Tag Archives: information technology

AVP of ITS/CIO Terry Vahey Set to Retire

After 32 years of distinguished service to the CSU and four and a half years at San Jose State University, Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer Terry Vahey, who has provided strong leadership and guidance to IT Services, has decided to retire. Her last day on campus will be Sept. 16.

I will be working closely with Terry and the IT Services leadership team in the coming weeks to develop a transition plan. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating Terry on her retirement and acknowledging her contributions to SJSU.

It has been my pleasure to work more closely with her since IT Services moved to Academic Affairs in December. She provided steady guidance to her team during the changeover.

Throughout her tenure at SJSU, Terry provided administrative and strategic vision and leadership for current and emerging technologies, infrastructure and security.  She oversaw the implementation of robust wireless and network infrastructure that supports the entire campus, along with an upgraded, modernized phone system. Terry has also been integral in leading our transformation of teaching and learning spaces with collaboration, video and interactive technology tools.

As AVP of IT Services and CIO, she has worked to enhance communication between IT Services and campus users, most recently with a customer service survey. She has specifically worked to highlight the ways in which technology can serve student success. Under her leadership, the SJSU Innovation and Collaboration Technology Expo was launched as a venue for students, faculty and staff to share ways they have successfully integrated tech tools to enhance teaching and learning.

Join me in thanking Terry for her service to our campus and wishing her well in her future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Andy Feinstein

NSF Awards SJSU $900K for New Computing Equipment

Sen Chiao

Sen Chiao

San Jose State University professors Sen Chiao, Ehsan Khatami, Kamran Turkoglu, Brooke Lustig and Aaron Romanowsky have received a $900,798 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Their project, “MRI: Acquisition of Hybrid CPU/GPU High Performance Computing and Storage for STEM Research and Education at San Jose State University,” will support the purchase of new equipment that will benefit students.

The funding will primarily be used to purchase a high-performance computing (HPC) system to provide faculty and students regular access to a modern, on-campus facility for computational science and engineering research.

“As a key hub for STEM fields in the San Francisco Bay Area, this facility will promote the progress of science and engineering, as well as offer a wide diversity of experiences for our students, through required laboratory courses and research opportunities,” said Chiao, the principal investigator on the grant.

The interdisciplinary project includes faculty and students from biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, aerospace engineering, computer engineering, meteorology and climate science, physics, astronomy, mathematics and statistics.

The new equipment will add to SJSU’s ability to train students in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and information technology. Chiao estimated that more than 200 students a year would benefit from access to the HPC system in STEM-related courses or research.

Some of the projects that will be undertaken with the new computing system include: on-demand numerical weather prediction, assimilation, and analysis (Atmospheric Science); dynamical modeling of orbits and dark matter in gas-poor galaxies (Physics and Astronomy); computational modeling of Tat peptide mutants binding to BIV TAR RNA and protein-protein interfaces (Biochemistry); quantum mechanical properties of materials in the atomic scale (Physics and Astronomy); guidance and trajectory optimization strategies in presence of wind, and spacecraft and orbital trajectory optimization (Aerospace Engineering); genomic assessment of adaptation, and pharmacological and evolutionary perspective on bioactive compounds in marine invertebrates (Biological Science); high-resolution simulations of weather phenomena, dust transport, and climate on Mars (Planetary Science); and efficient algorithms for modeling large amount of data in high dimensions (Mathematics and Statistics)

Chiao is the director of the Center for Applied Atmospheric Research and Education (CAARE), funded with another NSF grant.

“This new facility will enable many further follow-up projects with CAARE, including cross-disciplinary collaborations as well as participation from the wider SJSU community,” he said.