- Physics-Departmental-Computing

Wolfram (the mail I hate to send)
by David Colling 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Dear Jo, Kenny and Angus (cc'ing the Deparmental Computing list because of our discussions today), We have pricing through from Wolfram for the next "Comprehensive Deal". If I put these figures into a spreadsheet and assume that we keep the same number of licenses but have them all as Network Licenses, then the figures are as attached. I think that this is a reasonable approach as generally people want more licenses and were planning to increase the numbers however that would be more than compensated for by us moving to roaming licenses. Wolfram are quoting a figure of £13,782.50 for a departmental licenses. At the Departmental Computing Meeting this lunchtime there was much feeling that as a department we should have a license if it is at all possible and that it did rather make us look bad when people come here from elsewhere. John Conway expressed that it would be very useful for academics producing teaching material as they have nice tools for animations etc. I have also had undergraduates asking about it. Basically, is now the time for us to buy a departmental license? With some deal being made between the Department and the groups who already use it (and those would like to) etc. I suspect that the answer is that it is - even though I hate the idea after all that has happened with Wolfram. The only downside that I can see is that the departmental license would have to be negotiated every year as things currently stand, whereas the Comprehensive agreement is fixed for three years. I could ask if we can fix this for three years which I suspect that they might be willing to do. We need to make this decision quite quickly as the current agreement expires over the summer. Note that all prices are ex-VAT. Any thoughts would be welcome. Best, david

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Fwd: FW: MINUTES OF THE DEPARTMENTAL COMPUTING COMMITTEE MEETING 14 12 11 rev1
by David Colling 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Dear All, The minutes as prepared by Vivienne (thanks Vivienne!). best, david -------- Original Message -------- Subject: FW: MINUTES OF THE DEPARTMENTAL COMPUTING COMMITTEE MEETING 14 12 11 rev1 Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:33:37 +0000 From: Frater, Vivienne A <v.frater(a)imperial.ac.uk> To: Colling, David J <d.colling(a)imperial.ac.uk> CC: Frater, Vivienne A <v.frater(a)imperial.ac.uk> Dear David, Please see attached the minutes of the last meeting for you to check and distribute to the committee, if there are no amendments that you wish to make. Kind regards, *Vivienne* Vivienne Frater Departmental Facilities Manager Room 216, Blackett Laboratory Imperial College London Prince Consort Road London SW7 2AZ Tel: 0207 594 7888 Fax: 0207 594 5470 v.frater(a)imperial.ac.uk

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Location and agenda for this lunchtime's meeting
by David Colling 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Dear All, This afternoon's meeting will be in Blackett 532 starting at 12:30. I suspect that it will be reasonably quick as we have no big items of which I am aware at least. - Matters arising and actions - Huxley machine room space (what people are doing) - Desktop replacements - Teaching review - Licensing - News from ICT - News from groups. - AOB Best, david

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Meeting on Thursday Lunchtime
by David Colling 17 Apr '12

17 Apr '12

Dear All, It appears that the best day is this Thursday so I think that we should go with that. I am in a meeting at the moment and so will circulate an agenda tomorrow. Please send any agenda items. I have no surprises but the usual items. Best, david

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Fwd: RE: On a plane etc
by David Colling 16 Apr '12

16 Apr '12

Hi, Several people asked about using mathematica while travelling if we are reliant on network licenses and it appears that Wolfram have decided that people who use the network licenses can still have a standalone home license as they do now. This was the opposite of what was said in the meeting but I think should answer some of the fears expressed. Best, david -------- Original Message -------- Subject: RE: On a plane etc Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:27:56 -0500 (CDT) From: Paul Barnett <paulb(a)wolfram.com> To: 'David Colling' <d.colling(a)imperial.ac.uk> Hi David, I have spoken to customer services and it will still be possible for staff to have a standalone home use licence if they wish on their personally owned laptop. This will be allocated in exactly the same way as it is now. The inclusion of the ability to remote desktop/VPN to the licence manager will be just an added benefit Kind Regards Paul *From:*david.colling@gmail.com [mailto:david.colling@gmail.com] *On Behalf Of *David Colling *Sent:* 13 April 2012 17:38 *To:* Paul Barnett *Subject:* Re: On a plane etc Yes exactly that. Is there a solution? On Apr 13, 2012 11:16 AM, "Paul Barnett" <paulb(a)wolfram.com <mailto:paulb@wolfram.com>> wrote: Hi David, Good to meet you too. So are you saying that they are concerned that if they were unable to get a VPN or remote connection they would not be able to access Mathematica? Regards Paul Barnett Wolfram Research Europe Ltd ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Colling" <d.colling(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:d.colling@imperial.ac.uk>> To: paulb(a)wolfram.com <mailto:paulb@wolfram.com> Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 5:41:37 PM Subject: On a plane etc Hi Paul, Good to meet you today. I have been mailing the different group reps in physics and the greatest horror seems to be that they would not be able to use Mathemtaica when travelling in the new regeme if the have a network license. Is this actually true or is there a way around this? I am sure that this is something that has been considered at Wolfram. Best, david

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Wolfram and Doodle
by David Colling 12 Apr '12

12 Apr '12

Hi, I have cc'ed Jo and Kenny just to keep them informed about the Wolfram situation. A (not so) quick summary of this morning's meeting with Wolfram would be: - The current three year "comprehensive" deal expires at the end of August. This may be changed to the beginning of August to make college accounting easier. College would not loose money in such a deal. - Currently Physics spends £9,483.60 pa for the following licenses 55 Single Machine Licenses 3 License managers 17 Network Increments (i.e. movable seat licenses) - Physics is about half of the college spending on Mathematica with no other single department being significant. I also believe that there are some copies out there not purchased through the scheme but am not sure (I can think of one in HEP). - The comprehensive deal will change next time around. The changes include: o currently people who have it installed on their machines and use it with a roaming seat license are entitled to a home edition free that they can use on their laptop/at home etc which doesn't contact the license server and so doesn't count against the total. However in future this will not work in future and their extra installations must be able to contact the license server over the network and so count against the total number of seats. o the price has remained fixed over the last couple of rounds of three year deals but will go up slightly this time around. I was promised prices by Monday. - As we have discussed in our meetings, I suggested that we would probably like to change the balance of Single Machine Licenses to network increment licenses with ICT running the license servers. All were happy with this and if this is the approach that we take it is expected that some fraction of the rest of college would follow us. - The cost of an unlimited license for a department or group of departments (or even whole site) is dependent only on the number of UG and PG students registered on "technical courses" - apparently the medics are not technical but the business school is. - For Physics alone the cost would be ~£14K pa - an increase of ~50%. For FoNS as a whole ~£20K - so this is definitely a non-starter. Similarly all of college would be ~£30K which is more than £10K more than we are already spending. - I promised to get back to Wolfram with the expected ratio of single machine to network licenses. - Wolfram are keen to sell us unlimited access and so the gentleman from Wolfram suggested that he "might be able to [me] do a deal" which brings the cost down once we know the ratio of fixed to network licenses i.e. how much we expect to pay next time around in our current circumstances. - If we were to get an unlimited license, it would have to be negotiated on an annual basis and would not be part of a three year deal. - If physics do buy unlimited access then all the students would have a single shared key, whereas academics would have to apply for individual keys. It is almost as though Wolfram would be encouraging students to share it against the license agreement, especially with students in other departments. - If physics where to get an unlimited license it could change (increase) the pricing deal for the rest of college as there would be fewer licenses overall in the comprehensive pot. - As well as Mathematica College also buy 16 licenses for WebMathematica which allows Mathematica to be run through a webportal (it was assumed that these are used for teaching). There were a few other subtleties but that was the bones of the meeting and your feedback would be most welcome. I expect to meet the chap from Wolfram again on the 25th of this month. Now for planning the next meeting ... The promised Doodle poll for the next meeting can be found at http://www.doodle.com/6n2yqscddaatep4n we have a visit from the grants panel on the Friday 27th of April and so that is out for me. Best, david

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(Urgent) Wolfram and others (less urgent) matters
by David Colling 11 Apr '12

11 Apr '12

Dear All, I know that we didn't have a Departmental Computing Meeting last term. This was largely because I had a huge workload and so I apologise. I suggest that we have one before term starts that can cover both terms (we can always have one after the exams are over if needed). I will set up a doodle poll tomorrow. We have a meeting with Wolfram on Thursday and it would be very useful to have a list of what Mathematica Licenses we have currently and how many we would like in a perfect world. So if each group could drop me an email before 10:30 on Thursday (the meeting is at 11am) with this information i would be very grateful. Best, david

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Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] FW: Computing committee meeting Wednesday 30 November
by David Colling 27 Mar '12

27 Mar '12

Hi Harry, This is a good point. I am forwarding this to the list to see how many people it effects. I also need confirm the arrangements for my own children. Please let me know if this means you will not be able to make the meeting. Best, david On 21/11/11 10:21, Vine, Harry A wrote: > Hi David, > Wednesday 30^th November. > Do you wish to suggest changing the date of our Computing Committee > meeting as some may not be here and those with children may have to be > away because of school closures suggest definetely check again with Kenny > /-//Trade unions have called a collective day of strike action on 30 > November, warning the government that Britain faces the "biggest > mobilisation in a generation" unless ministers rethink "hugely damaging" > changes to public sector pension schemes./ > /Up to 3 million public sector workers, including nurses, teachers and > careworkers, are expected to take part in industrial action, with at > least 14 unions committed to strikes over government pension reforms./ > Best wishes > Harry > -----Original Message----- > From: physics-departmental-computing-bounces(a)imperial.ac.uk > [mailto:physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk] On Behalf > Of David Colling > Sent: 08 November 2011 09:52 > To: Weir, Kenny > Cc: physics-departmental-computing; Williams, Matthew A; Roberts, Chris > Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing committee meeting > Thanks Kenny, > Lets make the date Wednesday the 30th of November at 12:30. I will book > a location (I expect it will Blackett 532 but will check when I get back > from Brussels tonight). > Best, > david > On 07/11/11 15:53, Weir, Kenny wrote: >> Dear David, >> >> My apologies that I hadn't responded to your request. >> >> At present I can make either of the dates you suggest. >> >> Regards, >> >> Kenny >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: David Colling [mailto:d.colling@imperial.ac.uk] >> Sent: 07 November 2011 14:53 >> To: physics-departmental-computing; Weir, Kenny; Roberts, Chris; > Williams, Matthew A >> Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing committee meeting >> >> Hi All, >> >> The doodle poll has either Monday the 14th or Wednesday the 30th as the >> clear winners. I have a slight preference for Wednesday the 30th but can >> manage either. However there is no reply from Kenny Weir and I think >> that we need Kenny (or somebody to represent him) for the machine room >> update. >> >> So Kenny, can you make either of these dates? >> >> Best, >> david >> >> >> On 01/11/11 21:24, David Colling wrote: >> > Dear All, >> > >> > I think that now the start of term is a distant memory and Christmas is >> > not yet in our sites, we should have a Physics Computing Committee > meeting. >> > >> > I have created a doodle poll at http://www.doodle.com/nhkdwga64sh926ig >> > >> > Clearly meeting times evolve and so I would rather have this meeting as >> > soon as is reasonable so that people don't become unfree on days when >> > they have said that they are free. The meeting will be held at lunchtime >> > (I am easy as to whether we start 12:10 or 12:30 we can discuss). I >> > would like to keep this reasonably short but I think that we actually >> > have quite a few things that I would like to cover this meeting - so a >> > business like approach will be essential. These include: >> > >> > - Actions arising - I wouldn't normally explicitly add this but there >> > are quite a lot from the previous meeting! >> > >> > - Status and plans for the Huxley machine room replacement. I have cc'ed >> > Kenny specifically for this item so we shall try to do it early in the >> > agenda. >> > >> > - Security (similarly early in the agenda). Chris Roberts gave a talk to >> > the faculty IT committee and I think that something similar would be >> > useful here. Matthew Williams is taking over the security brief (along >> > with others that he has) from Chris. I have cc'ed both on this mail but >> > have only asked Matthew in advance (sorry Chris). >> > >> > - Data preservation and access. This is becoming increasingly important >> > in RCUK policy and is something that we have to make sure that we comply >> > with. I will post the RCUK rules in an appropriate place (see some >> > comments below). >> > >> > - A report on the current discussions of the computing part of the >> > teaching review. This will be very limited as it is far from finalised >> > but it will be good to get informal feedback from this group. It is of >> > course up to other bodies to ultimately decide what happens here and so >> > this will be informal. >> > >> > - Lecture theatre AV facilities >> > >> > - Then there will agenda items suggested by others - please send items >> > that you want discussed. >> > >> > - The perennial items (ICT status and plans, group round up etc) >> > >> > Vivienne has sent me the minutes of the previous meeting. I would like >> > to post these and other documents on a web site rather than fill >> > everybody's inbox. We used to have a web page for the departmental >> > computing committee (which was rather out of date) but this has >> > disappeared - or rather I cannot find it any more. Does it make sense to >> > move this to sharepoint or would people rather see the old website >> > resurrected? >> > >> > Best, >> > david >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list >> > Physics-Departmental-Computing(a)imperial.ac.uk >> > https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computing >> > _______________________________________________ > Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list > Physics-Departmental-Computing(a)imperial.ac.uk > https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computing

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Fwd: FW: ERC funded RA and Research Assistant positions - Endres group, Imperial
by David Colling 13 Mar '12

13 Mar '12

Please circulate to anybody who might be interested.... -------- Original Message -------- Subject: FW: ERC funded RA and Research Assistant positions - Endres group, Imperial Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:18:46 +0000 From: Butcher, Sarah A <s.butcher(a)imperial.ac.uk> To: Colling, David J <d.colling(a)imperial.ac.uk>, Clements, Dave L <d.clements(a)imperial.ac.uk> Dear Dave and Dave One of my colleagues over in the Centre for Bioinformatics has a couple of posts open that might be of interest to physicists with an interest in moving in a more biological area. Robert himself is a physicist by training. Please can you circulate, if you haven’t already seem this doing the rounds. Best wishes Sarah -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Dr Sarah Butcher Head, Bioinformatics Support Service (BSS) Room 301, Centre for Bioinformatics, Biochemistry Building, Division of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences South Kensington Campus Imperial College London SW72AZ +44 (0)20 759 45734 www.imperial.ac.uk/bioinfsupport -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- *From:*Bioinformat *Sent:* 13 March 2012 10:28 *Subject:* ERC funded RA and Research Assistant positions - Endres group, Imperial We currently have two positions available in the Endres Group on an ERC funded project – please circulate as appropriate. Please see attached and below for further details. *Imperial College London*** ** *Faculty of Natural Sciences* ** *Division of Molecular Biosciences*** *Position 1: Research Associate in Theoretical Biological Physics* *Salary: £31,300 - £39,920 per annum* ** Applications are invited for a 3-year postdoctoral research position at Imperial College London to quantitatively model sensing, signalling, and adaptation in eukaryotic cells as related to chemotaxis. The position is funded by a prestigious Starting Grant of the European Research Council (ERC) to investigate physical principles in current biological problems and is one of several to be filled. The successful candidate will join the multidisciplinary group of Dr. Robert Endres at the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (CISBIO), located at our South Kensington campus between Hyde Park and the Science/Natural History Museum. The group works on a wide range of data-driven as well as fundamental problems in biology in collaboration with experimental biologists. For additional information, see http://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/r.endres <http://www.imperial.ac.uk/%20people/r.endres>. You must have a PhD degree in Physics, Mathematics, Bioengineering, Computational Biology or related field or have equivalent level of professional qualifications and experience. You must have experience in programming with C/C++ or a similar compiler language, as well as higher-level languages such as Matlab, Mathematica, or Maple. An in depth knowledge in statistical and biological physics as well as computational biology are essential. You must have experience of working in a team, the ability to develop and apply new concepts and have a creative approach to problem-solving. You must also have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to write clearly and succinctly for publication. For initial enquiries please contact Dr Robert Endres by email: r.endres(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:r.endres@imperial.ac.uk> Our preferred method of application is online via our website http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment(please select “Job Search” then enter the job title or vacancy reference number including spaces – NS 2012 048 DPN into “Keywords”). Please complete and upload an application form as directed. Alternatively, if you are unable to apply online, please contact Dr Louise English bioinformatics(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:bioinformatics@imperial.ac.uk>by email to request an application form. *Closing date: 23 March 2012* *Position 2: **Research Assistant in Theoretical Biological Physics* ** *Salary: £**27,400 – £30,450 per annum* ** Applications are invited for a 3 year Research Assistant position at Imperial College London, to quantitatively model sensing and signalling in bacteria. The position is funded by a prestigious Starting Grant of the European Research Council (ERC) to investigate physical principles in current biological problems and is one of several to be filled. The successful candidate will join the multidisciplinary group of Dr. Robert Endres at the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (CISBIO), located at our South Kensington campus, between Hyde Park and the Science/Natural History Museum. The group works on a wide range of data-driven as well as fundamental problems in biology in collaboration with experimental biologists. For additional information, see http://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/r.endres <http://www.imperial.ac.uk/%20people/r.endres>. You must have a Masters degree in Physics, Mathematics, Bioengineering, Computational Biology or a related field. Knowledge in statistical and biological physics and computational biology are essential, as well as expertise in various modeling techniques. You should also have programming skills, ideally in C/C++, and a scripting language such as Matlab, Mathematica or Maple. You must be interested in undertaking a PhD, as it is a condition of your employment that you should be registered for a higher research degree at the College. This post is available immediately. For initial enquiries please contact Dr Robert Endres email: r.endres(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:r.endres@imperial.ac.uk> Our preferred method of application is online via our website http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment(please select “Job Search” then enter the job title or vacancy reference number including spaces – NS 2012 051 DPN into “Keywords”). Please complete and upload an application form as directed. Alternatively, if you are unable to apply online, please contact Dr Louise English bioinformatics(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:bioinformatics@imperial.ac.uk>by email to request an application form. *Closing date: 27 March 2012* Committed to equality and valuing diversity. We are also an Athena Bronze SWAN Award winner, a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Two Ticks Employer. Regards, Louise Dr Louise English CISBIO Scientific Project Manager Centre for Integrative Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (CISBIO) (Post to:- Sir Ernst Chain Building – Wolfson Laboratories) Division of Molecular Biosciences Faculty of Natural Sciences Imperial College London SW7 2AZ,UK bioinformatics(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:bioinformatics@imperial.ac.uk> www.imperial.ac.uk/cisbio <http://www.imperial.ac.uk/cisbio> Tel +44 (0)20 7594 5715; Fax +44 (0)20 7594 5789

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Move out of Huxley machine room
by David Colling 15 Dec '11

15 Dec '11

Dear All, I was slightly concerned at yesterday's meeting about the proposed proliferation of small machine rooms. I feel that it would be much better, for many reasons, if we could have one medium sized room - perhaps half or a third of the size the current machine room. The problem then (obviously) is finding such a room. Surely there must a student common room that we haven't shutdown already that we can use? Best, david

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