Collaborative Research and its Implications

The present generation of fusion machines cost ~$1 billion, and the next generation of machines will cost 10 times that much. Therefore, all of these machines have participants from all over the world, some of whom collaborate remotely. It also takes at least a dozen people to operate and run the diagnostics on such a device. Collaboration is essential. Other areas such as the Spallation Neutron Source and electron microscopy all require remote control and diagnosis.

We will learn about the issues involved in collaboration: Why do we collaborate? How does a lot of information travel quickly from site to site? What resources can be available in collaboratory environments? In particular, underpinning all of these is the need for computer security. You do not want your billion dollar device hacked.

We will build a small supercomputer, operate electron microscopes at the console and remotely, look at the visualization wall, and sit in on collaboratory design conferences. Then we will get our hands dirty understanding the issues involved with computer security in both Windows and Linux. Topics to be explored will include creating a security policy, securing Windows, using encryption, setting up secure Web servers, and installing and operating Linux. In each environment we will look at security and the available collaborative tools.