Meeting Agenda- 1999.10.13

October 13, 1999

Location:

DC 1304

Time:

1:30 p.m.

Chair: Joanne McKinley 

1. Adoption of the Agenda - additions or deletions

2. Coffee Hour

Coffee hour this week:

??

Coffee hour next week:

??

3. Next meeting

Date:

Wednesday, October 20th, 1999.

Location:

DC1304

Time:

1:30 p.m.

Chair:

Jasmin Patry 

Technical presentation:

Joanne McKinley 

4. Forthcoming

Chair:

1. Pascale Proulx (October 27th) 
2. Chris O'Sullivan (November 3rd) 
3. Selina Siu (November 10th) 

Tech Presenters:

1. Jasmin Patry (October 27th) 
2. Pascale Proulx (November 3rd) 
3. Chris O'Sullivan (November 10th) 

5. Technical Presentation

Presenter:

Michael McCool 

Title:

Programming Hardware

Abstract:

A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a relatively recent hardware technology that provides computational capabilities between those of full custom hardware and serial CPU-based software.   Basically, FPGA's are arrays of gates and registers which can be rewired based on downloaded configuration state.   Once reconfigured, an FPGA functions at performance levels similar to that of custom hardware.

FPGAs are an interesting technology for graphics because of the flexibility and high performance required for interactive graphics. In a research environment they permit interactive algorithms ``outside the box'' to be explored.  For instance, it is feasible to combine an FPGA with a standard graphics accelerator using a shared memory to implement real-time RenderMan shaders on an under-$10K graphics subsystem, and/or implement an entire graphics accelerator on an FPGA (the largest available FPGA has roughly the same number of gates as nVIDIA's latest accelerator, the GeForce, more than the number projected for the Merced, and can run at up to 300MHz).

I will present FPGA technology and the above concept, but will also talk (mostly!) about how to program FPGA's using a parallel C-like language, Handel-C, and will give an example of a Handel-C program to implement a "floating-point" frame buffer.

6. General Discussion Items

• Reminder of lab policy---don't lend out keys, or let others use your account, etc.
• Citrine upgrade on weekend... report?
• New Pentium III in lab (esen) out of action until graphics card arrives... report?
• Any further issues with bookshelves?

7. Action List

• Don't forget about OGS scholarships. Jane Prime has the applications (DC2332).

Departmental deadline: Tuesday, October 26, 1999
In the past, Jane has taken Tuesdays as a day off, so plan to submit earlier, if possible.
• Blair MacIntyre is visiting on October 18th.
• John Hart is visiting on October 26th.
• GI deadline Nov. 19. This time it will be in Montreal.
• The SIGGRAPH 2000 is deadline Jan. 12.
• Bill is collecting ideas for lab improvements, like things to buy for the lab.
• DGP Visit: to be organized with DGP.

8. Director's Meeting

9. Seminars

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Computer Science 
Wednesday, 13 October 1999 at 2:00PM, DC 1302 
Health Informatics Education for the 21st Century 
Dr. Walter B. Panko 

Director of the School of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences, 
University of Ilinois at Chicago 

Preparing people for a career in health informatics will become more 
challenging in the next century. Almost every element of health care 
is undergoing rapid change, from financing to increasing concern about 
privacy and confidentiality. Further complicating the task is the rapid
expansion of the technological and theoretical knowledge base of 
informatics. Finally, educators need to factor in the growth of online 
educational capabilities and reconcile them with the unique features of 
the healthcare professions. This talk will outline the challenges facing 
health informatics educators and identify possible strategies for 
meeting them.

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Tuesday, October 19, 1999
  UW's infraNET Project & The Federation of Students present
  ``Smart Communications: The Next 10 Years''
  Terry Matthews, Chairman and CEO, Newbridge Networks Corporation
  2:30 - 4:00 p.m.; DC1350

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10. Lab Cleanup