GSA Technology Council

James Pepin has been named Clemson University’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Director of High Performance Computing. He will begin his duties in early February within the Office of the Vice Provost for Computing and Information Technology and CIO.

Currently, Pepin is the Chief Technology Officer at the University of Southern California and the Director of the Center for High Performance Computing and Communications in USC’s Information Technology Services organization. As CTO at USC, he has been responsible for all high performance network infrastructure and facilities. He has significant experience in determining support requirements of end users and in implementing large scale networks and high performance computing systems used for computation-intensive research.

Pepin has also worked on a number of high profile projects, including heading up the Los Angeles Access Point, a key Internet utility operated by USC’s Information Sciences Institute that serves all major Southern California colleges and Universities (including Caltech and the UC and CSU systems).

“Jim Pepin is a world-class authority on high performance computing, communications and the facilities necessary to operate at the very high-end of performance. He will help pave the way for a top-20 ranking for Clemson by leading our technical efforts to build the kind of cyberinfrastructure that is necessary for our faculty and students to perform serious computational research”, said Jim Bottum, Clemson’s Vice Provost for Computing and Information Technology and CIO.

Pepin’s role will be advisory and strategic in nature. His duties will include advising the CIO on technical issues; leading the development of Clemson’s technical roadmaps; working with the community to define our technical architecture; leading the development of Clemson’s HPC environment; serving as an adjunct in Clemson’s School of Computing; evaluating new technologies and serving on national level technical committees.

CIRCOR International, Inc. a leading provider of valves and fluid control devices for the instrumentation, thermal fluid and petrochemical markets, announced today the appointment of Richard A. Broughton to the position of Vice President and Chief Information Officer reporting to CIRCOR’s Chairman and CEO, David A. Bloss, Sr. In this newly created position, Mr. Broughton will be responsible for CIRCOR’s global information technology infrastructure and operations. Mr. Broughton comes to CIRCOR from Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. where he was Director, IT Strategy and was also Vice President, Information Technology. Prior to that, he served as Chief Information Officer of Computerworld, Inc. Mr. Broughton was recently named in CIO Magazine’s list of “2006 Ones to Watch”.
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Greenville based TiBA Solutions, a large-scale custom software development company, has promoted two of its senior level staff members to director level positions. Karen Fox has been promoted to Director of Client Services. Karen will oversee all projects and recommend improvements to company methodologies and best practices. She will also have functional responsibility over all individuals working on active projects.

Phil Hunt has also been promoted to Director of Technology. Phil will have functional responsibility over staff members, and will also oversee the implementation of technology on projects while making recommendations as to the strategic technological direction of TiBA Solutions.
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Miss the gadgetfest and miss the video when it aired on WYFF? Never fear, you can now watch the video on the WYFF website. JL Watkins, the segment producer presented a guitar add-on for his ipod at gadgetfest all the while producing a segment that aired several times on WYFF over the next few days. Watch the video on their web page.
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The photos from Gadgetfest have been posted to Flickr. Thanks to Carin Meerdink for pulling them all together. We’ve got shots of a Panasonic Toughbook taking a bath as well as JL Watkins jamming out with his guitar solo add-on for his iPod. We’ve got a new Mac laptop and more. The photos are at Flickr.

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James Bottum, chief information officer and vice provost for computing and information technology at Clemson University, has been named one of Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2007.

Bottum came to Clemson in July from Purdue University, where he was vice president for information technology and chief information officer for five years. He also served as executive director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and as a program officer in the National Science Foundation’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing. He is a graduate of Florida State University and a member of the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee on Cyberinfrastructure.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the computing community,” Bottum said. “In the past, honorees have been from the private sector, so representing the academic community adds to the honor.”

Now in its eighth year, the Premier 100 recognizes technology and business leaders in companies that have displayed exceptional technology leadership, fostered ideas and creative work environments and envisioned innovative approaches to business problems and IT strategies.
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On December 15, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration (Order) that modifies the rules for the Amateur Radio Service by revising the examination requirements for obtaining a General Class or Amateur Extra Class amateur radio operator license and revising the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees. In essence, the FCC has dropped the requirement for operators to be proficient in sending and receiving morse code.

The current amateur service operator license structure contains three classes of amateur radio operator licenses: Technician Class, General Class, and Amateur Extra Class. General Class and Amateur Extra Class licensees are permitted to operate in Amateur bands below 30 MHz, while the introductory Technician Class licensees are only permitted to operate in bands above 30 MHz. Prior to today’s action, the FCC, in accordance with international radio regulations, required applicants for General Class and Amateur Extra Class operator licenses to pass a five words-per-minute Morse code examination. Today’s Order eliminates that requirement for General and Amateur Extra licensees. This change reflects revisions to international radio regulations made at the International Telecommunication Union’s 2003 World Radio Conference (WRC-03), which authorized each country to determine whether to require that individuals demonstrate Morse code proficiency in order to qualify for an amateur radio license with transmitting privileges on frequencies below 30 MHz. This change eliminates an unnecessary regulatory burden that may discourage current amateur radio operators from advancing their skills and participating more fully in the benefits of amateur radio.

The Order also revises the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees by eliminating a disparity in the operating privileges for the Technician Class and Technician Plus Class licensees. Technician Class licensees are authorized operating privileges on all amateur frequencies above 30 MHz. The Technician Plus Class license, which is an operator license class that existed prior the FCC’s simplification of the amateur license structure in 1999 and was grandfathered after that time, authorized operating privileges on all amateur frequencies above 30 MHz, as well as frequency segments in four HF bands (below 30 MHz) after the successful completion of a Morse code examination. With today’s elimination of the Morse code exam requirements, the FCC concluded that the disparity between the operating privileges of Technician Class licensees and Technician Plus Class licensees should not be retained. Therefore, the FCC, in today’s action, afforded Technician and Technician Plus licensees identical operating privileges.

Finally, the Order resolved a petition filed by the ARRL for partial reconsideration of an FCC Order released on October 10, 2006 (FCC 06-149). In this Order, the FCC authorized amateur stations to transmit voice communications on additional frequencies in certain amateur service bands, including the 75 meter (m) band, which is authorized only for certain wideband voice and image communications. The ARRL argued that the 75 m band should not have been expanded below 3635 kHz, in order to protect automatically controlled digital stations operating in the 3620-3635 kHz portion of the 80 m band. The FCC concluded that these stations can be protected by providing alternate spectrum in the 3585-3600 kHz frequency segment.

via the FCC
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ProActive Technology a Greenville, SC-based custom software development company has appointed Bradley J. Smith as the organization’s new president. With a strong background and extensive experience in the technology industry, Smith’s strategic leadership, software sales and marketing, and technical consulting skills will add to ProActive’s strong team of professionals.

In this new role, Smith will focus on ProActive’s new strategic direction and implement strategies to support new technology products and service areas, as well as managing the organization’s growing list of client projects. Smith is also an active board member of the GSA Technology Council.
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Sealevel Systems Inc. announces the SeaDACTM family of USB compatible data acquisition and control modules designed to meet the core needs of a variety of applications including test and measurement, security, and industrial control. SeaDAC modules connect to any computer’s USB port and offer choices including Reed and Form C relays, optically isolated inputs, TTL interface to industry standard solid-state relay racks, A/D and D/A functionality.

The first module released, the SeaDAC MIO-26, offers a powerful combination of I/O including 16 single-ended or eight differential 12-bit analog inputs, two 12-bit D/A outputs, eight optically isolated digital inputs, and eight open collector digital outputs. The module’s A/D inputs are independently software selectable for 0-5V, 0-10V, +/-5V, and +/-10V ranges and can be configured for measuring 0-20mA current loop. The A/D channels feature 5MHz bandwidth track/hold and 100ksps throughput. The module’s D/A channels are independently jumper selectable for 0-5V or 0-10V output range. Eight digital inputs are rated for 5-30VDC and provide 300V external isolation, while the SeaDAC MIO-26’s eight open collector outputs are ideal for switching 24V devices commonly found in industrial control applications.

For easy software integration, application programs or 3rd party software can use Sealevel’s SeaMAX library or industry standard Modbus protocol. A variety of helpful diagnostic utilities and sample programs are included.

SeaDAC modules are housed in rugged, attractive plastic enclosures and include a highly-retentive USB A connector to prevent accidental disconnection. Standard operating temperature range is 0°C to 70°C and extended temperature range (-40°C to +85°C) is optional. The SeaDAC MIO-26 is priced from $479 in small volume quantities and product is available immediately from stock.

via Sealevel

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BitTorrent, Inc., home to the world’s leading peer-assisted digital content delivery platform, today announced it has acquired µTorrent, a lightweight and efficient implementation of the BitTorrent protocol. The objective is to combine BitTorrent’s expertise in networking protocols with µTorrent’s high-performance design and compelling user interface (UI). This collaboration of best-of-breed technology will significantly benefit the BitTorrent ecosystem, including hardware partners, content creators, content distributors, and a thriving end user community. Together, the combined install base now exceeds 135 million worldwide.

“BitTorrent recognizes µTorrent’s exceptionally well-written codebase and robust user community,” said Bram Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder of BitTorrent. “Ludvig Strigeus, the developer of µTorrent, clearly put a significant amount of time into optimizing the client, which has already been widely adopted by the BitTorrent community as a safe and efficient implementation of the BitTorrent protocol.”

“By teaming with BitTorrent, we will benefit from a truly global reach and technology leadership to deliver the best experience for our users,” said Ludvig Strigeus, developer of µTorrent. “Combining µTorrent with the important developments BitTorrent, Inc. already has underway will allow us to forge a business model and enjoy an even larger user base than we currently enjoy as separate entities.”

Following the acquisition, patented content delivery innovations made by BitTorrent, Inc. will be integrated in the µTorrent client in a manner that will remain seamless to the community of users. Ultimately, the integration of best-of-breed BitTorrent technology will result in an improved client and an enhanced user experience. It will also accelerate BitTorrent’s plans to provide high-performance content delivery services that power websites seeking the most efficient platform for distributing large, high-quality files. Lastly, the incorporation of µTorrent’s lightweight codebase strengthens the adoption of BitTorrent technology in embedded systems, including televisions, mobile phones and other non-PC platforms.

via BitTorrent
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