Computer Core Resources
The IT Core offers research support to faculty associates, postdoctoral
trainees, predoctoral trainees, research assistants, and students in the
dual-degree program in demography by providing a professional staff of
hardware/software specialists and a state-of-the-art computing
environment designed to facilitate demographic research. Members of the
staff provide hardware and software support, and maintenance services.
The staff also maintains the local area network and evaluates new
hardware and software for potential use. Working with the Programming
and Statistics core, the computer core staff ensures that software and
hardware for cutting-edge statistical analysis are available.
The hardware is designed for the efficient storage and retrieval of
large demographic databases. The combination of hardware and software
makes the PRI network a powerful and unique computing site to perform
analysis in support of demographic research.
The state-of-the-art computing facilities at the institute are built from interconnected computing environments including: the center's MS Windows Domain; the center's Windows application server; microcomputers in individual offices; the PRI computer lab housed in Oswald Tower; access to Unix workstations; two departmental labs housed in the Department of Sociology; and Penn State's Academic Services and Emerging Technologies (ASET) super computing clusters. Our network of Windows Computers and Linux workstations provide a robust computing environment for our researchers. The network was designed to accommodate mass storage, manipulation and analysis of large data sets commonly used by demographers.
The computer core works closely with the Programming/Statistics and Information cores to provide our researchers access to restricted data sets like Add Health, HRS, and NELS. The core designs systems and security plans to maximize researcher productivity while maintaining the security level set forth by the data agency.
The institutes' faculty associates, staff, and postdoctoral trainees have PCs and laser printers in their offices that provide access to our local services, the university's computing clusters, and Internet sites. One public lab provides access to state-of-the-art Windows XP Dell computers, digital scanners, color printers, and networked laser printers for research assistants and students in the dual-title degree program in demography. Our computer lab serves a dual purpose as a teaching facility with dedicated A/V equipment. We also have presentation laptops and projectors available for sign out. In addition to the computing equipment in faculty associates offices and public labs, laptop computers are available upon request (first come, first serve basis) for visiting scholars, short-term project use, or travel overseas. Upon request, microcomputers can be dedicated for dissertation research of senior graduate students in the demography training program.
Last modified: 09/03/09 | Contact Webmaster
