NCSA Headline News

• G. Carl Evans, Brandon Moore and Albert Sidelnik, Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will give a three-part presentation titled "Studies in Array Languages and their Compliers" at 4 p.m. Nov. 18 (TODAY) in Room 2405 of Siebel Center, 201 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana. This event is sponsored by Universal Parallel Computing Research Center and will be streamed live at http://media.cs.uiuc.edu/live/upcrc0910/upcrc1119dm2338.asx. A live chat at http://www.upcrc.illinois.edu/chat/ will also be available.

NCSA sponsors three recognition programs designed to spotlight and reward employees who have made outstanding contributions to the center. The NCSA Service Recognition Award addresses the quantity of years spent within the organization. The HPC Award allows for timely and informal recognition for small feats that still have a big impact within the NCSA culture or to our various communities and affiliates. The NCSA Excellence Award includes several categories and gives accolades for employees who demonstrate excellence in their technical, collaborative and supportive roles within NCSA.

Go to https://internal.ncsa.uiuc.edu/mis/recognition/ to read more about the awards and to nominate someone for recognition for their accomplishments between May 2008 and May 2009.

The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration will be closed from Dec. 24-Jan. 1, reopening at 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 4. All non-Grants.gov proposals that require submission during the holiday closure must be provided to OSPRA by Dec. 16.
 
OSPRA also recommends a significant lead time for review and submission of proposals through Grants.gov. Grants.gov proposals with deadlines that fall within the holiday office closure should also be submitted to OSPRA by Dec. 16. 
 
Also, let OSPRA know if you are in the process of talking with any companies about placing an agreement before the end of the year.  Many companies will want an invoice so they can close their books before the end of the financial quarter/year.  OSPRA will work with Grants & Contracts Post-Award to accomplish this but advance notice is needed.

• Don't assume your messages are private. Third party clients for AOL, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk and other IM networks don't encrypt information, making conversations available to anyone. But NCSA's Zimbra Jabber IM service and the new University-supported Illinois Chat, http://www.cites.illinois.edu/illinoischat/index.html, requires encryption to chat with colleagues.
• Also, remember that both your client and the person the other end may be logging conversations. This is the default behavior for many IM clients. Zimbra's IM server can log conversations for you as well. Logged messages can exist in multiple places for years.
• Be informed about malware spread via instant messaging. To learn more about malware and how to take precautions against it, visit http://www.cites.illinois.edu/security/imvirus.html.

NCSA is seeking a visiting research scientist position to support frontier research using high-performance computing technology in computational chemistry and to transfer this knowledge to academic and industrial communities through direct interaction (advanced user support projects, such as discipline-specific chemistry support, advanced user support project, training workshops), publications, and workshops.

Required Education, Training & Experience:

• MS in Chemistry or related field required (PhD preferred). Alternative degree fields will be considered/accepted if accompanied by equivalent experience (depending on nature and depth of experience as it relates to current NCSA technologies).
• 3-5 years experience with parallel programming (for example MPI, OpenMP) and research in computational chemistry (software, techniques and technologies, including ab initio, semi-empirical and/or molecular dynamics techniques)
• 3-5 years experience working with HPC technologies, web technologies and algorithms
• Experience using high-performance computers to model physical processes or otherwise solve large-scale science problems as well as experience using multiple computational platforms in one or more of the following languages: Fortran, C, C++
• Ability to problem solve creatively, build & maintain collaborative efforts, write proposals and excellent communication skills (written and verbal)

Preferred Experience:

• Postdoctoral research experience in computational chemistry
• Experience adapting computational chemistry codes to diverse architectures, such as Cell, GPUs, etc.
• Knowledge of research field, ability to bridge several disciplines, ability to work with fellow scientist and administrators, experience supervising student research.
• A record for writing proposals for funding and publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as a proven track record of presentations at professional meetings.

This is a visiting academic professional position (covered by a collective bargaining agreement) at NCSA and is a renewable 12-month, 100%-time appointment with regular University benefits (may become permanent at a later date). Salary is commensurate with experience and start date will be as soon as possible after the close date of the search. Interviews may be conducted before the closing date, although no hiring decisions will be made until after the search has closed.

For full consideration, please create your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a letter of application, resume, and three letters of recommendation by the close date, Dec. 6, 2009. All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered. For further information regarding our application procedures, you may visit http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu, contact NCSA at (217) 265-0618 or email career@ncsa.uiuc.edu.

NCSA is seeking a visiting research programmer to provide technical support to the NCSA and TeraGrid high-performance user community via the National Consulting Office. This includes, but is not limited to, providing prompt response to users’ problems and needs, writing online documentation and technical articles, and collaborating with researchers in academia and industry on computational projects.

Required Education, Training and Experience:

• BA/BS degree in computational/computer science, engineering or related field required (advanced degree preferred).  Alternative degree fields will be considered/accepted if accompanied by equivalent experience (depending on nature and depth of experience as it relates to current NCSA technologies
• Proficiency w/ various HPC languages and parallel computing (MPI, OpenMP, etc)
• Knowledge of advanced computer architectures, optimizing compilers, and performance analysis tools
• Basic background in numerical computation, working knowledge of script languages and advanced computing skills in UNIX operating system required
• 1-2 years of experience in scientific programming required (3 years preferred)

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in technical user support with an interest and commitment to helping other users be as productive as possible
• Experience using high-performance computers to solve large-scale science problems and running highly parallel programs
• Experience using multiple computational platforms and Fortran, C, C++
• Experience in developing and delivering technical training materials and web-based technical documentation

This is a visiting academic professional position (covered by a collective bargaining agreement) at NCSA and is a renewable 12-month, 100%-time appointment with regular University benefits (may become permanent at a later date).  Salary is commensurate with experience and start date will be as soon as possible after the close date of the search.  Interviews may be conducted before the closing date, although no hiring decisions will be made until after the search has closed.

For full consideration, please create your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a letter of application, resume, and three letters of recommendation by Nov. 30, 2009. All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered. 

If you haven't registered for Illini-Alert, visit http://emergency.illinois.edu to receive text and e-mail notifications in the event of major campus emergencies.

Got the flu? The Centers for Disease Control recommends staying home and away from others for at least 24 hours after you are free of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications. For details, see http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm.

Are there new features in Microsoft Office that have you stumped? Could you use some tips to get more out of programs like Word and Excel? Would you like to pick up additional software skills that will improve your job performance? FAST3 offers many on-campus training courses for University of Illinois staff. Check out the calendar of upcoming workshops to see if one is right for you.