STF-Endorsement-examples

CSDE STF Proposal Endorsements

2022:
MATTHEW B WEATHERFORD
Disclaimer: I am the proposal author – wanted to add current Student account and department/unit numbers to this proposal. These #’s are *active* student users of the CSDE remote computing systems as of November 2021:

College of Arts & Sciences 527
Evans School 320
School of Public Health 276
School of Social Work 168
Business School 111
College of Education 61
College of Built Environment 41
School of Medicine 39
College of Engineering 33
School of Nursing 30
Information School 16
College of the Environment 15
OTHER 100
———————————–
Total 1737

Note that the total # of users (fac/staff/student all together) is about 2,200 so we have about 80% student users on these systems

Thank you for considering our proposal

-Matt Weatherford
CSDE Computing Director

Anita Louise
I am a graduate student at the UW’s School of Social Work and a big user of the remote access collaborative computing resources for students provided by the Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology (CSDE). This reliable computing environment and storage not only helped me complete my qualifying paper, but all the analytics for my dissertation relies on access to software available on CSDE’s remote servers. Funding for upgrades and expansions are essential to keep pace with computational advances and to offer students the latest research-compatible software. For me, the remote access collaborative computing resources has been essential for the completion of my degree and the launching my research career.

Rachel
I am a graduate student in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and a big user of the computing resources provided by CSDE, especially the secure VPN and data storage provided by the UW Data Collaborative, which singlehandedly allowed me to qualify for a Medicare Data Use Agreement for my dissertation data. These secure remote access resources were essential for my dissertation and I am able to use these same resources in grant applications and further studies to support my early career research.

IAN
The CSDE computing infrastructure has been essential to my research, including at least three papers I published this year. I’ve been able to use software like Atlasti on the remote server and so save money on licensing fees. While I love the existing infrastructure, I could also use more computing power.
Ian Kennedy
Sociology Department

JESSICA
I’m a grad student in the School of Social Work. CSDE terminal services and the UWDC have been an integral part of my research process and where I have conducted analyses for all of my research and coursework. The UWDC in particular has been essential and has allowed me to access and store sensitive, restricted use datasets.

MICHAEL ANDREW BABB
I very-enthusiastically endorse this proposal. CSDE’s computing infrastructure is highly available, expansive, and powerful. The computing environment has always been available to enable my research. Earlier this year I completed my PhD in Geography and this would not have been possible without CSDE’s computing environment and resources. Simply put, I completed graduate school in part because of CSDE’s computing infrastructure. Funding this proposal will ensure that this amazing resource will utilize current technology and continue to be available for other researchers.

BREON Jonathan
I am a graduate student in the Sociology department, and I endorse this proposal. The CSDE computing technologies have facilitated all of my research, much of my coursework, and a great deal of my reports to key stakeholders on and off campus. These resources have been indispensable in my efficient research creation, reproducible research practices, and secure handling of data. The CSDE computing resources have been the technical foundation for my career, and I strongly believe in the value that these enhancements will bring in terms of greater opportunities for research and collaboration across our campus community.

ERIN RENEE CARLL
CSDE computing resources have been essential to my work, particularly enabling me to to securely store large files of restricted data and efficiently collaborate with internal and external partners. It saves substantial time and money for me to be able to rely on CSDE in this way, and to have high-speed access to expensive software (Stata, Atlas.ti).

Aryaa
I am a graduate student at the University of Washington’s Department of Sociology. I am an active and frequent user of the remote access collaborative computing resources for students provided by the CSDE. Given that most, if not all, of the data I currently use for my master’s program (and all of the data I plan to use for my PhD thesis) are housed in the data collaborate enclave, accessed by the CSDE’s remote servers, I rely heavily on this these resources for my work. Personally, this tool has been imperative in my development as a scholar.

DELANEY
I would like to endorse this proposal from the Applied Demography Lab. As a graduate student, I have relied heavily on CSDE computing resources to which this additional funding would help expand. I regularly rely on computing resources that are invaluable to myself and colleagues such as remote servers, storage, etc. I have also worked as a fellow in a program with highly sensitive big data with the UWDC to which that project would not be possible if not for these computing resources.

Mary Bridget
As a student pursuing the CSDE Demographic Methods Graduate Certificate, having access to software like Stata and EndNote for courses and research projects I work on without having to buy it myself is super helpful. I only expect my use of these services to grow as I complete my M.S. and then hopefully continue to my PhD.
-Mary Bridget Waters (M.S. in Epidemiology student, also pursuing CSDE Demographic Methods Graduate Certificate)

Chaim
I am a graduate student in the College of Built Environments. The remote server has been essential for me to be able to finish my thesis. Without this resource I would have been unable to analyze datasets which otherwise would have been unavailable to me. I have used historical datasets that aren’t available elsewhere. Additionally, the remote server allowed me to use Postgre which I would otherwise not have access to without paying for it myself.

Chaim Simon
Master of Urban Planning
College of Built Environments

Maria
I am a graduate student at the Department of Sociology and a user of CSDE’s computing infrastructure and resources. Most of my research is only possible because I have access to the remote server and all it offers: the computing power, the opportunity to store and share data, and the software that is available to us. For collaborative research in particular, this is an essential resource!

2021:

Erin
The CSDE servers have been crucial to my research. As a student in epidemiology, our work required several statistical softwares, such as Stata, ArcGIS, and Atlas t.i that I would not have been able to purchase for myself. Working with the CSDE team also allowed me to meet some of the data security requirements for information that was essential to my dissertation. Several of the analyses I ran were very computationally complex, and had it not been for the remote servers and simulation clusters, I wouldn’t have been able to run them in a reasonable amount of time.

Erin Morgan, PhD Epidemiology 2020

Connor
CSDE’s terminal servers have been *the* main computing resource supporting my research, teaching, and learning as a grad student. My research projects have involved complex agent-based models and computationally-intensive multiple imputation, and CSDE’s servers were essential for running those. For coursework and class projects, I’ve made use of CSDE’s software including NVivo, Stata, and R / RStudio to code and collect data.

As a social statistics teaching assistant, I’ve also seen firsthand how the servers benefit newer cohorts of grad students, especially those without the ability to run statistical code on their local machines. CSDE’s servers democratize access and put all students on a more even footing.

Connor Gilroy, PhD student in Sociology (expected graduation 2022)

ERIN RENEE CARLL
In the past seven years, every single research project that I’ve worked on in collaboration with faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students has been facilitated by CSDE’s online commuting. It’s an indispensable resource for my work. I have relied on it to access expensive data processing software and to safely store many different sensitive data sets. I have also used it in several classes, and–by providing this flexible computing access to students–it has enhanced my ability to offer research training to undergraduates. I cannot say enough about how central this resource has been to my training and professional development.

Philip M.
The CSDE terminal servers are an unparalleled resource for students at the UW. The computing capacity (processing, RAM, file storage) far exceeds what any individual or department could be expected to provided on their own. The full suite of state-of-the-art analytical and statistical software would also be financially out of reach for most. Much of the cutting-edge research in which students are involved would be impossible without this combination of powerful computers and advanced software. These resources, supported by the STF, are made available for the benefit of all UW students.

As a research scientist with my primary affiliation at CSDE, I use the terminal servers on a daily basis to support my own research, much of which directly involves PhD students. I also use CSDE terminal servers and IT support to run several workshops each year that directly benefit students by teaching them technical skills in data processing and documentation.

-Philip M. Hurvitz, UW MFR (1994), UW PhD (2010)

WEI-TING ANNE TSENG
The CSDE terminal servers have been an invaluable resource for my research. I use many of the software programs available on these servers extensively, including Stata and NVivo. These programs are essential to my research and I am grateful that the CSDE servers have sustained my learning and research over the past few years.

Anne Tseng, PhD student in Sociology

MICHAEL ANDREW BABB
CSDE provides invaluable computing resources. By making available specialized software, high performance computing hardware, and high-speed data storage, CSDE empowers and enables me as a researcher, student, and educator. Especially during this extended period of remote work. I have used the Terminal Servers and simulation cluster to process terabytes of data for my dissertation examining internal migration in the US. A task made possible with these resources. I am incredibly grateful for CSDE and I enthusiastically endorse this proposal.

Michael Babb, PhC, Geography

Vanessa M.
This service and the support staff have been invaluable as I have been analyzing data for my R00. I strongly support this proposal

Claire E Rainey
I endorse this proposal because in my 10 years at UW graduate school the CSDE computing services have been indispensable. Without them I do not have access to critical software programs, and secure data storage for sensitive study results. Please continue to fund their services at UW!
Claire Huang,MPH, PhD candidate in Epidemiology

Sarah E
The CSDE terminal servers were where I did almost all of my PhD research, and as a postdoc I continue to use them a great deal. Without these resources, it would have been very difficult to complete my PhD research in a timely way. The softwares they maintain and the trainings they host in how to use them better were both key to my research. They also facilitate collaboration with my workgroup and keep all of our research data backed up and secure.

Sarah Stansfield, PhD MPH (2019), current Postdoc in Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education

Riddhi
The CSDE servers have played a crucial role in my own research and teaching. I rely on software such as AtlasTI and Stata regularly, which otherwise would be beyond my budget. CSDE provides an incredible resource and I wholeheartedly endorse this proposal.
– Riddhi Mehta-Neugebauer, PhD student in Political Science

MAXINE
Without the CSDE terminal servers, I would not have been able to access the resources and softwares necessary for my research and learning as a graduate student. The CSDE servers represent an invaluable tool for all affiliates and grad students, especially those who may have limited funds to access softwares, machines with higher processing capacities, and safe storage of sensitive data. In this way, the CSDE servers can be seen not only as one of the many things that makes UW an exceptional research institution, but also as a service that democratizes access and creates a more equitable learning environment.

Maxine Wright, PhD student in Sociology

Jerald R
CSDE has been exceedingly help by providing access to a range of students (ug and grad) to computing/statistical software. I endorse their proposal; see it as facilitating and upgrading a very needed service.

Julian
Really important service and needed!

Skye
CSDE’s remote access server has been indispensable to me both during my time at UW as a student and now for the students I teach. In order to complete my graduate work, I relied on CSDE’s computing tools and the availability of those tools saved me hundreds of dollars and allowed me to work on my research even when not physically on campus. Now that I am an instructor, I rely on my students having access to statistical and mapping softwares in order to be able to give them the best education I can and to teach them the skills that employers are asking for. I encourage all of my students to sign up for CSDE remote computing accounts to enable them to complete their coursework while not on campus, something that is particularly important now. CSDE provides an invaluable service to UW students and I fully support this proposal.

Skye Naslund, Instructor (and former PhD student), Department of Geography

CAROLINE
I use CSDE technology constantly, and have since I first got here. The sim clusters are invaluable for the big data I work with — and even then it often feels like they are too crowded. Keeping CSDE’s technology funded is essential for important research happening at UW that makes a difference.

==== UWDC ====

ANDRES MAURICIO
Terminal Server is critical to data analysis for some Econ students
Andres Sanchez-Jabba
Economics Ph.D. Candidate

EMMI E. OBARA
Please approve this funding proposal. I use the CSDE server for collaborative projects that use shared restricted data. In addition, I can use Stata for free within the server with the data, which is extremely helpful.

Emmi Obara
Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance
PhD Candidate

REBECCA REBBE
CSDE terminal servers have been vital for my research at UW. I have not had to seek funds for software because I am able to access it via CSDE. This proposal will enhance collaborative projects using restricted data.

Rebecca Rebbe
PhD Candidate
School of Social Work

CHRISTOPHER FLEMING
I’m a recent alumni of a UW doctoral program and at this time have several projects on the CSDE servers in various stages of completion. I cannot stress how important the CSDE terminal server system has been to my education, training, and publication record. As an early career methodologist, having access to a range of software platforms was necessary for me to find my grounding in different methods. Additionally, the availability of more powerful servers than my home system allowed me to complete complex analyses in shorter periods of time, increasing my overall efficiency. I strongly endorse any funding to increase their use and utility among students and faculty alike.

Christopher Fleming
Social Welfare Ph.D. ’18

YOUNGJUN CHOI
CSDE computing service is one of the most powerful resources that fosters productivity of so many social science students across campus. Please approve this proposal!

PhD Candidate
School of Social Work

CHRISTIAN HESS
Please approve this funding proposal—the CSDE data enclave will be an invaluable resource for students and faculty wanting to work with highly restricted but incredibly useful data sources. The restricted data enclave also has the potential to catalyze a number of new research collaborations as students and faculty around the UW become involved in the University of Washington Data Collaborative hosted by CSDE.

IAN
This request is essential to the social scientific research at UW. My own research depends on the existing CSDE computing resources. One project was able to increase the scope of data collection by two orders of magnitude thanks to CSDE support. I would be unable to collect this data on my own.
Ian Kennedy, PhD student Sociology

ERIN RENEE CARLL
I strongly endorse STF funding for CSDE. I use the CSDE terminal server for all of my research projects and have been doing so since my first year as a graduate student. They provide reliable safe computing, which is crucial for the work I do. This includes collaboration with quasi-governmental agencies to analyze administrative data that requires a high level of security. CSDE computing services allow me to use Atlas.ti, Stata, and other expensive programs (which I otherwise could not afford to access) from anywhere, which I believe has improved my efficiency dramatically. This is particularly the case, since my commute to UW is 90+ minutes. The CSDE help desk is impressive, too. They are always very helpful, prompt, and focused on supporting quality, efficient research. I don’t know what I’d do without them!

Erin Carll
PhD Candidate, Sociology

Ashley
The CSDE terminal servers are essential to accessing up-to-date software and programs needed for my research. As a student it is so important to me to maintain access at no additional cost to me.

Ashley Rousson, MSW
Doctoral Student in Social Welfare
School of Social Work

Jessica H. L.
Ditto what Christopher Fleming stated! We need this for research collaboration.

Bradley
I am a PhD student in the School of Public Health, department of health resources. I endorse this proposal as an essential resource to many students, and a great potential resource to all students. CSDE embodies the ethic to improve technology access to all students. If UW is an incubator for innovation and collaboration, this center is a best practice. Yet there’s a high price to technology and to reduce barriers to accessing these tools.

I have used CSDE resources on a regular basis as a necessary tool to complete my course work. The resources have saved me money and time. I have recently submitted a research fellowship proposal that requires these resources . The funding will be minimal, so it further requires these resources remain free. CSDE needs more funding to do that.

More specifically, my fellowship proposes the use of a central computer core to run complex modeling algorithms through 10s of thousands of iterations. In preparation of the proposal, I was told by experts that these resources are hard to come by and will be expensive. Turns out, CSDE offers them for free. I will not be able to complete my research if these resources are not available to me for free as student. Moreover, with their ethic of open access to all students, this resource is not just available to me, all students can use this resource. That’s amazing!

CAROLINE
I use the CSDE terminal servers and simulation clusters for my research with 280+ million observations. The sim clusters are critical — even with them, large chunks of code can take hours to run. Yes, the software is amazing and essential! But software aside, it’s the computing power that enables pathbreaking research on large administrative datasets to inform public policy. The computing power at CSDE enables important work that actually does make a difference.

Max Herbert
The technical infrastructure managed by CSDE is critical to supporting the research of those working at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. As an MPA student, I can say that I’ve benefited immensely from the software. In addition, the workshops given on how to use the software and how to access and protect the data have been critical to my research and my advancement as a researcher as well.

Max McDonald
MPA Student
Evans School of Public Policy & Governance

Maria
I am a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and I can confidently say that my work and research would not be possible without CSDE’s computing resources. There are three main reasons why I make this assertion. First, I work on different individual and collaborative projects, and the datasets that I use are often very large and can’t be stored in my personal computer. I am only able to work with these datasets because they are stored on the CSDE terminal server. Second, I use different software in the analysis of said datasets and it is only through CSDE’s computing resources that I am able to access these tools (Stata, StatTransfer, SAS) given their restrictive costs. Additionally, with increasing reliance on large datasets, it becomes imperative to have the computational power to run certain analyses on these types of data; CSDE provides these resources (while my personal computer crashes when I try to run them). Third, I am involved in a couple of collaborative projects with multiple faculty and students at the University of Washington. These projects tackle research questions that are both scientifically important and policy relevant, and thus involve people from different disciplines and with different skills and knowledge sets. We use CSDE’s terminal server to share and store data and to keep track of our progress; it is a space that allows us to do this type of group work efficiently. For all of these reasons I fully endorse this proposal.

María Vignau-Loría
Sociology Graduate Student

CHRISTINE LEIBBRAND
The CSDE terminals have been vital for my independent research, allowing me to complete research for both my Master’s Thesis and PhD dissertation. I have also used the terminals for multiple collaborative projects and they have been absolutely imperative for my and my coauthors’ abilities to analyze restricted and non-restricted data and to coordinate our work. Additionally, my ability to freely access software such as Stata has been an important necessity for my research. The technological resources I’ve received from CSDE have therefore been immensely valuable for my graduate career and for my research publications. I strongly support this funding proposal for these invaluable resources.

Christine Leibbrand
Department of Sociology
PhD Candidate

FRANCISCO
I would like to GREATLY endorse the proposal by CSDE! The computing services coordinated by CSDE have been invaluable during my graduate studies, allowing me to undertake new projects with reliable access to a variety of software and support from their computing cluster.

Francisco Rios
Graduate Student
Department of Epidemiology

Brenda
The CSDE terminal server is essential for graduate students; I use STATA almost daily!

Brenda Gellner
PhD Student in the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance

Lesley E
I enthusiastically support CSDE’s proposal to make collaboration easier while maintaining their high standards for data security. This STF proposal aligns well with UW’s goals to be more interdisciplinary and visionary to improve health for all particularly more disadvantaged communities.

Lesley Steinman
PhD Student
Dept of Health Services

JESSICA
I fully support this proposal, as it helps me save lots of money on software I could not afford to purchase on my own.
Thanks!
Jessica Lapham
PhD Student, School of Social Work

Ronit
Terminal servers are an essential access point to programs and computing power only available as a collective offering to UW students. I have used it frequently in classes both within and outside my department (Epidemiology). It is a critical resource for students and instructors!

EMILY D POLLOCK
The terminal servers and other resources for data sharing, storage, and software for data analysis are absolutely integral to my research at UW. The specialized software availability, ease of access, storage, and collaborative capabilities allow me to work on and facilitate projects that would have been impossible to do on my own. I use CSDE’s resources on almost a daily basis and strongly endorse this proposal! Additionally, their staff is among the most helpful on campus and I can’t imagine what I would do without them.

Emily Pollock
Biological Anthropology
PhD Student & CSDE Trainee

Nicole L
CSDE computing resources are essential to my research. For almost all data tasks and analyses that I perform, I use CSDE’s resources. Software available though CSDE (e.g. STATA, SAS, Adobe Products) is very valuable to me and many others, and would be prohibitively expensive if CSDE did not provide such resources. CSDE resources are also essential to collaborative research with restricted data.

Nicole Kovski
Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance
Ph.D. Student

HITOMI
I am a first year MPH student in the Department of Health Services regularly use the CSDE computing resources. The CSDE terminal servers provide me with access to expensive software that I need for coursework such as Stata. The SCDE terminal servers also gives me off-campus journal access, which helps me to complete my work without having to pay out of pocket.

Hitomi Kariya
Graduate Student
Department of Health Services

HILARY C. WETHING
I enthusiastically endorse this proposal because of its immense value for students and faculty. As a fellow, I benefit from the support of CSDE every day through their computing and technology support and use CSDE resources on a daily basis for my research projects. For example, I use CSDE’s terminal server and SIM cluster servers almost daily to access Stata and R Studio for my personal research projects and to store my data. Additionally, due to the high security nature of my data, I benefit greatly from CSDE’s secure storage capacities, which mean my data is safe at all times. These resources have allowed my research team to write multiple papers (of which I am an author of four) and to explore the possibility of building a merged administrative data set from multiple state agencies in Washington state. This dataset would be truly novel for its precision and breadth of information, allowing my team and the University to catapult to the forefront of knowledge building and policy analysis.

Hilary Wething
Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance
CSDE Fellow
Ph.D. Candidate

===STUDENT===

2018 Fellows endorsements:

FRANCISCO
The software and staff support available through CSDE has been extremely valuable in helping me launch new projects and learn new software that otherwise would be difficult/costly to obtain (including for my thesis, RA position, classwork). Staff are always responsive and make sure we feel supported when trying to use new programs. I think their proposed upgrades would make it all the better for current and future students. I always recommend the CSDE software to peers in my program, school.

Francisco Rios Casas
Department of Epidemiology

Vedavati
CSDE terminal servers are very useful for accessing software like Stata which is otherwise expensive for students! Also, the Certificate program offers very useful computational and theoretical training in demography.

REBECCA REBBE
I am a graduate student who regularly uses the CSDE computing resources. The CSDE terminal servers provide me with access to expensive software that I need for coursework, allowing me to complete my work without having to pay out of pocket for the software. Additionally, the CSDE computing resources has facilitated my research by providing shared folders for my research collaborators and me to seamlessly store our files. In short, the CSDE terminal servers are a great resource for me and I fully support the proposal.
Rebecca Rebbe, School of Social Work

CHRISTINE LEIBBRAND
CSDE’s computing and technology support has been invaluable for my research. I use these resources on a daily basis for my research projects. For example, I use CSDE’s terminal server almost daily to access Stata and R Studio for my personal research projects and to store my data (which takes up far too much space to be able to store on my own computer). This has allowed me to publish a solo-authored paper within the past couple of months, something I would likely have been unable to do in this timeframe had I not been able to access this software and my data at home and on campus. My access to this software has also saved me the prohibitive expense of buying the software myself. Additionally, the project space on CSDE’s terminal servers has allowed me to collaborate with multiple research teams on a number of papers. This has been extremely valuable because the project space allows us to seamlessly access data we are working on collaboratively, saving us considerable time. I therefore fervently endorse this proposal because of its immense value for students and faculty.

Christine Leibbrand
Graduate Student
Department of Sociology

ERIN RENEE CARLL
I am a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and a CSDE trainee. Nearly all of the research I have done over the past four years has been facilitated in some way by CSDE computing resources. It enables me to access Stata, and other expensive software programs, for free, allowing me to be productive day or night, whenever/wherever my schedule allows. This also requires CSDE to securely host a variety of restricted data and work with the data storage requirements of numerous entities, including local service-providing agencies, whose highly sensitive data is being analyzed in the service of improving support to local communities. And these data, for example, are pretty “big,” so thank goodness for CSDEs high-powered sim clusters, otherwise, who knows how long our analyses would have taken! Finally, I have also used CSDE computing resources in courses I have taught/TAd, allowing dozens of undergraduate students the access to gain professionally useful computing skills whenever *their* busy schedules allow.

Michele
Hello,
I am a PhD student in the UW Sociology department and an NSF Grad Research Fellow. I wanted to fully endorse the CSDE UW Student Technology Fee proposal and highly recommend that they receive their funding. I rely heavily on the CSDE computing resources. As a mixed methods researcher who works on multiple projects that require a wide range of computer programs to conduct analysis, I would not be able to successfully complete my research without these CSDE resources. I am currently doing research that requires me to use to NVivo, a very expensive program, as well as Stata and Atlas.ti. Additionally, the secure network folders enables me to store large amounts of data and run analysis quickly and efficiently, which I cannot do from my personal computer. Having all my data stored in one secure place that also has the analysis software I need is invaluable. Moreover, as a graduate student struggling financially, my laptop is cheap and inefficient. Being able to remote into a powerful and stable computing environment has been so important to my studies.
Thank you for considering my endorsement.
Michele Cadigan

ANN NGUYEN
I am a PhD student in Health Services, School of Public Health. The CSDE terminals have been extremely helpful, giving me access to expensive software and allowing me to Stata analyses on servers that are much faster than my computer. Another benefit is that the CSDE terminals run on Windows OS. As a Mac user, the CSDE terminals have been a lifesaver in helping me access large datasets that are exe files, which I then convert to data files that I can use on my Mac. In my brief interactions with the CSDE staff, they have been professional and quick to respond. I strongly believe that this is an important resource for students and hope to see it receive the financial support.

Lauren A
I am an MPH student in the Epidemiology program. CSDE’s software and support has been a fundamental resource in my development of research projects, Master’s thesis, collaboration with faculty around the UW, and even in completing course assignments. Using the software and environment provided by CSDEs terminal server, I have been able to work on teams and use software that otherwise would have been impossible due to the costs of software and secure environments for data sharing and analysis. After working at/attending 5 different universities throughout my academic career, the level of resources and support provided by CSDE is absolutely unparalleled in my experience. Not only this, but CSDE’s technology strategy provides an extremely high value for students and the university community relative to their cost for maintenance. I strongly endorse this proposal!

HILARY C. WETHING
CSDE terminal servers, simulation clusters and geocode servers are instrumental to my research and that of the Seattle Minimum Wage Study. Our work, quite frankly, would not be possible without these servers and the support of the CSDE staff.

CHARLES C. LANFEAR
CSDE computing resources are integral to nearly every research project in which I participate. They provide a remote platform to work with restricted access data that would normally require a dedicated secure research room, as well as offer access to servers that can handle my largest data sets. CSDE machines are also reliable, allowing me to run processes that take days to complete, which might be impossible on my own computers. Additionally, through CSDE I have access to an array of software I cannot possibly afford to obtain myself. The power and convenience of CSDE computing resources has made them indispensable to my work and the work of many graduate students and faculty members I know and work with. When I join a project, I always feel relief when I’m told “everything is hosted on CSDE,” and every time I start a new project it goes “on CSDE.”

Charles Lanfear
Department of Sociology

YUAN HSIAO
CSDE has been extremely important for computing resources for my research. Without the CSDE computing support of R, STATA, and Mplus, I wouldn’t be able to collect web-based data and perform my statistical analysis. In addition, the CSDE computing resources allow me to execute programs that take days to finish without interruption. For example, my recent solo-authored paper would not have been possible without the support of Mplus which are really expensive to purchase. The CSDE resources greatly save my financial and time costs for conducting research!

Yuan Hsiao
Department of Sociology & Department of Statistics

Chiho
CSDE terminal server and its related resources are part and parcel of graduate students like me. This terminal server is not merely essential for my learning through basic and advanced statistics courses, but crucial for my research through various projects. I have benefited from this terminal server because it allows me to save a lot of time and money to continue to efficiently and effectively work and study, especially while I am working for my research project at outside locations or doing collaborative work with faculty across the UW campus. I am sure that maintaining this invaluable system with stable and sufficient funding is the right thing to do as ‘de-commodified’ social protection to support students’ academic needs. I fully and unequivocally support this endorsement. – Chiho Song, Graduate Student, School of Social Work.

MICHAEL ANDREW BABB
Simply put, without the technology (and community) that CSDE provides, I would not be able to complete my dissertation. Knowing that I can access my work and data from any computer is amazing. Knowing that my work is backed up and I don’t have to worry about a data loss is comforting. Knowing that massive processing power and data storage are just a few clicks away? Priceless.

I use the CSDE computing environment to perform statistical analysis using R and python and I use GIS software to display visually changes in population.

Mike Babb, PhC
Geography

Adam A
Allows me to work remotely and have access to software I cannot afford to purchase.

EMILY J. SLAGER
CSDE remote computing has been vital to allowing me (and the many GIS students I TA) get access to vital computing resources at times when I’m unable to travel to campus to use on-campus computer labs. I could not have completed my dissertation fieldwork without these resources!

Margaret M
I use the CSDE terminal servers to access many different software packages that I otherwise would not have reliable access to. Individual licenses to these packages are very costly, and would be prohibitively expensive for me to purchase on my own. The flexibility of this service will be crucial as I work on my dissertation research over the course of the next few years.

Edgar
This proposal seems great! I am excited about the ways that this will continue to support my research and the numerous projects that I participate in. I won’t have to spend extra money to purchase software myself.

Edgar Sandoval, Geography

Lee Jude
I am a graduate student in Geography, and I have been using CSDE computing resources since my first day here at UW. I don’t know what I would do without them. I have made use of the terminal servers in just about every project I have worked so far. The software, storage, and easy access have made my work easier in countless ways. Lee Fiorio, Department of Geography

Savannah
I support this proposal to upgrade and renew hardware or software for CSDE. CSDE has supported all of my research projects, both qualitative and quantitative, by providing access to remote servers and software necessary to complete my research. As a graduate student, it is unrealistic for me to spend money on these programs myself. For example, qualitative data analysis software such as NVivo and Atlas.ti cost roughly one paycheck, of 1/18th of my stipend. Quantitative data analysis software is equivalent or most costly. CSDE also provides worthwhile connections to other universities and data centers at UNC, Michigan, and Minnesota, which house some of the most comprehensive social and biometric data sources in the country. I personally have been able to gain swift access to some of these datasets thanks to CSDE. Truly, the CSDE computing program makes it possible to conduct efficient research for not only myself but over 1300 other students at UW.

JESSE A
As a grad student in Geography, I know that these services are critical. For grad students on stipends, these purchases and updates are too costly for us to assume on our own. We rely on CSDE terminals to be properly maintained and updated and to do the many things that each of us, on our own, simply cannot do by ourselves on our computers. I strongly endorse this STF Proposal.

TIFFANY DIENHAN PAN
I am a PhD student in Anthropology, and I use CSDE’s remote access computing almost exclusively for all of my research projects. CSDE’s services provide me with access from anywhere to the necessary software for my work, easy ways to share files with collaborators, and secure storage and backup for data. I know many other graduate student in my program and in others who also rely on CSDE’s computing resources on a daily basis. I wholeheartedly endorse this proposal.

Connor
CSDE’s computing resources have been absolutely critical for my success as a graduate student. Of the software CSDE provides, I have used Stata for statistics courses, NVivo for a qualitative content analysis project–a course paper which I eventually took to a major sociology conference–and R/RStudio and NetLogo for both individual research projects and collaborations with CSDE-affiliated professors. In the course of this work, I have used the Windows terminal server, the Windows simulation cluster, and, most recently, the Unix server. All of these are invaluable resources. I have taken particular advantage of these servers as a robust infrastructure for collecting web data for demographic research–cutting-edge work that would be immensely challenging on my own but nearly effortless for me to set up when I can rely on what the CSDE computing staff have already built.

CSDE is one of the reasons I am grateful to be at the UW, and the infrastructure and support it provides enable social science researchers to be leaders in their fields. For CSDE to continue to facilitate the success of graduate students like me, it is essential that they have the resources to upgrade their platforms.

Connor Gilroy,
Department of Sociology

Sarah E
CSDE’s terminal server systems are very important for my research. I use them to access software programs such as Stata that I do not have on my local computer and would otherwise have to buy myself. It also allows me to have a secure place to store data and other files where I know they will be securely backed up and easy to access on my computer or on other computers.

== older student endorsements ==

I am a graduate student in the statistics department. Although most of my dissertation work is done on the non-STF-funded CSDE Unix system, occasionally, I need to work with a data file in SPSS, SAS, or Stata format. The CSDE Terminal Servers and CSDE Lab are the only places where I have access to these programs. Although I am not a heavy user of these systems, I rely on them to have reliable up-to-date software and hardware, and the capacity to support the large demands placed on them. I strongly support the use of my Student Technology Fee dollars for the upkeep and expansion of the CSDE computing infrastructure.
–Krista Gile, Graduate Student, Statistics

Because CSDE has invested a great deal in computing resources and support, I preferentially use CSDE’s computer lab and do quite a bit of work remotely via the terminal servers. The resources available in CSDE’s computer lab and on the terminal servers go well beyond what is available from any other campus resource that I have access to, and I consequently use them a great deal. I know many other graduate student in my program and in others who express a similar preference for CSDE’s computing resources and rely on them to a similar degree. As such, upgrading these resources is especially likely to benefit a large number of students. Further, CSDE’s Computing Core is hugely helpful to students in taking advantage of the resources they offer–such assistance can often be difficult to access as a student.
–Katherine Wander, Graduate Student, Biocultural Anthropology

I fully support funding that would help CSDE continue to maintain the high level of computing support and service that they provide. These would include the need to upgrade servers, replace and upgrade on-campus lab equipment, increase disk space, and upgrade and maintain software. These upgrades are urgent because we are down to only three, instead of four, remote terminal servers now, and at various times over the last few months, performance has not always been reliable. Often, when using more than two programs at once, performance is slow, or even freezes. Also, disk space is a priority, many of us have multiple projects for our research assistantships, teaching assistantships, collaborative projects w/ other students and faculty, in addition to our own thesis and dissertation projects, and so these require a substantial amount of storage space because we are managing multiple datasets and programs. These items are important to me to have available through CSDE because they are not provided in my home department, particularly not the remote access services, but also expensive programs like SAS and STATA.
Like many other graduate students, I heavily rely on CSDE’s computing services,
particularly the remote terminal servers, storage space, and the wide range of
software provided. Without these, I surely would not be able to meet the
demands of graduate work, because as a parent of two young children, I often
need to work off-campus and therefore need round-the-clock access to reliable
computing services. I also rely on the remote terminal servers when I am away at professional conferences, which occurs several times throughout the year. Moreover, the software I use the most (ArcGIS, SAS, SPSS, STATA, Endnote, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat Professional), even at student discounts, are quite expensive for students like me to purchase ourselves, and so CSDE is our only alternative to access these programs. Please consider CSDE’s requests in your upcoming funding allocations; there are many students, like me, whose research depends on the high quality of computing services at CSDE.
–Tricia Ruiz, Graduate Student, Geography

The computer lab has been a most valuable resource for graduate student. As a
graduate student, the computer lab provide us access to a full range of
statistical packages that would otherwise be extremely costly for students.
It also provide us with a working enviornment of powerful computers who can
handle extremely complex statistical models. It also allows students and
faulties to utilize the resource of classroom and workshop instructions.
I would strongly support the CSDE proposal for STF funding, as it will help our entire scientific community move forward.
–Rosanna Shuk Yin Lee, Graduate Student, Sociology

The CSDE lab is quiet place to work and has some of the most up-to-date software and fastest computers on campus. Continuing to have this a resource benefits students, such as myself, in multiple disciplines related to population research.
–Robin J. Anderson, Graduate Student, Economics

The CSDE computing resources facilitate my research immensely since I started my doctoral program.
There are programs such as STATA, SAS which are not individually affordable to students but provided by CSDE.
I am truly grateful for this infrastructure helping students’ learning and professional development.
Obviously, there have been faculty, researchers and graduate students like me benefiting from the resources and services provided by CSDE. The substantial growing usage and needs speak the truth, and advance the further expansion to ensure quality service. I wholeheartedly encourage the STF Committee to grant sufficient funds to CSDE for both upgrading the facilities in student labs, and expanding the capacities of Student Terminal Server.
Should you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me for further clarification.
–Sheila Huang, Graduate Student, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

I have found CSDE computing services invaluable throughout my graduate career at UW. The CSDE student computing lab gives me access to a much broader suite of statistical applications than are available in my home department. All workstations are networked to a common storage system which means I can access my work from any of the lab workstations, as well as through CSDE’s terminal servers. I cannot emphasize enough how the dual access to the lab computers on campus and the terminal servers away from campus has boosted my productivity. The synergy of the two together make both invaluable resources.
CSDE’s dedicated support staff ensures that these resources are continually maintained. My experience has been that CSDE resources are much more reliable than those maintained in my home department. Additionally, data stored on CSDE servers is more reliably backed up than that in my home department. This makes the CSDE student computing lab a much more valuable resource than others available to me.
The lab machines have served us well, but are in need of an upgrade. We are currently running older versions of many of the most commonly used statistical software packages. Additionally, statistical analysis is moving more and more towards computationally intensive “brute force” methods that simulate and resample datasets literally millions of times. The current machines can take a long time (sometimes hours for more complex models) to run these procedures. An upgrade to faster hardware would decrease use time for many users, which in turn increases the availability of these machines for other students.
Our student lab serves us in one more important way: Multi-user software licenses can make some software (especially more specialized software used by fewer users) too expensive to deploy on our CSDE terminal servers. The CSDE student computing lab provides a way to make this software available to students at a lower cost because fewer licenses need to be bought.
–David Nolin, Graduate Student, Anthropology

The terminal servers are very useful and are highly utilized by me and my colleagues, and I have continually recommended the CSDE lab to other students who have not previously utilized the CSDE lab and terminal server. So I expect the demand for usage will increase due to rising membership.
–Joanne Ho, Graduate Student, College of Forest Resources

CSDE lab provides students a space to use computer equipments that have important analytical programs installed. It is also a place students can use for group study especially when they need run computer programs together. As a doctoral students, I also consult program manual books stored in the lab, which is very helpful for doing my project.
–Gao Xiang, Graduate Student, School of Social Work

The computer lab resources managed by CSDE are integral to facilitating graduate student research. These resources provide students with the computing tools necessary to compile and analyze research data, store information securely, and obtain access to hardware and software tools that are unique to social science research. In addition to the actual equipment managed by CSDE, the technical and programming support enables students to receive help and advice on how to effectively use the tools that are available. I have benefited greatly from having access to a well-functioning and well-managed computer lab, which has allowed me to work on research projects more productively than would have been possible either at home or in other computer labs on campus. I strongly support this STF proposal for computer lab upgrades.
–S. Colby Phillips, Graduate Student, Department of Anthropology

I strongly support the proposal for new hardware and software for the CSDE computer lab. I’m a graduate student working on my dissertation using a dataset of nearly 10,000 cases. I rely on the high quality computing services provided by CSDE, which can handle the statistical analyses used in my research. Having consistently dependable hardware and software on each computer in the lab is essential for my research.
–Lynne Taguchi, Graduate Student, Sociology

===DEPARTMENTAL===

CSDE’s primary mission is to support research and training in population sciences at UW, and a first-rate computing infrastructure is an essential ingredient in both the generation and the transmission of knowledge in this area. Providing students with access to powerful computing resources, up-to-date statistical software, and an environment that encourages collaboration are important contributions to both the quality of the student experience and to their future opportunities.
CSDE is dedicated to providing social science students with access to powerful computing and up-to-date technical software, both through remote access and via our 24-hour student lab. The proposed replacement of both hardware and software in the lab is intended to accomplish three main goals: replacing obsolete workstations that can no longer accommodate the more demanding statistical projects, providing students with a uniform computing environment on all machines, and effecting a substantial savings in staff time that will permit more individualized support and effective troubleshooting. STF funding has been instrumental in the creation of this lab, and support for this standardization would join substantial investments by CSDE and the College in personnel and facilities.
–Shelly Lundberg, CSDE Director

The CSDE Computer Lab is a critical resource for students in the Social Sciences and beyond. It is the place where many students will learn to use Statistical Software packages for the first time, interacting with the CSDE Help staff and their peers. It is where many Graduate students write their theses and professional papers. In partnership with STF hardware and software funding, CSDE provides space, power, networking, equipment insurance, furniture, and technical support to users of the Student Lab. CSDE and the College of Arts and Sciences recently spent well over $5000 to replace the desks in the lab in order to make the space more attractive and usable to students. And finally, this summer we hired an additional full-time system administrator. We did this to better meet the growing demands for support from the Student population that we serve.
This year’s proposal is a little more extensive than in recent history.
CSDE has deferred upgrading the computers in the student lab for as long as we could, in order to get the maximal use from them. Some of the equipment in the lab is now more than 5 years old and is showing its age. Rather than continue our historical partial replacement cycle, we have instead opted to replace all the student lab systems at once. We believe this will ease the burden of image management and standardization, and ultimately provide a more uniform experience to our student users.
I would like to reiterate the importance of the Student-requested Statistical software… both on the Terminal Servers, and the Student lab. These packages are expensive and difficult for students to find on campus. But employers in numerous disciplines look for these key software skills when interviewing applicants. If we don’t provide the opportunity for our students to learn and use them, they will be at a disadvantage when they compete for jobs. We are committed to producing the best prepared
students in the Social Sciences and the software STF provides is a key to that commitment.
–Matt Weatherford, CSDE Computing Core Director

As a faculty member at an affiliated department (Social Work), I’m grateful
to be able to refer students to the CSDE terminal server resources. Having
access to maintained and updated statistical software and enough storage
space for large data sets means that our students can pursue work on
multiple data sets and using different methodologies. Keep up the good
work!
–Jennifer L. Romich, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work

CSDE’s student lab is the heart of independent student learning in population sciences at UW. Students from across campus (including from my own department – geography) go to the lab to access a variety of statistical and mapping software designed for demographic research. The lab gets intensive use and the machines currently available there are not up to the task, either in terms of the ability to run new versions of software on big datasets, or in terms of reliability (they are getting old). I urge the STF committee to renew the facilities in CSDE’s lab in order to maintain student access to cutting edge resources in demographically oriented computing.
–Mark Ellis, Professor, Geography

===STUDENT===

I would support upgrades of the student-used resorces as suggested by CSDE personnel below. In particular, I have used the EQS program available via the terminal servers (#4) and appreciate the 24-7 availablility of the server and the storage space. As my research progresses, I will find I need to rely on this resource more, and I would continue to apreciate the high quality of the equipment & software. I agree that these upgrades are a good use of student tech funds.
–Gina Cardillo, Graduate Student, Speech & Hearing Sciences

As a graduate student, my research utilizes large quantity of data and
sophisticated statistical modelings. My research project has relied
significantly on the available softwares, computing storeage on the remote
terminal servers, as the server allowed me to run complex statistic models on
large quantity of data. I often traveled to conferences for presentation,
or attend workshops, and having access to the terminal server has been most
valuable. Funding from the STF for the terminal server would help all
graduate students significantly and tremendously, and utimately it allows us
to develop new research and improve our overall knowledge of science.
–Rosanna Shuk Yin Lee, Graduate Student, Sociology

I’m a graduate student who frequently uses the CSDE terminal server services. Ensuring that students have proper resources will be very useful, so I fully support the proposal.
–Alex Kirk, Graduate Student, Economics

The terminal servers are an invaluable resource and have allowed me to work at home in addition to at a school. I have used CSDE’s terminal servers to perform most of the statistical analysis used in my dissertation, as do a number of my colleagues. So as the student population grows, it is of up-most importance to increase the capacity of the terminal servers.
–Robin J. Anderson, Graduate Student, Economics

Because I’m getting degrees in both anthropology and epidemiology, working on my own research, working on disease modeling at the Hutch, working with a modeling team out of CSDE, and trying to finish up a statistics concentration, I use the terminal server ALL THE TIME. Though my work doesn’t seem to fit in any one department, it has always fit will with the CSDE mission. And CSDE has been a huge support to me by offering the terminal servers. I can access them from anywhere, as I travel to conferences and field sites (not to mention the variety of jobs I have here in Seattle). Also, they consistently have programs not available in many places, such as EQS and SAS. Without these, I would have to buy many programs myself, which would make my research unaffordable. It is frustrating when the servers are full of users, making it hard to get access, and particularly difficult to run large statistical models. It would be great if we can keep this valuable resource and improve upon it.
–Jerusha Achterberg, Graduate Student, Biocultural Anthropology, Epidemiology

While not in the CSDE program directly, I have had occasion to take
courses in statistics in the past at the UW. In this respect, the CSDE
terminal servers were incredibly helpful to me; they allowed me to do my
work in any location, and on the mac OSX platform, which is my primary
machine. The staff were very helpful and accomodating in providing me
an account for scholastic purposes. It was very useful to me then, and
I hope they continue to be available.
–Aron Beal,Health Science Libraries

I’m writing to express my strong support for CSDE’s proposal to expand its
student terminal server.
CSDE has made its computing resources and software available to students
regardless of school and department. This unique interdisciplinary approach
has allowed me access to an array of software for both quantitative and
qualitative analyses. My own home department and school have not provided
me with these invaluable resources.
The terminal server has been instrumental to my dissertation work. I
conduct the bulk of my dissertation research using the terminal server by
accessing all software, files, and documents from any computer. This
service offers me considerable flexibility as dedicated, reserved workspace
for students is not always available.
Importantly, CSDE has allotted a generous amount of memory to each student
account. This has helped me to stay organized as I can save all of my files
in one location. In addition, CSDE regularly backs-up its systems
alleviating the risk of losing years of data and work.
–Grace Wang, Graduate Student, School of Public Health and Community Medicine

I cannot over emphasize the importance of the CSDE terminal servers to me. These servers are linked to a common storage system which means I can access my data from anywhere in the world with an internet connection and remote desktop client software. Storing my work in a single location means I no longer have to worry about porting copies of files back and forth between different computing labs or home on removable media, or the nightmare of having multiple versions of the same file in different stages of development on different machines. These servers also give me access to a much broader suite of statistical applications than I have available in my home department, and importantly for me give me access to these resources from home. For me this means I can be just as productive at home as on campus.
The CSDE terminal servers have literally changed the way I do research. During my dissertation field research I was able to access CSDE terminal servers from as far away as rural Indonesia. This gave me access to a whole range of applications I would otherwise not have had access to. More recently I was able to log into the CSDE terminal servers while away at an academic conference. This allowed me to perform an additional analysis to add to my conference presentation. On a daily basis I log into a single desktop and pick up on a project exactly where I left off without having to relaunch any applications or reload any files.
The utility of the CSDE terminal servers to other students is demonstrated by the volume of use these servers see. During peak use, it is not uncommon to have several dozen students simultaneously using a single server. Many of these students are engaged in computationally intensive statistical analyses which put a heavy load on the processors. When load is high there can be a noticeable drop in system performance, for example with applications taking ten or twenty seconds to respond to a single mouse click, or graphics slow to refresh on monitors. Despite this, students continue to use these servers because of their utility over other available resources. The addition of additional terminal server resources would reduce the load on any single server and improve performance for all students.
CSDE’s dedicated support staff ensures that these resources are continually maintained. My experience has been that CSDE resources are much more reliable than those maintained in my home department. Additionally, data stored on CSDE servers is more frequently and reliably backed up than that in my home department. This makes CSDE computing resources a much more valuable resource than others available to me, and one I feel I can confidently trust to store my work securely and safely.
–David Nolin, Graduate Student, Anthropology

CSDE terminal server provides students flexible and crucial support on computer programs. It allows students to access the resources at different working places which help them make better use of the space and time. As a doctoral student who is working on dissertation, I rely on terminal server to do data analysis all the time. It is very important for my research project and surely for other students like me.
–Gao Xiang, Graduate Student, School of Social Work

In addition to the computer lab resources managed by CSDE, the Windows Terminal Server system is a key component of the overall computing system that is available to students. This system provides a secure way to store and access student research project data, and extends the computing resources across the campus and the Internet. An updated Terminal Server system is important for ensuring that remote access to research files is available, which can be crucial for students who are working in the field or at other locations away from campus. I strongly support this STF proposal for the Windows Terminal Server system upgrades.
–S. Colby Phillips, Graduate Student, Department of Anthropology

I strongly support the proposal for additional terminal server resources for CSDE. A large percentage of my time spent working on my dissertation research is done through terminal services. It’s therefore critical for me that these computing services be fast, reliable, and capable of storing and protecting all of my work. I’m currently using a dataset of nearly 10,000 cases, which is shared by a number of students and researchers, so having shared project storage space would be very useful.
–Lynne Taguchi, Graduate Student, Sociology

I have really benefitted from the remote computing that CSDE offers.
Much of the work I do on computer labs is when the Savery lab is
closed (weekends and evenings). I have really benefitted by having
access to the CSDE servers. They have amazing technology that my
department could never afford and the access is 24-7. I have been able
to speed papers along because of this service. My co-authors have
been impressed by how fast I can analyze data thanks to CSDE remote
access. Please give CSDE the money they need to improve this service.
–David Hekman, former Graduate Student, Management

===DEPARTMENTAL===

CSDE’s primary mission is to support research and training in population sciences at UW, and a first-rate computing infrastructure is an essential ingredient in both the generation and the transmission of knowledge in this area. Providing students with access to powerful computing resources, up-to-date statistical software, and an environment that encourages collaboration are important contributions to both the quality of the student experience and to their future opportunities.
CSDE’s terminal servers give students remote access to powerful computing, up-to-date statistical software, and their own data from anywhere-home, fieldwork site, or any preferred workplace. Remote access is a crucial part of our mission to provide improved access to computing for social science students, and rapidly growing demands from student users are placing pressure on our current capacity, generously funded by STF. Replacing our oldest terminal server will reduce current overcrowding and increase resource availability to on-line users. Expanding student file storage and tape backup capacity will enable CSDE computing to handle expected growth in use over the near future, and also allow for shared project space for collaborative student projects using demographic datasets.
–Shelly Lundberg, CSDE Director

The Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology is grateful to the STF committee. Your committee has continued to entrust us with the funds to provide students with the essential tools they need to work, learn, and be successful in their fields of study. It is of utmost importance that Social Sciences Students have access to the latest statistical software packages and tools. These indispensable software packages give students a chance to learn the tools that they will most likely be using in their jobs and research in the near future. The CSDE Terminal Servers provide a unique computing environment which University of Washington students may use to work from anywhere on their own, flexible schedules. Many students struggle with
commuting and child care issues, and this services allows them to get their work done wherever and whenever they have the time. The services have become increasingly popular over the years and we are now supporting more students from more departments than ever before. And we are still growing.
This year we added a full-time system administrator to our ranks in order to meet the growing demands for support from the Student population that we serve. Thank you once again for your support of CSDE Computing and students in the Social Sciences.
–Matt Weatherford, CSDE Computing Core Director

Several graduate students used the Terminal Servers to run data analysis for an advanced graduate class I taught last Winter. I’m teaching it again this Winter and expect students in that class will use it again. A graduate student and I have also used the Terminal Servers for research. I think the Terminal Servers are a great benefit to graduate students who do not need to purchase software, but are also not limited by free student versions. Having fast servers is an additional benefit to students because they might not otherwise have access to such hardware. I hope that this resource will continue to grow.
–Brian P. Flaherty, Assistant Professor, Psychology

Terminal server and file server resources are essential for the delivery of student computing in demography. Large datasets are the bread and butter of demography and these datasets are growing in number. In order to maintain student access to existing data and to offer access to new sources of data we must increase our file server capacity. Without this file server we may have to restrict future access and students may face a degrading of performance when many users try to access the same data. The terminal servers have become very useful tools for students to do remote computing. Many of our students work at home or do research in remote field locations. The existing terminal server facilities allow our students no matter where they are located to access their data and run analyses on them using our wide range of statistical and mapping software. Upgrading our oldest and smallest terminal server to a machine with much greater capacity will improve the speed of remote computing and allow more student users to run more programs simultaneously. I strongly encourage the STF committee to fund these needed server upgrades.
–Mark Ellis, Professor, Geography

Student endorsement I am writing in support of a request by the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE) to update their EQS terminal server software. Currently, CSDE has version 5.7, while the most recent available version is 6.1. This quarter, I am enrolled in SOC 529: Structural Equation Modeling for the Social Sciences. It makes heavy use of the EQS program for homework and papers. Our professor arranged permission for class members to install a trial version of EQS 6.1 on our home computers, which will expire at the end of the quarter. In general, I have found EQS to be user-friendly and intuitive. Prior to installing version 6.1 on my own computer, I experienced substantial frustration when using EQS 5.7 on the CSDE terminal server. For example, a procedure that worked in the current version did not work in the older version. Further, the help system in 5.7 is decidedly unhelpful when compared to the help system in 6.1. Having used both the older version of EQS and the current version on my home computer, I can attest that an update of the software would be of great value to me and to other students. I plan to continue to use EQS in research projects after my course this quarter has ended, and I would be very grateful to have access to EQS 6.1 through the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. –Colleen Chrisinger, Public Policy and Management The computing services provided by CSDE are tremendously important for me. I am a graduate student in UW Geography and a parent of two young children. Achieving a healthy academic work-life balance in the quarter (10-11 weeks) system can get tricky at times, and often leaves me with no option other than to work from home, especially early in the morning or late at night. And the software I use the most (ArcGIS, SAS, SPSS, Endnote, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat Professional), even at student discounts, is too expensive for me, and for most students on a TA/RA-funded budget. Because of this schedule and these cost constraints, I heavily rely on the remote terminal servers for both processing and storing my files. Please accept my support and gratitude for CSDE’s ongoing efforts to provide reliable and high-quality computing services for students. –Tricia Ruiz, Geography The addition of updated statistical software is absolutely necessary for CSDE to continue to provide top-notch computing services for statistically minded faculty, graduate students and undergraduates. As statistical software improves, so does the ability for UW researchers to conduct cutting edge qualitative and quantitative projects–something that has undoubtedly aided the national and global prominence of this university. A particularly dire component of the research proposals, beyond the statistical software packages requested, is expansion of the terminal server (TS) hardware and software offered by CSDE. The existing TSs are overburdened and often unable to accomodate the growing CSDE user base. Further, the ability for researchers to back up their data on the CSDE servers and work remotely from any on- or off-campus locations enhances productivity. All told, the STF proposal’s submitted by CSDE are important to the continued excellence of our university, for both faculty, grads and undergrads and cooperative research projects involving all three. –Jon Agnone, Sociology I am a graduate student in Statistics, currently a CSDE fellow and doing research in New York, Kenya and South Africa. I am profiting greatly from the CSDE terminal servers for doing my research from those various places. I am working on probabilistic projections of HIV prevalence, fertility and populations by age and sex. This research is very computationally expensive, because it involves having to run various models with different kinds of software many times. I would not be able to carry out this research on my laptop. By connecting to one of the terminal servers, I can start simulations and get back to it the next day to see the results. –Leontine Alkema, Statistics I use CSDE computer lab when I am on campus and CSDE remote servers when I work from home as my primary computing resources. The main programs which I use for my research include Stata, SAS, Adobe Acrobat and StatTransfer. The up-to-date versions of these programs are critical so that I can smoothly continue my work started on the other computers and fully utilize the more efficient and recent improvements in the programs. The Terminal server is especially helpful since it allows me to connect to the data and programs from home or any other place which has the internet connection. In this way I can schedule my work in the most convenient way and accomplish more than could otherwise. I have also greatly benefited from the last year created Simulation cluster, which I use to run Matlab simulations requiring powerful computing resources. Maintenance and Improvements of Simulation cluster would be helpful for my research. –Giedrius Blazys, Economics The terminal servers are one of the most valuable tools offered by CSDE to students engaging in quantitative research. Because after-hours access to many computer labs is limited, I rely on the terminal servers to complete assignments and analyze research findings. Without CSDE’s resources, I don’t know how I could get anything done in a timely fashion! –Siobhan M. Mattison, Anthropology

Departmental endorsement
KATHLEEN O’CONNOR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND LABORATORY DIRECTOR – The resources requested in this proposal will provide much-needed updated and new equipment to our graduate and undergraduate students. The Biodemography and Biological Anthropology Lab is one of only half a dozen such labs located in anthropology departments in the country, and only one of two in the country in a funded population center. Our lab is a “wet lab” facility, where we assay biological specimens (urine, saliva, breastmilk, blood) for biomarkers such as reproductive hormones (e.g. estrogen), nutritional indicators (e.g. vitamin A status), and other indicators of health (e.g. cortisol, or immune status indicators). The lab thus offers highly specialized training and research facilities, and students gravitate to our program for this lab. When the lab was established in 1999 here at the UW all of the equipment was funded through faculty research grants. This equipment has also been, and is currently, used heavily for teaching and for student research. We have increasingly felt the need for specific items to be dedicated for student research use to both ease the scheduling difficulties for using the equipment (where grant related research usually gets priority) and provide more up-to-date equipment for student research. Technology in the last decade has advanced at a very rapid pace and today one machine—the requested micro-plate reader—can do what four or more separate and very expensive machines used to do. A new micro-plate reader will enormously expand the types of research our students can undertake, reduce the costs of this research (they won’t have to pay other labs to use their equipment or get the work done, or travel to other labs to do the work, as students have recently had to do), and allow them to take advantage of the vast array of new assays developed using new technologies in the last decade. These are critical concerns for students, who need to be doing cutting-edge research yet who have very limited resources (e.g. NSF limits dissertation grants to $10,000). Our lab is well-placed to adopt this new technology, as we have all of the necessary ancillary equipment, and Eleanor Brindle, the Biodemography Core Director, is highly skilled at the development and adoption of new assays and lab technology and will be able to help the students master the necessary skills. The other equipment requested will fill other critical needs for student research. In our very active lab (much of the activity is student research) having pipettors dedicated to student research will alleviate the constant and stressful shortage and sharing of these tools. Pipettors are the second most critical tool in our lab research, next to the micro-plate reader, and they need to be highly accurate and readily available; we do not have nearly enough to accommodate teaching, faculty research and student research, all of which occur concomitantly in the lab. Additionally, the very heavy use contributes to a high rate of break down of and damage to these tools. Currently, the lab pays for autoclave services, and it is challenging for us to fund this for student research. All materials used in the lab that come into contact with biohazardous materials need to be autoclaved prior to disposal. Having an in-house autoclave dedicated to student needs would make for safer, more efficient and affordable research for our students. The remaining equipment requested (Hemocue, anthropometric equipment) will strengthen student research on the assessment of nutritional status. We do not have adequate or up-to-date equipment for even one student to use in the field. Thus, currently, students have to purchase these items with their own grant money. Many of our students come here wanting to pursue research on nutritional status, and they end up severely limited in what they can do because of the lack of these basic tools. These resources will be used by both undergraduate and graduate students. The laboratory provides a unique opportunity for undergraduates to undertake independent research, and in the past 5 years 7 undergraduate students have done so, including three Mary Gates scholars. This equipment will thus enhance the research abilities and experience of undergraduate as well as graduate students.

DONNA L. LEONETTI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY – I am very happy to endorse the request by the Biodemography Lab in the Department of Anthropology. The lab is one of the very few in the country that supports student access to biological field studies in research that has significance for health and comprehension of the interplay of culture with biology. The staff in the lab has done an outstanding job of creating access for students to inexpensive assays done with excellent quality control. The future of social sciences research will be dependent on linkages to biology and this is a wonderful opportunity to push forward in this interdisciplinary realm.

STEVEN GOODREAU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY – I am writing to express my support for the proposed additions to the equipment available to students in the Biodemography Lab. I am a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. CSDE is one of very few population centers in the country active in biodemography, which blends the perspectives of biological and social science disciplines. The lab provides tools and training that complement the research themes of both CSDE and the Department of Anthropology, including human disease ecology, reproductive ecology, and behavioral ecology. The equipment requested will be useful to students interested in a broad range of topics within these areas. Anthropology graduate students have been very active in biodemographic research, in part because the lab provides students easy access to facilities and training that allow them to explore avenues of research that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive for student projects. Improved access to the lab’s facilities and updated equipment are needed to continue support for this type of work.

BETTINA SHELL-DUNCAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY – I very enthusiastically endorse the STF request by the Biodemography Lab at the University of Washington. This lab is unique and renowned for supporting population-based studies of biodemographic and nutritional markers that are essential for understanding the underpinnings of population biology. The laboratory facilitates the development and implementation of low-cost assays, allowing high-volume processing required for population-level studies. The lab provides critical training for our graduate students, and supports collaboration with faculty across the University of Washington, and beyond. Funding for this equipment is extremely important in facilitating research completed by graduate students at the University of Washington.

DARRYL HOLMAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY – I am pleased to endorse this STF proposal. The Biodemography laboratory is truly unique on this campus and is unusual nationally in providing students with direct access to bioassay equipment tailored to population-level field research. The laboratory already has a strong track record in providing leading-edge research training to both graduate students and advanced undergraduate student. Many students working in the lab (both undergraduate and graduate students) have made presentations on their laboratory-based research at national or regional meetings. Right now at the UW, there is formidable growth in the study of global (or international) health. This laboratory is at the forefront of research in population-level health research in non-traditional settings. These settings include people in developing countries, the rural poor, and immigrants populations that are frequently overlooked by traditional health researchers as either inconvenient or inaccessible (standard health research is largely confined to clinical settings). The Biodemography laboratory has pioneered studies of such populations in the field. The lab had developed new methods of collection and new bioassays that make such research feasible. A typical project involves collection and preservation of biological specimens (urine, blood, or salvia) from people in their natural environment. The samples are then analyzed back in the laboratory using methods tailored to the collection protocol. Standard medical assays are not suitable for this work because of the high cost per specimen, collection protocols that cannot be undertaken in the field, or lack of assays for a suitable biological marker in a medical assay format. The equipment sought in this proposal will substantially expand the range of research projects that students will be able to undertake through the lab. In particular, the equipment will expand the range of field-based research on human and primate nutrition, reproduction, and immunological function. Student endorsement

ANTHONY TESSANDORI, GRADUATE STUDENT, ANTHROPOLOGY – The Anthropology and Biodemography Laboratory will undoubtedly benefit from all the proposed new equipment. My research will benefit specifically from a new microtiter plate reader and new multichannel and single channel pipettors. The microtiter plate reader that we currently use in the lab has, on occasion, been temperamental. This has resulted in lost data and costly re-runs. This new reader will also improve the quality of the data produced. The fact that the laboratory is also used as a teaching facility means that the equipment is used a great deal. Over time the pipettors experience wear and tear which can adversely affect their accuracy. New pipettors will also improve the quality of data the lab can produce.

JENNIFER DERRINGER ARANDA, GRADUATE STUDENT, ANTHROPOLOGY – As a graduate student, I currently utilize all of the equipment in the lab. My dissertation project would make use of the pipettors, autoclave, plate reader and automatic plate washer in conducting urinary assays on nonhuman primate samples. This equipment will be essential to me in conducting my dissertation research.

DEBORAH SCHECHTER, GRADUATE STUDENT, ANTHROPOLOGY – I am writing in support of the tech fee proposal being submitted for equipment for the Biodemography Laboratory. Funding for this equipment is critical for graduate student research. I recently completed my dissertation fieldwork and utilized the lab to carry out salivary cortisol assays. I could not have included this component of my research without the low cost access to cortisol assays provided by the lab and free labor (my own). Most budgets for graduate student research do not allow for the high cost of kit assays nor do they cover the indirect costs that would pay for maintenance and upgrades of equipment. The ability for me to carry out my work depended on the functionality of the lab resources, including the microtiter plate reader and precision pipettors. This lab represents a vital and unique resource for social science graduate students to receive training in immunoassay methods and research access to biomarkers.

MASAKO FUJITA, GRADUATE STUDENT, ANTHROPOLOGY – I am thrilled to endorse the STF request by the Biodemography Lab in the Department of Anthropology and CSDE. The lab has provided me with exceptional educational opportunities and support for the development of my dissertation research, entitled, “An Evolutionary Perspective on Mother-Offspring Vitamin A Transfer.” This research is a unique marriage of social science theory and public health research which has important implications for both theoretical understanding and practical applications for global health, simultaneously. Recognizing its potential contributions, various international organizations have endorsed this research and anticipate the results. These institutions include UNICEF, Micronutrient Initiatives, Food for the Hungry International, Programs for Appropriate Technology in Health, and Puget Sound Partners for Global Health. When I joined the University of Washington in 2001, I had absolutely no background in lab work. Dr. O’Connor and Eleanor Brindle of Biodemography Lab have guided me through my learning and training. Without this guidance and the lab facility, I simply would not have been able to propose a research this sophisticated and meaningful. During the four years of my studies at the lab, however, I have witnessed increasing limitations with their equipment, particularly with outworn and outdated microtiter-plate reader and pipettors. I worry that by next year when I need to analyze specimens for my research such key equipment may be no longer reliable. This will impair the timely completion of not only my dissertation research but also several other equally cutting-edge dissertation and undergraduate research projects that are currently on-going and/or being proposed. Moreover, equipment such as Hemocue and anthropometric measuring devices are important basic tools anthropologists interested in the assessment of nutrition and health must have. Access to these devices through the lab would enable us to propose research projects without individually worrying about the costs of these devices. Doctoral dissertation grants are usually very limited in their values, and travel and field expenses for typical anthropological dissertation studies take up the majority, leaving very little for even relatively inexpensive equipment, compromising what we can accomplish. I strongly urge you to extend your support to the timely maintenance and upgrade of this exceptional educational and research facility for UW students. Thank you.

KATHERINE WANDER, GRADUATE STUDENT, ANTHROPOLOGY – The Biodemography and Biological Anthropology Laboratory is an incredible resource for both undergraduate and graduate students for multiple reasons. First, it provides a number of critical tools for graduate students’ dissertation research, without which many of our projects would not be feasible. Second, it allows both undergraduate and graduate students at all points in the program to take ownership of research projects of manageable size and duration. The opportunity to plan, execute, and publish research of our own conception and design is exceedingly rare and absolutely invaluable to our training. That the Biodemography and Biological Anthropology Laboratory offers this opportunity to so many students is a huge asset to our program and should be supported by STF funds. In my current and future research, many of the items in this proposal will be of immense value to me, especially the new microtiter plate reader. This piece of equipment is essential to all lab work, and improvements in the precision, efficiency, or usability of the lab’s plate reader and reading techniques will benefit all students using the lab. The new plate reader will be of use to me in future pilot and dissertation work, improving the accuracy of my results and decreasing the time I spend reanalyzing samples. Similarly, the microtiter plate washer and new precision pipettors will serve to facilitate the analysis and improve the accuracy of my results in all future lab work I do. I made extensive use of the existing plate reader, plate washer, and pipettors while doing my pilot research; improvements and upgrades in these are very important. In addition to specimen collection and analysis, my dissertation work will include assessments of nutritional status. The Hemocue and anthropometric measuring tools included in this proposal will help me to accomplish this accurately in the field: rural Tanzania, where durable, portable equipment is a must. By providing these tools to me, the Biodemography and Biological Anthropology Laboratory will reduce the costs that need to be covered by my dissertation funding, allowing me to collect more data with the same amount of money. This will be extremely helpful to me, and will improve the quality of my dissertation research.

SHEDRA AMY SNIPES, GRADUATE STUDENT, ANTHROPOLOGY – The requests made in this proposal will help the Biodemography Laboratory reach its full potential as an available, fully equipped lab resource to students at the University of Washington. All of the equipment being requested (the multi-detection microtiter plate reader, automatic microtiter plate washer, precision pipettes, Hemocue, anthropometric tools, and the autoclave for sterilizing waste) are essential pieces in creating high caliber research and training opportunities for student researchers. The Biodemography Laboratory has already benefited me greatly as a scientist in training. This lab is where I was first trained in EIA detection methods as a research assistant, and where I conducted pilot analysis of salivary cortisol among farmworkers at a critical phase of project design and dissertation proposal writing. Today, however, many of those old instruments are worn and in need of replacement to guarantee consistent, accurate results. I will continue to use the Biodemography Laboratory to complete analysis of my dissertation data and stand to benefit from a new plate washer, and most importantly, new precision pipettes. These additions, specifically, will increase the accuracy with which I am able to analyze samples, and ultimately, complete my dissertation. The requested items are no less critical to the successful development of other student scientists at the University of Washington. If funded, the new, updated equipment in the Biodemography Laboratory would be a wonderful investment on behalf of students seeking to do great science.

ELIZABETH KERSCHNER, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, ANTHROPOLOGY – I took the undergraduate lab class last year. It was a great opportunity for me to learn to use enzyme immunoassays, and to practice the scientific process. It is rare that an undergraduate can design and implement research projects. In this class I was able to do just that and continue collecting and analyzing data in an independent study long after the class had ended. I fully support the request for the lab equipment, including the plate reader, washer, and precision pipettors. The Biodemography Lab will benefit greatly as the addition of these items will allow for more accurate research and greater availability of lab resources to students.
xhtml, css.

From 2016 proposal:

Endorsements
JASON R. WILLIAMS (anjrw) on 1/19

The various CSDE servers are invaluable for working on individual and joint projects. They provide computing power not available on desktop computers, automated back-up, and file sharing that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. They allow collaboration among staff and students who otherwise would have to email files back and forth, each install relevant software on their home computers, etc. Similarly, accessing a remote server running a particular program allows demonstrations or presentations that otherwise would require purchasing and installing relevant software on a laptop, and thus are a useful teaching tool.

BRIANNA M. MILLS (brmills) on 1/19

Remote computing is an essential aspect of my education as both a demographer and epidemiologist. Many of the datasets I use cannot be stored on personal computers due to security and confidentiality. Without remote servers and clusters I would not be able to safely and securely store, access, and analyze my data. Without these key resources, many sources of data would not be available for the use of students such as myself.

MITCHELL M FRANCISCO (francmit) on 1/19

CSDE’s remote computing resources such as their terminal servers and simulation clusters are essential to coursework that involves any kind of statistical processing or CPU-intensive work. By being able to access these servers from home, on-the-go during classes, or on campus, CSDE computing lets me access a “second computer” with ease, while allowing me to complete my assignments.

NIKKI ELLER (ellern) on 1/20

I log-in remotely to the CSDE terminals almost every day! I don’t know how I would have analyzed the data for my paper on HPV persistence in men who have sex with men, or the study on hypertension treatment in pharmacies in Peru without CSDE resources!

YU-LING CHANG (yulingsw) on 1/20

I could not have done my dissertation research project without the CSDE terminal server.

BRODIE PARENT (bparent) on 1/20

I depend heavily on CSDE for my work in the SPH. This group has provided me with invaluable introductory classes, coaching and access to important software. Brodie Parent

LIYUAN ZHANG (liyuanzh) on 1/20

The remote service is very convenient and essential for my schoolwork. I can have access to lots of softwares without pay a large upfront fee to install.

KYLE HEUTON (krheuton) on 1/20

Without the Remote Computing for Social Science resource, I could never have succeeded in the advanced electives I enrolled in. I was a Masters of Public Health student, but I wanted to apply advanced quantitative methodologies to my work. To learn about these techniques, I enrolled in many machine learning classes in the computer science and Stats departments. These courses were challenging, and required a large amount of computer resources to study and practice with the “big data” techniques they taught. As a student in the department of global health, I had less access to these resources than my computer science classmates, and that should have put me at a disadvantage. However, I found the Remote Computing for Social Science and was able to access the same software and computing resources as the rest of the students in the class, allowing me to thrive in these challenging courses.

YIQIN SHEN (yiqin) on 1/20

The work of me and many around me would be impossible without the help with CSDE terminal server, I especially appreciate the wide variety of software that CSDE servers have, as well as the quick and helpful response CSDE server staff give. ~Alicia

KATHRYN CHRISTINA PEEBLES (kpeebles) on 1/20

Remote Computing has been essential to me as I embark on my doctoral education. The ability to access programs, applications, and storage space on either my personal or work computers has allowed me to complete homework quickly and to undertake analysis replications that required specific software to which I would not have access otherwise. I look forward to relying on Remote Computing services for the remainder of my graduate work!

WEN-CHIA YANG (yangwc) on 1/20

As a student who needs computer resources to run analysis taking days, and doesn’t have much money to buy software and powerful computer, Remote Computing for Social Science is really a necessary program that helps me succeed my PhD study.

SAMUEL H GRIFFIN (griff85) on 1/20

I have a hard time focusing while working on my personal laptop. The computers in the lab are much more conducive to productivity and I travel the 45 minutes to campus to use them regardless of whether or not I have class that day. The computers in the lab, by having two screens, dramatically increase my ability to do research.

KELLI F. JOHNSON (kfjohns) on 1/20

Thank you for reviewing the proposal regarding Remote Computing for Social Science. As a graduate student in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences I consistently need increased computing power to run my simulation models. The cluster provided by CSDE has helped me submit papers in a timely manner and prepare revisions within the allotted time frame. Without the computing power of the cluster I would not have been able to re-run all of my analysis within the deadlines given to me. Thank you for providing this resource to UW students.

JEANNIE F BAILEY (baileyjf) on 1/20

I cannot express the extent of my gratitude for the Remote Computing for Social Sciences. In the field of Anthropology, where resources are at times slim, I have benefited tremendously from this server. For one, it provides us top notch software without having to spend our own personal funds. Second, it allows us to work for the UW at outside locations. For the last few years I have been stationed elsewhere as a visiting scholar and having access to the remote server has been extremely helpful. Please keep funding this resource!

CAROLINE JOHNSON (cmj33) on 1/20

Continued funding of these convenient remote computing services is essential for graduate students like me. Currently I use CSDE’s remote terminal servers to complete my qualitative thesis project, which requires use of the ATLAS.ti software (quite expensive if I were to buy it on my own). I also use the terminal servers to access Stata software for my biostatistics courses, which are a requirement for my MPH degree. Further access to remote computing will help more students access a wider variety of important software no matter where they are located. This is especially important for furthering diversity and accessibility, thinking about commuter students who live far from the campus computer labs, disabled students who must work from their own home or computer for accessibility reasons, lower-income students who cannot afford expensive software, and remote learning students who are not in Washington.

CAMERON HAAS (chaas) on 1/20

My success in my graduate coursework in epidemiology depend heavily on the availability and access to the CSDE Remote Computing. Courses in biostatistics and statistical analysis software require access to Stata and SAS on a regular basis, over multiple quarters. Due to family obligations, access these resources on campus at the HSL is limited and most of the an inconvenience. The ability to do much of this coursework from home or work allows me to balance my many obligations. I am also able to utilize these resources in order to perform thesis work and research outside of class. Without the Remote Computing for Social Science, I would not be able to afford these resources that are invaluable preparation for my professional career.

RYAN GABRIEL (rygabe) on 1/20

To whom it may concern, I fully endorse Remote Computing for Social Sciences. The remote computing resource has been indispensable to my development and progress as a scholar. I use it almost daily. I implore you to continue funding this wonderful service. Sincerely, Ryan Gabriel PhD Candidate Dept. of Sociology UW

JANETH SANCHEZ (janets1) on 1/20

As a PhD student in Health Services Research, access to Remote Computing has enabled me to successfully complete some of my core classes and start my dissertation research. Without this resource it would have been extremely impossible for me to complete data analysis for my dissertation.

ALEC I. KENNEDY (aleck006) on 1/20

The CSDE computing service has been an incredible asset and absolute necessity for my research. It has allowed me to collaborate with other researchers in the University of Washington on research projects through the amazing file server. Sending files to colleagues is incredibly easy and I don’t have to worry about hitting the memory limit on my Dropbox account. I was recently added to a project folder collaborating with several other individuals at other institutions and we all find it easy to store all of our project related files in one place on the CSDE server. Furthermore, the simulation cluster has allowed me to run large jobs utilizing multiple nodes. A project I am currently working on has required that I leave a simulation program running for multiple weeks. This task would be nearly impossible (and much slower) on my personal or department provided computer. Having the simulation cluster allows me to run this program without having to take up one of my other personal resources.

HOLLAND R. KITCHELL (hrkitch7) on 1/20

I appreciate having CDSE as a resource for my graduate studies. It allows me to easily access the software I need (mainly SPSS) from home and school which allows me the flexibility to get my work done on my busy schedule. I know many of my peers also appreciate having the ability to have remote computing.

ANU ARYAL (aryalanu) on 1/20

Currently, I am using CSDE remote access service for using stata software. I am a student, and I can’t afford to purchase one, and also due to my schedule, it is always not possible to go to library to work on stata for my biostat homeworks. In future, I would also want to use this service when I am doing my research project.

DARCY P WHITE (dpwhite) on 1/20

I use the remote computing services to access software programs that I don’t have funds to purchase on my own computer, or that work more efficiently through the remote system. I also benefit from the maintenance and technical support from the CSDE computing service. I find it really valuable for my coursework and research.

ELENA M SWARTZ (eswartz) on 1/20

As a student I appreciate using the CSDE server for my PBAF 527 class- it is so helpful and reduces the financial burden on me as a student to buy an independent license for SPSS

ANN NGUYEN (annn4) on 1/20

As a graduate student, I strongly support continued funding for the CSDE Computing services. I use CSDE to run high-volume statistical analyses using Stata 13 and Stata 14, the latter of which is not (to my knowledge) available anywhere else on campus. In the latter example, I had data that could only be opened using Stata 14. CSDE saved me a ton of time and money by installing this software for me to use. My request for the install was processed and done within 24 hours. I was extremely impressed and grateful, especially given that I was working with a tight deadline. CSDE is a great resource, and I strongly endorse it!

LAUREN E LIPIRA (llipira) on 1/20

Being able to use the CSDE servers remotely for data analysis is invaluable. Purchasing all of the necessary software for my own computer would be too expensive and going to use the servers in person would be too inconvenient. Remoting in is the best!

ANAND SINGLA (asingla) on 1/20

I cannot thank you enough for this resource. As a student trying to learn different statistical packages, I cannot afford all the licenses. This way, the software that is made available is easily for educational reasons and is really allowing me to further my knowledge. I have not yet begun to scratch the surface of all these resources, but I truly appreciate its availability!

Lanae Schaal (lschaal) on 1/20

I am accessing SAS at no cost (beyond tuition) to me. This is invaluable for obtaining the programming skills necessary to succeed in my profession.

DARRYL J. HOLMAN (djholman) on 1/20

CSDE has, for well over a decade, provided an outstanding computing infrastructure for student research. Their terminal servers and sim cluster are loaded with the type of analytical software that enables students to do research at the highest levels. For years I have been enthusiastically sending students to CSDE to do their remote computing. This proposal will allow CSDE to keep up this outstanding service and provide infrastructure to enable high-quality student research. I fully support the proposal. Darryl Holman Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Director, Center for Social Science Computation and Research

HOLLY E WYRWICH (hollywyr) on 1/20

I’m a full-time working professional and a part-time graduate student. Without the support of Remote Computing for Social Science, I can’t access the software I need when I need it. I need stable access to remote computing 24/7 in order to complete my assignments on time.

ZACHARY STEVEN PETERSON (zachap3) on 1/21

The CSDE servers are critical for me doing my homework assignments remotely – funding the CSDE servers allows me to work two jobs, and still achieve educational success. I cannot state how important the remote computing program is to me as a student. It is invaluable.

BENJAMIN S. DUNLAP (bdunlap) on 1/21

CSDE’s Computing Services have been invaluable to me as a student in the Health Services MPH program. They have been essential for analyzing large datasets which would be very slow to use on my personal computer. In my humble opinion, I believe that CSDE’s Computing Services have effectively “leveled the playing field” among students lucky enough to be studying in participating departments. Instead of focusing on having the right technology to answer problems, students are allowed to use the best technology available and focus on their analysis and develop new ideas in their field without being slowed by the speed of their own typically less powerful personal computer or laptop. The software available and training provided by CSDE staff are excellent.

JENNIFER ROMICH (romich) on 1/21

Thanks for the opportunity to write in support of this valuable resource. I talk about the CSDE terminal servers to students starting when they are contemplating coming to UW and all the way through graduation. The servers are a great resource to get social science done, and having the maintained and secure software is incredibly helpful for undergraduate and graduate students who want to conduct individual data analysis. Keeping my research files on CSDE also makes it easy to bring students into collaborative projects. Their computing staff probably fields a half dozen emails every year that say “add this student to this research project”– and they always respond promptly! Thanks for your support of this great resource.

ANNE K. ALTHAUSER (aka17) on 1/21

We use CSDE to store and analyze very large data sets that

ANNE K. ALTHAUSER (aka17) on 1/21

We use CSDE to store and analyze very large data sets for the Minimum Wage Study that require many firewalls and protection. This type of research would not be possible without the protected space CSDE provides for us. Granters and data sharing partners alike request to see the security measures taken by CSDE for secure data storage, and we would not be approved for such research without it.

ORION T STEWART (orions) on 1/21

I use the CSDE terminal servers all the time for my coursework and dissertation in the epidemiology PhD program. Please keep this valuable resource available!

YEUAN CHEN (yachen) on 1/21

I am an economics PhD student. I am using the CSDE sim cluster for one of my dissertation chapters, studying why fishermen target different sizes of fish, and how that changes the biological and economic health of the fishery over time. I would not be able to numerically solve my model without the CSDE sim cluster. The method I use to solve a multiple state multiple action dynamic programming problem requires intensive computing resources. Therefore, I would be so very sad if I could not use the CSDE sim cluster. Regards, Allen Chen

SHELLY L JOHNSTON (slj206) on 1/21

As a Public Health Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics Graduate Student, I greatly appreciate the resources and accessibility provided by the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. Through the CSDE R: Drive, I access pertinent information for my thesis project. This includes but is not limited to the project’s grant proposal, study transcripts and coding schemes, as well as summaries and ongoing theme developments. To that end, I appreciate the usefulness of a universal drive for the grant team that is both guarded and reliable.

CLARA HILL (hiclara) on 1/21

Without this service, many students wouldn’t be able to gain access to software required to succeed in our classes and advance in our fields.

MICHAEL J MULCH (mmulch) on 1/21

-=What 21st Century University doesn’t have updated access to Technology!!=- Virtualization is the future of computing, without funding a low-income student, like myself would not be able to run a virtual desktop (accessible anywhere on campus with a low cost, low power laptop), run virtual apps (otherwise limited by my processor speed), or work on complex statical software otherwise to costly to be able to afford and install on my local machine. Please support CSDE as they are one of the few virtual technology resources accessible for those in Social Science. Thank you for your consideration. Michael M

JESSICA S ULLRICH (jullrich) on 1/21

I wouldn’t have been able to take my statistics classes without access to the remote computing for social science server. Please ensure that this resource is available to students. It’s crucial that we have access to statistical programs we need to do our research and studies. Thank you.

J.BEN FITZHUGH (fitzhugh) on 1/21

CSDE’s computer services are vital resources for student research and training. I have used the CSDE computer servers continuously since 2006 on complex and collaborative projects. Four graduate students in that time received Ph.D.s on these projects using the CSDE servers and computation services and a number of other graduate and undergraduate students have participated (doing independent/honors projects or volunteering to learn relevant skills). For these projects, remote access to project files on CSDE servers (and the large storage capacity of those servers), access to GIS mapping and statistical packages and support were key functions. CSDE provides vital service to students and faculty engaged in computer intensive social science and demography. I strongly support this proposal. Ben Fitzhugh, Associate Professor of Anthropology (Archaeologist) and Director of the Quaternary Research Center.

MAIA THOMAS (maiat3) on 1/21

I am tremendously grateful for the CSDE remote terminal server and support services. I am a distance learner studying STATA data analysis through the School of Public Health. I hope to go on to become and epidemiologist. Without the remote access to STATA I would not be able to take this course or learn this critical skill.

ZACHARY CHEN LIAO (zachcl) on 1/21

CSDE has been an invaluable resource for me, as it gives me reliable around-the-clock access to a wide variety of software that I use both for classwork and for my research. Please keep this service going for future students!

SARAH E. COFFEY (sacoffey) on 1/21

I have used CSDE’s remote computing service on many occasions to complete assignments for statistics courses. It’s crucial to have access to statistical software for my classes and CSDE’s terminal made that possible. I hope to see this educational tool remains accessible to students who may not otherwise have access to the software needed to succeed in classes.

PATRICK DENICE (pdenice) on 1/21

Remote computing for social science is invaluable in my education. I rely on the storage space and statistics software provided on the remote servers to learn about statistical methods and carry out my own analyses for my dissertation and publications. My work would simply not be possible without these resources, as it can be prohibitively expensive for individuals to purchase licenses for the kinds of software I (and many others) use on a daily basis.

NORA W WILLIAMS (nww3) on 1/21

Remote Computing makes my analyses possible! Without this program, I would not be able to conduct research on the large, complicated datasets that interest me.

CHRISTIAN HESS (hesscl) on 1/21

The CSDE computing services already allow me such great resources for pursuing my graduate research as well as other statistical programming support, so I am thankful that the STF has been so generous lately towards that end. Between the terminal servers, the simulation cluster and the wonderful selection of software available free of charge, there is simply no reason to do statistical analysis anywhere but through the UW’s CSDE. Additionally, the CSSCR plotter printer was an invaluable resource for co-investigators and I on a research project, since we were able to produce a professional looking research poster at no charge and within a day’s notice. The staff there mentioned that the printer is over 10 years old and ripe for replacement–and I certainly think STF could help bring this service to more students and overall improve the quality of the posters too.

KYLE CROWDER (kylecrow) on 1/21

Remote Computing for Social Science provides tools that are absolutely critical for my students! The infrastructure allows the students in my classes to access software and data that would otherwise be completely inaccessible and that is critical for the development of data-analysis skills. The resource allows my student collaborators to access common data files and software used in the cutting-edge work that is key to their development as researchers. Thank you for your support of this important resource.

FRANK EDWARDS (fedwards) on 1/21

I use the CSDE remote computing services extensively for both my individual research, and to make collaboration on large scale projects possible. The services are immensely valuable in making remote analysis of sensitive data possible – I can’t imagine completing most of my research without it or a similar service.

MARK C LONG (marklong) on 1/21

As a faculty member, my students and I really HEAVILY on CSDE’s Computing services. CSDE provides my students access to up-to-date sophisticated statistical software. CSDE provides my students a place to store their data and their programs for processing the data, which greatly facilitates the ability to do important research. CSDE’s regular schedule of back-ups and updates keeps student’s work secure. Furthermore, the ability to use Remote Desktop to access CSDE’s servers makes it possible for students to do work from home and from nearly anywhere in the world when they are traveling. As a result, I am able to assign homework and research projects that I simply couldn’t expect students to complete without access to these services.

ERIN MASTERSON (emaster) on 1/21

Funding the Remote Computing for Social Science would continue to enhance my experience at the UW as a graduate student. I use the CSDE remote desktop regularly for safe storage of large data files and also rely on use of the statistical analysis software offered that I would not otherwise be able to access nor afford. The accessibility of the remote desktops have made me able to be productive and work with ease from any location worldwide.

SHANNON R M CONLON (sconlon) on 1/21

The remote access to STATA and other programs provided by CSDE has been critical to my education. 24 hour remote access was a huge help for my biostatistics and quantitative research classes, and I expect it to be even more useful when I start my research in the field.

ERIN RENEE CARLL (ecarll) on 1/21

Remote Computing for Social Science resources have been an integral part of whatever success I may have had so far in my graduate program. It’s added immense speed to my productivity to be able to access the terminal server and sim cluster from anywhere in order to run analyses on joint projects with restricted data (and to store large joint files on there). Not only am I able to work while traveling or from my somewhat distant home in Tacoma, but the analyses actually process faster thanks to the capacity of the servers. Additionally, Remote Computing for Social Science resources provided an important tool in a recent 300-level statistics course for which I served as the TA. Allowing students access to the terminal server from outside of computer labs gave them the space and time to gain familiarity with Stata at their own speed. Given the increasing demand of computing skills in a variety of professional settings, this could be especially beneficial for the students’ future employment prospects. Additionally, they had time to do more in-depth work for their assignments, which I expect made a substantial positive contribution on their learning.

JOSHUA A WILLIAMS (jawill) on 1/21

I am writing to endorse funds for the CSDE Computing Service. The virtual server access they provide has been invaluable for both my class and dissertation work. The servers provide more computational power and reliability for doing statistical oriented analyses they my personal computer, they provide access to software that would otherwise beyond the range of affordability, and they provide a secure source for data storage regardless of personal physical location.

SHAHRYAR DOOSTI (shahryar) on 1/21

CSDE computing services have helped me substantially in terms of providing me remarkable software and computing services. Through using simulation clusters, I have been able to approach my research goals not only by using statistical and data analysis programs such as Stata and Matlab but also performing my computation on those servers. The ease of access of those servers has enabled me to work at different places even while I am not at campus. I have been using CSDE terminal servers for two of my projects in studying the agent-based models in individuals’ economic and social behavior. I am thankful that such service has been granted to me.

EXU A. MATES (xamates) on 1/21

I am a teaching assistant for the graduate statistics courses in Psychology. Many of our students have used CSDE’s remote computing resources for several years now. Most of them cannot afford individual licenses for statistical software even with educational discounts, and the computer labs on campus are so impacted that we cannot reliably schedule time for them on a lab computer: thus the remote access provided by CSDE is invaluable. The ability to review their calculations at any location via a laptop is also extremely helpful for integrating workflows between multiple classrooms and their homes. I strongly recommend continued and/or increased funding for this service.

HAOYAN SUN (haoyan) on 1/21

As a PhD student, I really appreciate the computing service provided by CSDE. The adoption of simulation cluster has saved me a lot of time in running my research project. It can easily handle large amount of data while maintaining stable and speed. All different statistical softwares installed there also allow me to switch between them if needed. It has been the No.1 tool for me to do research!

LEAH NADIN ISQUITH-DICKER (leahi) on 1/22

I am so grateful for the CSDE terminal servers. It is incredible to have software for my training and research at my fingertips as individual licenses to things like STATA and NutrientPro are prohibitively expensive for graduate students. In addition, the fact that the servers are secure and can be accessed from abroad is their biggest strength. It is impossible to do fieldwork without a secure place to store your data.

DARREN G. BERNARD (bern0314) on 1/22

I have relied on CSDE for remote computing since the first year of my doctoral program. It’s a life saver, something that has allowed me to efficiently conduct research on and off campus without worrying about losing files or needing to buy the latest versions of statistical software. If there is a good use for the student technology fee, CSDE’s remote computing services are it.

KERRY N HANCUCH (khancuch) on 1/22

This service has facilitated my ability to do coursework and research by providing access to current versions of software from anywhere. My thesis and other research projects would be significantly more difficult and require significant commuting or financial investment with out this resource.

ALVIN CHEN (dachozen) on 1/22

As part of the coursework and research in my graduate program, I often deal with very large data sets. The size of those files make them impossible to analyze on a personal computer. The CSDE and sim cluster servers represent the only sufficient hardware I have access to that allows for progress on these computing tasks. In addition, the servers also provide access to crucial software that I would not be able to afford on my own.

NOELLE EBEL (nebel) on 1/22

The Remote Computing for Social Service is an incredible service that has allowed me to access Stata remotely in support of my Masters of Epidemiology course work which includes significant training in biostatistics. The access to this resource has without question enhanced my education in these fields.

VICTORIA ANN BRADFORD (toribrad) on 1/22

I have relied on the remote computing through CSDE as both a graduate student and as a graduate research assistant. It allowed me to access important programs I needed for my course work and allowed me to work on homework assignments without going to a lab on campus. It helped me the most with my thesis, as I needed to use several quantitative and qualitative data analysis programs which were available through this service, and it provided me a secure and backed-up location to store all of my data. In addition, I needed access to these programs to perform my duties as a graduate research assistant. This service had a significant impact on my study and work here at UW.

DONNA JOHNSON (djohn) on 1/22

The CSDE computing resources are invaluable for my students. For several years now, many of our graduate students have been able to easily work with my research team to complete their thesis work on the “R” drive using data originally generated by our research team. This has helped us to maintain appropriate data integrity and confidentiality, have shared working spaces that allow us to totally separate the students’ work from the original databases, and use the up-to-date software provided by CSDE. These experiences built specific student research skills, and advanced student education about approaches to research in the field of public health nutrition.

MICHELLE K LEE (michlee) on 1/22

This proposal helps me to conduct research using STATA and SPSS. Also, I use it to do my homework for my social statistics and research methods class.

CHARLES C. LANFEAR (clanfear) on 1/23

Remote computing resources from the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology have been, and I expect will continue to be, vital to my research and coursework. It provides secure remote access to restricted data sources, the use of advanced software well beyond a graduate student’s budget, and incredible computational resources on a high capacity computing cluster. I use these services from Remote Computing for Social Science on a daily basis and would have no viable, that is not cost-prohibitive, alternative for conducting my research. Funding for CSDE’s remote computing would be my absolute number one choice for STF funding.

THIAGO MARQUES (thiagm) on 1/23

Remote Computing for Social Science is an invaluable resource. These services have facilitated my research on the foreclosure crisis and housing market dynamics, as well as the implications for racial inequality in U.S. American metropolitan areas. Moreover, without Remote Computing, I would not have been able to carry out the statistically analyses necessary for me to complete my Masters Thesis project. The success of my defense rested on the use of statistical software I can only access via these services. In fact, I attribute much of my success in coursework that requires statistical analysis to Remote Computing. I endorse these services, and will continue to promote them to other students, faculty, and members of the UW community.

SEUNGEUN PARK (separk) on 1/24

CSDE Remote Computing service and methodological software programs are very crucial to conduct my research. I have used Atlas.ti for one of my qualitative research to analyze interview transcript with local public health leaders in WA. Considering the cost of Atlas.ti is too expensive to buy with my limited budget, Being able to access to CSDE computer service was only solution for it. Besides Atlas.ti, I have used STATA and GIS programs for my statistical class project. Rremote computing services is very useful as well. I can access to the software program even during weekend, late night, or holidays, so that I can continue my work without being disturbed. I really support for this endorsement. Seungeun Park

Xiang Gao (gaoxiang) on 1/25

Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing an endorsement for the support of the Remote Computing for Social Science. This great service has been a very necessary part of my research. When I was a PhD student in UW, it provided support on software, database, and storage space. I am an Associate Professor at Peking University now, and the Remote Computing for Social Science continued the support and help me catch up with the most advanced analysis techniques, which I can share with my students here. So, its function extends from national to international. Please consider to support this service, thanks!

SYLVIA K SENNHAUSER (toi) on 1/25

The CSDE Remote Computing service has been a crucial resource for my thesis work. It has enabled me to work conveniently and independently. The R-Drive and available SPSS will remain important resources to my thesis throughout this coming year, as is the on-campus in-person assistance from the CSDE. Thank you for the beautiful work platform and all the help provided so far. I hope that this wonderful resource will continue to exist for other students in future years.

WEI-TING ANNE TSENG (anne128) on 1/26

CSDE Computing deserves all the compliments! The CSDE terminal servers are a crucial and indispensable resource for students enrolled in the social sciences. As a graduate student in the sociology program, the terminal server was the only resource I had to manage and analyze my data securely. The progress I have made so far in my coursework and on my own research would not have been possible without the CSDE terminal servers, and the assistance of the CSDE computing team. I am consistently impressed by the attentiveness of the CSDE Computing team whether it is their willingness to help students associated with CSDE, or their dedication to making sure the terminal servers are always running smoothly. CSDE Computing is performing an unparalleled and vital service for the UW community that deserves to be recognized and sustained.

SARAH E. MCNABB (semcnabb) on 1/28

I use the CSDE remote login services on nearly a daily basis to utilize SPSS and SAS for assignments for my biostatistics and epidemiology courses, as well as to access files I have saved on the UW server. The remote login service allows me to be more flexible in my schedule, spend more time on assignments, collaborate more with my classmates, and get more out of my courses, as it provides the ability to complete assignments from home or even elsewhere on campus, rather than having to come in to the HSL. The remote login services also saves me the hundreds of dollars each year that I would need to spend on personal SPSS and SAS licenses if this service was not available. Please continue to support this resource for students at UW!

MICHAEL ANDREW BABB (babbm) on 1/29

CSDE is invaluable to me as a graduate student. The remote computing environment provided by CSDE has enabled me to work on a multitude of complex tasks related to my dissertation. The research I undertake involves examining multiple-million record population surveys. I need specialized software and extensive computing power to do my research and CSDE makes it happen. I sleep well at night knowing that the computing services are available, my data are backed up, and a team of dedicated and talented staff are providing top-tier support.

EMILY J. SLAGER (ejslager) on 1/29

i regularly use the CSDE remote computing resources to get access to software that I cannot afford but which is essential to completing my coursework and research projects (such as SPSS, ArcGIS, and Adobe Creative Suite). As someone who lives a long commute from campus, this is especially helpful when I need to work from home at night but am unable to get back to campus to use this software on library or computer lab machines. I enthusiastically support using STF resources to continue funding the remote computing for social science!

JOHN MARK ELLIS (ellism) on 1/29

CSDE’s remote computing is an essential part of educational training for the undergraduate and graduate students I teach and advise in Geography. Students use the power of CSDE’s remote machines and the extensive storage and the broad range of software available on them to do data intensive geospatial modeling and mapping. This work is only possible on machines that have multiple powerful processors and 200GB + RAM. In addition, the remote setup at CSDE allows for collaboration. For example, I can see the data and output that students generate and we can work with the same data files and scripts regardless of where we are located. For example, when students go on break or travel for fieldwork they can log in to CSDE’s remote machines and continue their analyses and collaboration with me and others. I enthusiastically and unequivocally endorse this proposal.

Daisy S. Krakowiak-Redd (daisykr) on 1/29

Without CSDE Computing Services, I wouldn’t be able to analyze my qualitative data for my dissertation with Atlas.ti. I would have needed to somehow purchase this expensive software on my own, something I didn’t have funds to do. I am very grateful to have had this resource and not have experienced this financial outlay. This is a wonderful resource for students as they get their feet wet with research and complete their theses/dissertations at a time of their life when they have limited stipends. Thank you for continuing to provide this service.

ALEXANDER DANIEL CARL (adc5) on 1/29

I’m taking my second social science class and the CSDE remote server terminals have helped my learning immensely. If this school is trying to cut funding then I belief l believe that someone on top needs to be fired because we have a new stadium and building (Paccar hall) that did not include adequate classrooms. The stadium was unnecessary and the over pass connection that connects to it is too. Fund the things that matter and lower tuition. It’s a public school not a corporation. Thank you for the opportunity to endorse the CSDE services..

LUKE R BERGMANN (lrb9) on 1/29

CSDE’s remote computing environment is a jewel of UW that must be protected and enhanced at all costs. Many of the students I have contact with would emerge from UW considerably underprepared for the contemporary economy were it not for these resources–and I don’t think that is hyperbole. From students needing thoughtfully managed, reliable computing environments for independent projects to students doing work from off campus (or even from a traditional classroom!), CSDE makes technically-literate education possible in a way that neither on-campus labs nor cloud resources such as Amazon EC2 could ever substitute for. I don’t have the luxury of seeing what other requests you may have received, but I truly have difficulty imagining a more worthy alternative for funding. Thank you for your investments in education at UW!

CHRISTOPHER A. LIZOTTE (clizotte) on 1/29

The CSDE terminal servers allow me to use software vital to my work that I would be unable to afford on my own.

TIFFANY LEE GROBELSKI (tlg6) on 1/29

This is an enthusiastic statement of endorsement for funding for CSDE Computing resources! As a graduate student in Geography and an affiliate of the Comparative Law and Societies Studies Center at UW, CSDE resources have helped me advance my research endeavors – namely by allowing me to store, access, and analyze my data (for example using the the Atlas.ti software), both on site and remotely using the terminal server. There were times when the remote server was the only access I had to my data files and/or the software I needed to organize and analyze it. This is an important and extremely useful resource for social science researchers and especially graduate students at the UW. -Tiffany Grobelski

JULIA VELONJARA (julialv) on 1/31

This service and the support staff have been invaluable as I have been analyzing data for my thesis! Thanks!

ZEN TYLER MOORE (zenmoore) on 2/1

As a University of Washington student that lives off campus, the Remote Computing services provided by the CSDE is an essential tool for me to be able to complete many of my assignments. Because I live and work far enough away from the university, I often do not have access to university computers containing software such as ArcGIS that is used in many of my classes, and much of the work that I complete is done on my personal computer.

STEVEN M. GOODREAU (goodreau) on 2/2

This resource is absolutely indispensable for both my graduate and undergraduate students. This is not hyperbole — given our group’s focus on computational social science, my students could not do their research without it.

BRIAN P FLAHERTY (bxf4) on 2/5

Remote access to STF funded CSDE computer resources has long been a critical component of my teaching. Students nearly always use software for my classes on CSDE machines. If they aren’t already, I believe students frequently continue to use CSDE computers and software after becoming familiar with it through my classes. For example, a dissertation student I’m working with right now runs all her analysis on CSDE machines. If CSDE did not have and maintain these resources, I’m not quite sure what students would do for my classes. Purchasing full versions of the software is frequently out of reach. So called student versions are often extremely limited in their abilities, realistically only allowing toy examples. In my classes, students bring their own data and conduct real research analysis as part of the course. Software limited in scope would often be a hindrance, both in terms of students’ research, but their education as well. Realistically, CSDE resources allow me to teach the intensive kinds of classes that I think greatly benefit students. Thank you!

ANNA B ZOGAS (zogas) on 3/2

Access to Remote Computing for Social Science is crucial to my ability to complete my dissertation. I use qualitative data analysis software that I can only access on CSDE’s servers, and the nature of my research means that I’m away from the University for months at a time. Without access to remote computing services, I would not be able to process my data in a timely manner.