Formed in 2014 and active for several years thereafter, the Research Computing Advisory Council (RCAC) served as a founding and ongoing initiative to provide perspective and input on the needs of computationally intensive researchers on campus as it relates to research computing technology and direct support of research computing technology including:
- Computing elements (i.e. storage, computational hardware, and networking)
- Support staffing
- Software availability
- Communication
The RCAC advised ITS on research efforts and investments surrounding the Academic Virtual Hosting Enviroment (AVHE), OrangeGrid, the Data Center (as it relates to research computing), and future resource investments. In collaboration with the larger research community and ITS, the RCAC represented the needs of the research computing community to the University leadership.
Note: While the RCAC is no longer active as a council, it played an intricate part in the development of research computing resources at Syracuse University. Several of its members are still contributing to research computing today!
Research Computing Advisory Council Scope
The Research Computing Advisory Council (RCAC) aimed to provide perspective and input on the needs of computationally intensive researchers on campus as it relates to research computing technology and direct support of research computing technology. This includes computing elements (i.e. storage, computational hardware, and networking), support staffing, software availability, and communication. RCAC advises ITS on research efforts and investments surrounding the Academic Virtual Hosting Environment (AVHE), OrangeGrid, the Green Data Center (as it relates to research computing), and future resource investments. In collaboration with the larger research community and ITS, RCAC represented the needs of the research computing community to the university leadership. RCAC is a key participant in identifying research computing trends and directions assisting with the formation and maintenance of a sustainable model for research computing on campus.
RCAC Membership
The former members of the RCAC, including faculty, IT staff, and IT leadership, came from academic units across campus, representing diverse research needs.
- Duncan Brown
Vice President for Research; Charles Brightman Professor of Physics, Department of Physics - Arindam Chakraborty
Associate Professor, Chemistry - Robert Moucha
Assistant Professor, Earth Sciences - John Francis III Dannenhoffer
Associate Professor, Program Director of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Melissa Ann Green
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Roger B Merrill
Assistant Dean for IT Services and Facilities, School of Information Studies - Jeffrey Pitt
Director of Information Technology, The College of Arts and Sciences - Paula A Maxwell
IT Manager, School of Education - Mike Kalish
Professor, Department of Psychology - Jeffrey Saltz
Associate Professor, School of Information Studies - Pinyuen Chen
Professor, Mathematics - Eric Sedore
Associate Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology Services