All students will automatically be given an account on these systems, and are expected to use them within the guidelines set up by the Department and the System Manager. Each faculty member contributes to the operating cost of this network, but no specific accounting is done, except for color laser copies. Individual research groups may have their own computing networks, sometimes interfaced with the Department system. The largest of these are the Automated Plate Scanner system and the Graphics System at the Laboratory for Computational Science and Engineering . The Minnesota Supercomputer Institute provides access for faculty and students to a range of supercomputers.
Time is awarded through a proposal process.
Graduate students can only gain access to these systems through participation with a faculty member's research. The University maintains a variety of other computer systems. For access, contact Distributed Computing Services. There is also a Microcomputer Help Center in Shepherd Labs, which provides assistance and advice on PCs and Macintoshes, runs a lab where you can try out various computers, and maintains a large shareware library. 5.7 Public Outreach Programs Part of the mission of the Astronomy Department is to serve the citizens of Minnesota through various public outreach programs.