Calendar - February 2008

Alumnus Harry Foxwell presents:  Open Operating Systems and Open Opportunities"
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Time: 2 - 4 PM
Location:  Research I Building, Room 163
Have you ever wondered what is OpenSolaris is all about?  How it compares with Linux?  How easy it is to start using OpenSolaris at home/at school?

To answer these questions and learn more about OpenSolaris, Java User Group is sponsoring a presentation by Dr. Harry Foxwell, Senior Systems Engineer at Sun Microsystems and Adjunct Professor at GMU.

Peter Percival, another Systems Engineer with Sun Microsystems will also be present to answer your questions.

Harry Foxwell is a Senior System Engineer and OS Ambassador for Sun Microsystems Federal, Inc. in the Washington DC area, where he is responsible for solutions consulting and customer education on
Solaris, Linux, and Virtualization technologies.   Harry has worked for Sun Microsystems since 1995.  Prior to that he worked for 6 years as a UNIX and Internet specialist for Digital Equipment Corporation;
he has worked with UNIX systems since 1979. He also authors Sun's OneStop website of Linux technical information and has been a Linux user since 1995.  Harry has been influential in developing and promoting Sun's Linux and x86 strategy and messages. He is coauthor of two Sun BluePrints: Slicing and Dicing Servers: A Guide to Virtualization and Containment Technologies, Sun BluePrints Online, October 2005, and The Sun BluePrints Guide to Solaris Containers: Virtualization in the Solaris Operating System,  Sun BluePrints Online, October 2006.  He received his doctorate in Information Technology in 2003 from George Mason University (Fairfax, VA), and has since taught graduate courses at GMU in Operating Systems and in Electronic Commerce.

Peter Percival - Systems Engineer for Sun Microsystems covering Education and Research in the Mid-Atlantic area. Peter has been covering the Education Line of Business for the past 7 years for Sun.

Jim Fiori Demos DTrace
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Time: 1 - 3 PM
Location:  Research I Building, Room 163
DTrace is a comprehensive tracing facility built into the Solaris OS. It can be used by administrators, developers, and performance analysts and can be safely used on live production systems. You can create custom programs with the D scripting language to instrument the system and provide immediate, concise answers about the behavior of applications and the system.

Jim Fiori, a principal engineer at Sun Microsystems will be running a demo and providing an overview of DTrace and demonstrate the technology including native DTrace probes in Java, GUI tools and the DTrace tool Kit.

Prospective Graduate Student Information Session
Date: Thursday, February 07, 2008
Time: 6-7:30 p.m.
Location: Fairfax Campus, Johnson Center, Meeting Room E
RSVP: http://ite.gmu.edu/graduateresearch/responseform/

Homecoming Week Festivities
February 11 - 16, 2008

Annual Alumni Reception
Friday, February 15, 2008
5:30 TO 7:30 PM
Brion's Grille, 10621 Braddock Road, Fairfax
Please reply by February 8, 2008 to itevents@gmu.edu
Brion’s Grille is in the University Mall shopping center across from George Mason’s Fairfax Campus
at the corner of Braddock Road and Ox Road (Rte. 123).
Print out the invitation (PDF)

National Engineers Week

Dr. Greg Bollella
Bridges, Courage & Ph.D's in Industry
(click above image for PDF flyer)
Date: Tuesday, February 19
Location: Science & Tech II, Room 411 (ribbon cutting)
Johnson Center Cinema (Reception/Lecture)
Time: 5:00pm Ribbon Cutting; 7:30 p.m. Reception; 8:00 p.m. Lecture
RSVP: itevents@gmu.edu

The Volgenau School 2008 Outstanding Research Lecture
“The Evolution of Evolutionary Computation” presented by Dr. Kenneth De Jong
Friday, February 22, 2008
3:00 pm
Research 1, followed by a reception in the Research I Lobby area outside of Room 163. 

Computing and Education
Future of Civil Engineering Education: Various Perspectives
Friday, February 22, 2008
11 a.m.
Location: Johnson Center, Room D
Speakers: "BOK II Committee Report and Education,” Jeff Russell, Professor and Chair, Civil Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison; “Advances in Simulation and Education,” Barbara Boni, Ph.D., Senior Developer, ABAQUS, Providence, RI