November 2012 - Physics-Departmental-Computing

Desperately seeking mini-projects -urgently
by David Colling 30 Nov '12

30 Nov '12

Dear Physics computing reps, OK, this is an act of some desperation because this portion of the course starts on Monday and we really could do with at least one more mini-project idea. If we don't have it it is not the end of the world as they have a choice of two already but ... So, as you know, we have changed the first year computing course so that the students treat computers as tools. All the students will, by the end of today, have been trained in the basics of python, SciPy, NumPy and matplotlib and as of next week will start on mini projects. In these mini projects they have 4 three hour sessions (and can be expected to do a little outside) where they have to investigate a physics "situation" using the new tools that they have. So what I am looking for is a physical "problem" that: - cannot be (or is difficult) to solve analytically. - can be quantifiably modelled in 12 hours (+plus a little extra outside) - uses some combination (say two or more) of linear algebra (large simultaneous equations?), numerical integration (perhaps in more than one dimension), numerical equation solving (potentially of sets of non-linear equations), fits to data andd random numbers. - is not going to disadvantage some groups because they cover the work in the first year. - Is not particle physics... Please ask around and see what ideas you can come up with this morning (or by say 1:30 when my I come out of a meeting) as I need to write it up this afternoon. If I don't get any ideas they will get another particle physics example so be warned ;-) Best, david

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Fwd: New Service from ICT - MobilEcho
by David Colling 08 Nov '12

08 Nov '12

Hi All, Something that might well be useful to those of you who have iPhones (android apparently to follow). Please circulate to your groups. Best, david -------- Original Message -------- Subject: New Service from ICT - MobilEcho Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2012 12:38:44 +0000 From: Mahadeva, Ananth <a.mahadeva(a)imperial.ac.uk> To: To All, We are pleased to offer a new service to the College staff and students. Mobilecho is a service that allows College users H: drive access on mobile devices via the internet, with enterprise level security and the same levels of convenience provided by familiar products like DropBox. In the world of network file sharing, the ubiquitous DropBox has set the standard for ease of use and functionality. However it provides inadequate security and authentication for an enterprise environment, and so has not been a product the College can recommend. Regardless of this DropBox has been widely adopted by individuals in College because of its convenience, and we have long been aware that there has been a need for a secure and supportable alternative. It is only recently that industry has begun to develop suitable products. Mobilecho is such a product and provides the convenience of DropBox with enterprise level security and integration. With the client running on a mobile device, a user can access their H: drive and content, by authenticating with their College ID and then copy view edit and files on the move. Viewing works with many common file types and document editing works if you have an appropriate app installed on your device. Documents can be added to your H: drive while on the move. Data cached on the device is encrypted and inaccessible without authentication. Whole directories can be synced, or individual files can be copied to the local device for offline viewing (iOS devices only at present and Android will follow soon). Mobilecho is available for Apple mobile devices running iOS . Android devices are also supported with a reduced but growing feature set. A short instructional video from ICT is available here <http://hml.imperial.ac.uk/Play.aspx?VideoId=69> to get you set up, and further information is provided on the FAQ page <http://www2.imperial.ac.uk/blog/ictfaq/2012/10/26/mobilecho/>. If you have any comments regarding this service please contact Ananth Mahadeva, x47589. For time being this is only open to ICTAP members (in the distribution list). We are planning to launch the service in end of November. If any departments want to be on pilot phase please let us know. Regards Ananth *Ananth Mahadeva* Imperial College South Kensington Campus London SW7 2AZ T: + 44 20 7594 7589 E: a.mahadeva(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:a.mahadeva@imperial.ac.uk> W: Imperial.ac.uk

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Origin
by Mannall, Adrian B 06 Nov '12

06 Nov '12

All, Origin v9 has very recently been released. Whilst I don't want to disrupt the teaching that uses Origin I would be interested to canvas opinion on whether you would like to move to v9 at any point before the end of this academic session. If there is an appetite for v9 then we'll need to get a few people to test it and then arrange an upgrade for the teaching clusters. We're currently holding the home use version at v8.6 so that students get the same version as that installed in the clusters. Please do let me know if there are any strong views either way. Kind regards Adrian Adrian Mannall Faculty IT Manager Faculty of Natural Sciences ICT, Imperial College London South Kensington Campus 323, Sir Ernst Chain Building - Wolfson Laboratories, Exhibition Road London SW7 2AZ Direct Dial Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 1441 College Ext'n: 41441 Mobile: +44 (0)7834 083134 Mobile Ext'n: 57974 Email: a.mannall(a)imperial.ac.uk<mailto:a.mannall@imperial.ac.uk> Web : http://www.imperial.ac.uk/

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