[Platforms #GWY-819774]: How do I get started?

Hi Jerry,

re:
> I am a professor of meteorology at the State University of New York - College 
> at Oneonta.

Pleased to meet you!

> We're a small liberal arts school within the SUNY system and our meteorology 
> program is also
> small, around 25 students majoring in meteorology.  We award undergraduate 
> degrees and teaching
> is our primary mission so our use of Unidata would be primarily for use in 
> courses and for
> undergraduate research projects.

I am familiar with Oneonta since my aunt lived there for many years :-)

> In our SUNY program review last year, it was strongly suggested that we join 
> the Unidata
> program.

Very good.  We are always excited about a new member of the community.

> I'd like to write an equipment proposal for the next funding cycle and I have 
> read the
> Call for Proposals 2006.  I assume there will be another RFP for 2007 next 
> spring

We are planning to issue an RFP for 2007 at the moment.  Please be aware, 
however, that
there is no guarantee that this will be the case.  The ability to run the 
equipment
grants program depends on availability of funds for the program.  Just a 
heads-up...

> so I'd like to start writing a proposal now, but I have no expertise with 
> Unidata.
> I don't really know what hardware or software to include in a proposal.
> 
> Can you assist me in formulating a plan?

We can make recommendations on the type of hardware to purchase once we 
understand what
your goals are.

> I need some direction about what hardware to request (PC's?  Workstations?), 
> what
> operating system, and what software.  Basically, how would one set up a 
> starter program
> for a small school?

It might be wise/useful for you to consult with Unidata community members to 
learn
how they went about planning/building laboratory facilities.  In order to do 
this, I
would recommend subscribing to our 'ldm-users' email list and posting a message 
asking
for input from those community members.  Community members are extremely helpful
to one another in a variety of ways.  I am sure that there is some professor 
out there
that has faced the same task as you are facing now, and will be more than 
willing
to share ideas and strategies.

You can subscribe to any Unidata-maintained email list online at:

http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/support/mailinglist/mailing-list-form.html

Also, it might be very useful to contact the Unidata Users Committee members 
and get
some sage words of wisdom from them.

If you would like to contact the Unidata User Committee, we would be happy to 
relay
any email from you to them.  We need to relay messages to the committee as 
whole since
the email list we maintain for them is closed to submissions from non-members. 
An
introductory note to the members, however, will undoubtedly result in individual
replies to you offering suggestions and strategies.  From there, email exchanges
between you and one or more committee members can ensue unencumbered by us 
needing
to relay.
 
> There will be a small pool of equipment money from the College so I probably 
> could
> cost-share from 25-50%.

Leveraging monies is always useful.  It is not, however, a _requirement_ for 
eGrants
proposal submission.

> I've gone through the unidata.ucar.edu website somewhat, but it didn't seem 
> to address
> my situation, that of starting from scratch.

I agree with you that our website does not contain resources aimed at advising 
new
members on the sorts of issues that you present.  Instead, we attempt to form 
connections
among our sites in order to facilitate community-based interactions.

> As I am currently department chair, I'd like to work on this during the 
> summer as the
> school year is quite hectic for me with administation.

I understand completely.  We will do our best to help infom you as you work on 
an
eGrants proposal.

Question:  have you read the eGrants proposals that we include on our website:

http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/community/equipaward/

We provide hyperlinks to previously awarded eGrant proposals for those sites 
which
have allowed us to.

> Thanks for any help you can give me.

I think that the best way to proceed is for you to give us an idea of what
kind of capabilities you are looking for in a new laboratory.  This will 
necessarily
be informed by the kinds of activities you want to promote: undergraduate
education; graduate education; research; etc.
 
> Jerome B. Blechman
> Chair and Professor
> Earth Sciences Department
> State University of New York
> Oneonta, NY 13820-4015
> 
> Phone:  (607) 436-3322 or (607) 436-3707


Cheers,

Tom
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Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: GWY-819774
Department: Support Platforms
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed