MSI Users Bulletin - September 2024

1. Annual Renewals: The annual renewal period for MSI resources will open on November 1, 2024. MSI will notify PIs and Group Administrators when the renewal period is open and and their renewal is ready to be completed. Renewals should be submitted by EOD, December 2. Non-renewed accounts will be closed at the end of the calendar year. Please contact Becky von Dissen ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

2. New Home Directories: During the September 4, 2024 MSI maintenance period, all user accounts were transitioned to our VAST storage platform, and a new, private Home space was created for every user.  The reasons to do this were several, but the top reasons were to move your main Home space to our newest storage platform, and to more closely mirror the type of account structure you will find at other computing facilities, both academic and commercial.

This shift of Home directory from your current group project space to this private space will require a few modifications for some of you. The MSI staff have created tools and commands to assist you. You can see detailed instructions on the MSI website: New Home Directories.

3. Molecular Operating Environment (MOE): Due to a change in the licensing model offered by the vendor, MSI is discontinuing access to our MOE modules. Our logs show nearly no usage for MOE at MSI over the past year, so this is not expected to be a disruptive change. 

However, it is possible that there are use cases that are not recorded in the available logs. If you need continued access to MOE for your research, please reach out to [email protected] as soon as possible so that we can work with you to minimize disruption.

4. Fall Tutorials and Workshops: The fall tutorial schedules from MSI, U-Spatial, and GEMS Learning have been published. Besides the links below, a consolidated list of courses that will help you hone your research computing skills can be found at the Research Tools and Computing Workshops portal site. 

a. MSI Tutorials: MSI’s tutorials are intended to help users achieve the best results using MSI systems. Fall 2024 tutorials are hybrid, with both in-person and online (Zoom) participation. All tutorials are held in room 575 Walter Library. Descriptions and registration links can be found using the MSI Tutorials page. 

Past tutorials can be viewed on the MSI YouTube channel. 

b. U-Spatial Workshops: U-Spatial offers a variety of instructor-led workshops focusing on different geospatial tools and technologies. Information about the workshops is posted on the U-Spatial website. 

c. GEMS Learning: GEMS Learning provides modular, non-credit digital and data-science training for working professionals and students interested in hands-on food, agriculture, and natural resource applications. These courses give students practical knowledge to tackle data-science challenges across the agri-food sciences. See the GEMS Learning webpage for course details and registration information.

d. Software Carpentry: Software Carpentry workshops are hands-on events that cover core computational research skills to be productive as an individual scientist or in small research teams. These workshops offer graduate students, staff, and faculty practical exercises on basic computational research skills. No previous experience is needed and each workshop is taught by experienced researchers who use these tools in their own work. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about tools that will help your research process become more efficient, rigorous, and reproducible. Descriptions of Software Carpentry classes and links for registration can be found at the Software Carpentry course list. Some classes will be held online, others are in person; check the individual descriptions.

5. Research Computing Collaboration and Coffee: The next Research Computing Collaboration and Coffee events will be held on September 18 and November 20 at 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., in 401 Walter Library. MSI users are welcome to join staff members for informal discussions. You should bring your own beverage and/or snack. If you’re so moved, you’re welcome to bring a treat to share (many thanks to the people who have done this at recent events!).

6. Upcoming Events of Interest:

a. GenoFest 2024: MSI will be participating in GenoFest, the annual conference hosted by the University of Minnesota Genomics Center. The event will be held on Friday, October 4, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. See more information and register on the UMGC website. The event is free and open to the public.

b. HPEC Virtual Conference: The IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing (HPEC) free virtual conference, organized by MIT in cooperation with SIAM, is the largest computing conference in New England. It will be held September 23 – 27, 2024. Complete information and the registration form can be found on the conference website. 

c. Women in AI & Data Science Conference (WiADS): DSI, one of MSI’s Research Computing partners, has taken over responsibility for the annual WiADS conference. This year’s event will be held on November 4, 2024, at the McNamara Alumni Center on the Twin Cities campus. The Call for Abstracts is open. Information can be found on the WiADS webpage.

d. The Data Science Initiative is organizing AI Makerspace hours on Sep 13, 27 and Oct 11, 25. More details can be found here.

7. Data Science Initiative (DSI) Funding Opportunities: The Data Science Initiative, one of MSI’s Research Computing partners, has several funding opportunities available.

a. Seed Grants: These grants support innovative research in data science, fostering collaboration and advancing the field. Complete information on these programs can be found on the DSI Seed Grants webpage. There are three types available:

• Rapid Response Grants foster innovative research and collaboration in data science and artificial intelligence (AI). These grants have a rolling deadline.
• DSI Faculty Fellowships are intended to promote, catalyze, accelerate, and advance UMN-based collaborations in data science and AI research so that UMN faculty and staff are better prepared to compete for external funding opportunities. The application deadline is October 1, 2024.
• Data Sets aims to foster research that creates or expands novel data sets, which are crucial for advancing innovative research in diverse fields. The application deadline is October 1, 2024.

b. Graduate Assistantships: This program supports UMN PhD candidates pursuing research at the intersection of Data Science and any of the five MnDRIVE areas: Robotics; Global Food; Environment; Brain Conditions; and Cancer Clinical Trials. Proposals must align with one of the three Data Science Tracks: Foundational Data Sciences; Digital Health and Personalized Health Care Delivery; and Agriculture and the Environment. The application deadline is 5 p.m. CDT, October 4, 2024. Complete information can be found on the DSI Graduate Assistantships webpage. 

8. NVIDIA Academic Grant Program: NVIDIA sponsors an academic grant program that provides computing access and resources to researchers. Full-time faculty members at the University of Minnesota are eligible to apply. To qualify, projects must use NVIDIA technology. Complete information about the program and application instructions are available on the NVIDIA website: Academic Grant Program.

Project areas are:

• Generative AI and Large Language Models
• Simulation and Modeling

9. U-Spatial Mapping Prizes: The winners of the 2024 U-Spatial Mapping Prizes, held by MSI’s Research Computing partner U-Spatial, were announced this summer. The winning maps are shown on the Spatial University website. 

10. Jobs Available at Research Computing:

• Bioinformatics Analyst – LM&P (MSI) – Job ID 361066
• Bioinformatics Analyst – RI Core (MSI) – Job ID 362017
• Linux Systems Operations Engineer (MSI) – Job ID 363982
• M&I Bioinformatics Analyst (MSI) - Job ID 364047
• Financial Professional (Research Computing) - Job ID 364254
• Linux Systems DevOps Engineer - MIDB (MSI) - Job ID 364656

11. MSI Operations: MSI staff are working under a hybrid model; not all staff are working on-site full time. All MSI systems are operational and can be accessed remotely. 

To request technical assistance with your MSI account, contact the Helpdesk:

• In-person walk-ins: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; 587 Walter Library
• Virtual meeting are available Wednesday and Friday; the sign-up sheet is available through the Helpdesk main page, linked above 
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 612-626-0802
• Video consultation: schedule a consultation on the Helpdesk page 

12. Useful Webpages: Looking for help with using MSI or other RC resources? One of these pages may have the information you need:

• Our Services
• Our Resources
• Getting Started at MSI (includes Quickstart Guides)
• MSI Systems Status
• Software at MSI
• MSI Help
• Tutorials
• Knowledge Base
• Staff Listing and Areas of Expertise
• Proposal Support
• Upcoming Events
• Research Computing website
• U-Spatial website
• DSI website
• International Institute for Biosensing website