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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1985)
Tuesday, July 23, 1985 The Nebraskan Page3 Ci napiiteir facilities greatly spaM By Kip Fry Staff Reporter In recent years, computing facilities on the UNL campus have been scarce. But this fall a program to upgrade eas ily accessible computers will make campus computing more visible, ac cording to the director of UNL com puting. "A lot of work has been going on for a year and students will see the result of that work this fall," Doug Gale said. Computer facilities are being con structed this summer on eight campus locations to accomodate the incoming terminals. The project was initiated when UNL chancellor Martin Massen gale decided there needed to be improve ments in the UNL computing department. iFaEsx colors "It is a big commitment on the part of campus administration and faculty to improve this," Gale said.. At present, computing at UNL is only about 60 percent of its peer institu tions, but it is making improvements as rapidly as any comparable institution, he said. "We are playing catch up ball," he said, "but we have not yet caught up." Work is being done on facilities in Nebraska Hall, Bancroft Hall, Neihardt Residence Center, Abel and Sandoz residence halls, Hamilton Hall, Fergu son Hall and the Wick Alumni Center. Carpeting and air conditioning are some of the items being added to the rooms on the first and second floors of Nebraska Hall. The rooms are already operational with close to 40 computer terminals there. "When they're through, the rooms o Rts 'MB tEitnHIB dill til! nxKCKi gsife tt r will be more fit for human habitation," Gale said. Several of the projects are scheduled to be completed this fall. The most visible place may be in the southwest corner of the Nebraska Union lounge, which will house 16 terminals. The areas put aside for the 24 units in Ban croft Hall and the 32 in Neihardt should also be ready for use this fall. The Faculty Support Center, (FAS TER), in the Wick Alumni Center should be completed by mid-September. FAS TER is a training facility used specifi cally for faculty and staff members. Work in Ferguson Hall, which should be finished by mid-fall, is planned to reduce crowding there. This location contains a cluster of microcomputers 16 IBM personal computers and 16 Macintosh computers which are linked to the central file in the admin istration building. roun unnc Jnn.. ,TT 111 1 U U j ii (SHIR 25 (lil? !MTgJi d!Il?J graeciafl THURSDAY uwuu. sTUCBAY SUTJDAY In a location undisclosed at this time, the Microcomputer Laboratory for Innovative Instruction (MIL1I) is being planned and should be finished by the middle of September. Abel and Sandoz Halls will receive 32 terminals, and Hamilton Hall 24 to 30. Both computer sites will be access ible by late fall. "We're not running behind sche dule," Gale said. "It's just that the physical plant is under a tremendous workload." It is only now, though, that the work is becoming visible. Much progress has already been made, Gale said. Con-, struction, such as laying miles of com-' munications wire in the university's steam tunnels, isn't as visible. "Communications costs are a major item," Gale said, "so this wire increases 10-9 10-0 12-5 11 performance and decreases costs." Half of the finances for the compu ters comes from a "patchwork" of dif ferent places. NU has received two grants and is trying to obtain others pom vendors and computer manufac turers. UNL computing officials are. also getting aid from both the Depart ment of Education and the National Science Foundation. 1 There is a lot of money out there," Gale said. "You have to work to get it, but you don't always get it." In the sixteen months since he arrived at UNL, Gale said there has been much activity at the. Computing Resource Center. Now that work is coming to a close on some of these locations, Gale said he feels more optimistic than he did six months ago. "I'm sleeping well at night," Gale rsaid. "The payday is just about here." ' 1 s " 3 - i
