing I can guarantee is that LSU fans will always be proud of the way their Tigers play under Coach Mainieri,” Bertman said. “He brings out the best in his players in more ways than one. He makes them sound players, and he produces winning teams and good citizens.”
Mainieri was honored in 2005 with a 25-year coaching certificate at the American Baseball Coaches Association convention and was voted to the position of the ABCA’s chair of the Division I Baseball Coaches. He is also a member of the ABCA executive committee.
A former Chicago White Sox farmhand, Mainieri was the first civilian baseball coach at Air Force and averaged 26 wins in six seasons (‘89-‘94) for a program that averaged just 15 wins in the six previous years. He is the only Air Force baseball coach to post six straight 20-win seasons.
Mainieri guided the 1993 Air Force team to its first winning season in nearly a decade (28-22), with a school-record 21 wins at home. He coached three All-Americans, two Freshman All-Americans and two Academic All-Americans with the Falcons.
Mainieri coached six seasons at St. Thomas (Fla.) University, where - in 1983 at the age of 24 - he took over a program that had yet to post a winning season. Mainieri led St. Thomas to four seasons that ended with the team ranked in the final NCAA Division II poll. The 1984 Sunshine State Conference coach of the year saw his St. Thomas teams average 30 wins per season (after an average of just 18 wins in the six previous years).
Mainieri’s coaching career began at his alma mater, Columbus High School in Miami, where he served as assistant baseball and football coach for three years before taking over at St. Thomas in the fall of 1982. He also spent the final three years at St. Thomas as director of athletics.
A four-year letterwinner in college, Mainieri played one season at LSU, one for his father at Miami-Dade and two at the University of New Orleans. The second baseman helped the Privateers win two Sun Belt Conference titles and advance to the 1979 NCAA tournament during his senior season.
After completing his undergraduate degree requirements at Florida International (‘80), Mainieri played two minor-league seasons before earning a master’s in sports administration from St. Thomas in 1982.
Born Aug. 29, 1957, in Morgantown, W.Va., Mainieri and wife Karen have four children: Nicholas (22, a senior student assistant coach on the 2006 Irish squad). Alexandra (21, who will be a senior at Ball State in 2006-07), Samantha (19, who has been accepted at Notre Dame for her sophomore year in ‘06-‘07) and Notre Dame’s spirited batboy Thomas (11, born two days before Mainieri accepted the position at Notre Dame).
“We will play our final season in historic Alex Box Stadium next year,” Bertman said, “and we will move into a new Alex Box Stadium in 2008. It will take a special person to bridge the great past and the promising future of Tiger Baseball. I am proud to introduce Paul Mainieri as that person to you today.”
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| Harold Silverman |
Harold Silverman, formerly interim vice chancellor of research and graduate studies and interim dean of the Graduate School, has been appointed to the position of dean of the Graduate School at LSU.
Last fall, LSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Risa Palm appointed a committee of distinguished faculty to study the operations of the Graduate School and make recommendations about its governance. This committee was chaired by Boyd Professor Jimmie Lawson of mathematics, who was also the chair of the Graduate Council. The committee consulted widely, and recommended the continuation of a centralized Graduate School led by a strong dean.
Palm said, “Harold Silverman is uniquely qualified to lead the Graduate School as we place ever greater emphasis on graduate education as an important part of the Flagship Agenda. We are fortunate to have a person of Harold’s qualifications and experience available to us to lead this important endeavor.”
Chancellor Sean O’Keefe added, “Dr. Silverman has served LSU with great distinction, creativity and thoughtfulness in a variety of capacities. We are most pleased to be the beneficiaries of his continued leadership in the important role of dean of the Graduate School to bolster LSU graduate studies and research opportunities.”
Silverman came to LSU in 1981 as an assistant professor of zoology and physiology. He became associate professor in 1986, associate dean of the College of Basic Sciences in 1988 and served as interim dean of the College of Basic Sciences from 1989-1990. He was named a professor in 1990, served as chair of the Department of Biological Sciences from 1997-1999, was appointed interim dean of the College of Basic Sciences in 1999 and was named permanent dean of the college in 2000. He was appointed vice provost for arts, sciences and engineering in January of 2004. In November of 2004, Silverman was appointed interim vice chancellor for research and graduate studies and interim dean of the Graduate School.
Silverman received a bachelor of science degree in zoology from the University of Michigan in 1972. He received a master of science degree in microbiology in 1974 and a doctorate in zoology in 1977, both from Ohio University. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Toronto from 1977-1980 on a Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Brooks Keel, former associate vice president for research at Florida State University, has been appointed as the new vice chancellor for research and economic development at LSU, effective July 17. The position Keel will take over combines the Office of Research with an enhanced role in economic development, placing even more emphasis on the university’s role as an economic engine for Louisiana.
As vice chancellor, Keel will lead the university’s research and economic initiatives and activities, including expanding research funding opportunities for faculty and students, encouraging entrepreneurial activity and broadening LSU’s technology transfer operations and partnerships with statewide business organizations in support of long-term economic development for Louisiana. He will coordinate the work of more than 1,300 faculty involved in approximately 2,000 sponsored research projects, and will oversee the areas of LSU’s budget that deal with externally funded grants and programs.
“We are pleased to welcome Brooks Keel to LSU and the wealth of experience he brings to this important post,” Chancellor Sean O’Keefe said. “His role at LSU will be key in our efforts to improve intellectual property procedures. I am confident that he will actively promote collaboration between our research faculty and entrepreneurs who seek to bring research to the marketplace. Bringing cutting-edge research to the public is good for LSU, Louisiana and society at large.”
At FSU, Keel was responsible for facilitating and administering research efforts campus-wide across the university’s 16 colleges and schools. Along with being associate vice president for research, Keel was also vice president of the FSU Research Foundation and professor of biomedical sciences in the FSU College of Medicine.
“Brooks Keel brings to LSU outstanding qualifications and know-how to further support and enhance the research of LSU faculty and students,” said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Risa Palm. “He will help us accelerate the University forward and achieve the goals of the Flagship Agenda by increasing research opportunities and productivity.”
Keel earned a bachelor of science degree in biology/chemistry in 1978 from Augusta College in Georgia and a doctorate in reproductive endocrinology in 1982 from the Medical College of Georgia. He has held positions at the University of Texas Medical School, the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, where he established the Women’s Research Institute and the Reproductive Medicine Laboratories. At the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, he rose through the ranks to become a tenured professor and then associate dean for research. He was also the first recipient of the Daniel K. Roberts Distinguished Professorship at UKSM-W.
Keel’s research focus is in the area of reproductive medicine; specifically, on the control of cellular growth and development of reproductive tissues, and improving the reliability of male infertility testing. He has authored more than 75 scientific publications and book chapters and has edited four books on reproductive medicine and biology.
Keel serves on the board of directors of the American Board of Bioanalysis and the board of registry of the American Association of Bioanalysts. He is board certified as a high-complexity clinical laboratory director and played a key role in establishing national certification requirements for high-complexity clinical laboratory directors in the specialties of embryology and andrology.
He is a member of many professional organizations, including the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Society for the Study of Reproduction and the Endocrine Society.
Chacko John, director of the Louisiana Geological Survey, or LGS, and state geologist for Louisiana, was elected president-elect of the Association of American State Geologists, or AASG, at the annual meeting of the association in June. He will serve as president of the organization for 2007-2008, the AASG’s centennial year.
As president-elect, John will be responsible for arranging biannual AASG liaison meetings with federal agencies and other related geological institutions. John, who came to LSU in 1987, has served as director of the LGS and state geologist since 1997. He holds a Ph.D. in coastal subsurface geology and has worked in the oil and gas industry and academia for more than 35 years.
The AASG is an organization of the chief executives of the state geological surveys in 50 states and Puerto Rico. Since 1908, the group has met regularly to discuss issues of common interest to the state surveys and to initiate united actions when warranted. The responsibilities of the various state surveys differ from state to state, depending upon the enabling legislation and the traditions under which the survey evolved.
The LGS was formed by the Louisiana legislature in 1934 to investigate the geology and resources of the state and has been housed at LSU since its inception.
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Participants in the Delta Express Program working on cards for their mothers. |
Eleven months after two devastating hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast, things are still not back to normal. But life is especially different in Baker, La.’s FEMA relocation trailer community, known as Renaissance Village.
More than 520 white trailers polka dot the 62-acre backdrop. Wood shavings replace the floors of the two tents assembled for children and adults to meet, play or talk. A chain link fence stands for the wall. Picnic tables substitute for desks. And, a tent serves as the classroom.
The tents are only temporary, standing in for several mobile trailer classrooms. But Louisiana’s heat doesn’t stop LSU students from investing their evenings in tutoring the children who now reside in Renaissance Village.
The LSU students are part of a hurricane relief outreach effort known as The Delta Express Program, a joint venture between the LSU College of Education, the University of California Berkeley’s UC Links project, Tulane University, and several other groups that are signing on to participate.
The Delta Express Program addresses both educational and social needs of underserved children displaced by the hurricanes by offering formal and informal learning activities that the children themselves consider “fun.”
“Basically, we make it fun and let the kids be creative,” said Jolanta “Jola” Smolen, a graduate student from Poland in LSU’s College of Education who is interested in international education. As Smolen handed out arts and crafts supplies for the children’s project, she said “The kids are making cards for their mothers today, using digital cameras, editing their photos and making them look cool with Photoshop.”
The Delta Express Program has been active since April after a series of meetings with parents to discover what they thought their children needed and didn’t need. Currently working with 12 to 15 students nightly, the program is growing in popularity.
“Every day we get new kids and new parents who stop by and want to know what we are doing and how they can sign up. I think they are starting to realize that we are here to stay,” added Smolen.
After its opening in October, Renaissance Village became a temporary home for about 2,000 hurricane evacuees. And, while no one is completely sure about the ever-changing number, most agree that a third of the residents are younger than 18.
With so many young residents with so many needs, the village caught the eye of philanthropist-comedienne Rosie O’Donnell. Through funds raised by the For All Kids Foundation, O’Donnell donated three mobile classrooms to Renaissance Village for the estimated 500 school-age kids that live there.
They arrived in early December, but FEMA is still in the process of setting up the classrooms. Computer banks were also donated by a local physician and the Virtue Foundation, but as yet there are no electrical hookups for the computers. Once everything is assembled and connected, many learning programs like Head Start and Early Head Start along with after-school programs like The Delta Express Program will benefit from the less temporary, air conditioned space.
“ The school trailers should be open soon—once we get a room and out of the tent we can do more organized learning; we can do lessons; we will have computers and can do projects the kids can come back to the next day,” said Sherri Taylor, the on-site coordinator for the project with 19 years of experience in special education and English as a second language. Taylor will graduate from the College of Education this summer with a master’s of education focused on educational technology.
Taylor added how she is anxious to do activities with the students that focus on literacy building. “We want to work with them on writing stories and using computers to do it. They can read each other’s stories and help each other. It would be really important for these kids to have a place where they can save their files every day and come back to it.”
But, the LSU and UC Berkeley groups didn’t want to wait until the trailers were assembled and ready to start working. College of Education Professor Jerry Willis said, “We started having meetings about this project last October. We must have had 20 different meetings talking about what we were going to do while waiting for the trailers to be set up. Finally, we just decided we didn’t need any more meetings or a trailer, we just needed to start helping these children.”
Charles Underwood, executive director of the UC Links program, said, “Basically, Jerry and I felt like we needed to get this off the ground. We can’t talk about serving larger numbers of kids in Louisiana if we can’t break through the bureaucracy and help the ones right here.”
In operation since 1986, UC Links is a network of educational programs throughout the University of California System that connect community and university partners to provide computer-based and other learning activities for school children in low-income communities throughout California. Underwood and Willis collaborated to adapt educational activities and resources from the UC Links models to the situation in Louisiana.
Underwood said that it was not easy to set up the Delta Express Program in Renaissance Village. “The difficulty in putting this work together is greater than I have seen before because we usually have something to build on, even in very low-income communities. But in this community, we have not had any type of infrastructure to build on,” Underwood said.
Renaissance Village had no computers, no electrical outlets, no electricity, no air conditioning, and, no building or rooms available for use on a regular basis for educational activities. Weary from waiting and hoping, the group came together.
“ We pooled our resources, got a handful of people together, did some training sessions, and got the program off the ground,” said Underwood.
The students that come to the tent are devoted, said Taylor. “One little girl has a two-hour bus ride from school. The minute she jumps off the steps of the bus, she heads straight to the tent.”
And, while some children are in the tent doing a project, getting help with homework, or reading, others are riding their bikes or playing games outside. At best, this only accounts for about 50 children, bringing up the question, where are the rest of the estimated 500 residents under the age of 18?
Many of the children in the park have been through tremendous social and emotional stress – losing relatives, struggling to survive in the aftermath of Katrina, and then moving several times from one temporary shelter to another.
“ We don’t push the kids to participate; we’re here, we’re consistent, and we accept and encourage the children,” said Willis. “Kids may be afraid, depressed, angry, upset, and more. We help them work through that and involve them in learning without lots of pressure.”
“ Computers are a real magnet for kids these days,” Underwood said. “These kids know that other kids have computers and that other communities have these kinds of resources….it can be a source of real engagement for the kids, especially kids that are struggling in school.”
Taylor said they are trying to reach out to as many school age children as they can.
“ It is exciting to see that we are affecting lives. I can only imagine the impact we would have if a technology rich environment were available for us to engage more with the students,” Taylor said.
Smolen added that while the tent is hot and not the ideal situation that it is in a great location to recruit, as she pointed to the basketball court nearby.
Smolen added that the ice chests were a necessity in the heat and were a first attraction for some of the kids, “But, mind you, we had some parents that were very adamant about us not handing out sugary sodas and candy...very adamant.” Instead, they offer iced down water, juices, and healthy snacks.
Like a camp or picnic, the tutoring center has an air of fun to it because it is so different from a classroom. It also gives new meaning to the term “field work,” proving to be a truly unique learning experience for the soon-to-be teachers.
Emily Johnson, a tutor originally from New Orleans, works at the tent two days a week. She is majoring in elementary education with a concentration in astronomy and oceanography. While cutting shapes out of construction paper and handing them to a student, she said she enjoys working with the children because they are “so sweet” and “just good kids.”
“ It is a lot different out here from what people assume,” said Johnson, recalling friends’ worries about her safety while at the village. “It is just so different than what you hear. And, the kids love having us here.”
After hearing Johnson’s comments, Carol Bell, a librarian at LSU who has worked with The Delta Express Program since the beginning, joined the conversation, saying, “People need to know how sweet these kids are.”
Like Bell and Johnson, the tutors are dedicated to this project and have built an incredible bond with the students. As a New Orleans native, Johnson views her efforts with The Delta Express Program as her way of “helping get the city back, to rebuild in some way.”
As a little girl hovers above her shoulders peeking at her project, Amanda Maddox said her reasoning was a little different.
“ I am helping but I am also getting experience on better ways of teaching, too,” Maddox said. “I want to give back to the community that I live in now, even if I am not from here.” Originally from Atlanta, Maddox is a math major with a concentration in secondary education.
There are also tutors who are not in the College of Education. For instance, Kyra Brown is getting a general studies degree with minors in sociology, psychology and corrections. LSU Libraries is also active in the village and The Delta Express Project. The students participating in the program all receive specialized training from LSU and its partner, the University of California at Berkeley, which has operated a similar program in the Oakland schools for more than 10 years. There is also a great deal of parental and community involvement in the group as well.
The College of Education is dedicated to fostering this hope to bring about a true renaissance for the children of the village, helping them rise above catastrophe and achieve the better futures of which they dream.