These hands-on classes are free for faculty and graduate students. Classes include:

• Spring Track U Visualization and Research Computing: Deep Media for Research and Education Begining Tuesday, February 2 Torgersen 1100 then Feb 10, 15, Mar 15, 16
• Introduction to Parallel MATLAB at Virginia Tech on Monday, 8 February 2010 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
• MATLAB-Based Optimization Techniques Time: 8:00am - 4:00pm, 19 February 2010 Room: 3060 Torgersen

We will also offer a Summer Matlab track (8 - 10 June) Track O - An Introduction to MATLAB and Statistical Methods (Summer Only)

A new computing system named ITHACA (ithaca.arc.vt.edu) will be opening to the VT computing community (check back here). Eight ITHACA nodes support up to 64 parallel MATLAB workers running a single program. Using parallel MATLAB can seem surprisingly easy, but there are important facts to learn about, including how you may need to restructure your code, how to run jobs interactively or in batch, and what to expect if you try to benchmark your code. Users may participate using their laptops if they have Matlab's Parallel Computing Toolbox installed. Otherwise, desktop machines will be used. This course will discuss the nuts-and-bolts of setting environments on your ITHACA account and your local machine to allow for remote job/task submission. A number of examples will be discussed.

Scott D. King, professor of geophysics in the College of Science, was invited by the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation to collaborate as a senior research fellow with other scientists at the Bayerishes Geoinstitut. King’s international colleagues are noted among the best in the world at high-pressure deep-earth research. News Story Here

Danesh K. Tafti, professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been named the William S. Cross Jr. Professor of Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. News Story Here