[Beowulf] Definition of HPC

[Joe Landman]

On 04/18/2013 12:57 PM, Nicholas M Glykos wrote:
>> Please describe what the grad student who pioneers new tech for X-ray
>> generators should do, particularly if they are trying to develop new safety
>> interlocks.
> They work on their supervisor's own X-ray generator at the basement of
> their department under strict supervision. And not at a synchrotron site
> with 40 people doing their own experiments.
>

As someone who got a full year+ dose of radiation in a few seconds 
courtesy of an ... er ... less careful? ... graduate  student who 
overrode some of the interlocks to test the accelerator ... I've got 
some ... er ... internal light? ... to spread on this (humor intended)

Lets say ... ah ...     Safety is very important.  Pretending it isn't, 
or saying "bad things can't happen to me because I is smart" isn't quite 
a safe strategy ... for computing, for x-ray interlocks, for driving on 
a highway ...




>> There needs to be, at the very least, a testbed in universities where students
>> can receive and be able to use root on a limited set of machines.
> Fully agree. Students should be able to play and break things, but with
> their group's toy cluster, and not the central cluster of their
> university.
>

Agree.  And they can irradiate themselves if they want to.

>
>


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Joseph Landman, Ph.D
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