Volume 10, Number 4 April 2002
Computer software is developed in many departments at Virginia Tech. Here are a few examples of what is available
Independent Virtual Environment; Reconfigurable, Scalable, and Extensible
(DIVERSE) was developed by the University Visualization and Animation
Group. They have used DIVERSE to build a virtual ship crane and command
and control tactical, visual interfaces. For Lockheed Martin, they are
using DIVERSE to develop a shared collaborative engineering design environment.
visualization tool for aircraft configuration design was developed by
the Multidisciplinary Analysis and Design Center for Advanced Vehicles
Content Object Replication Kit (CORK)
The Center for Human Computer Interaction developed an architecture and toolkit for collaborative software. Learn more at java.cs.vt.edu:8888/how to/7 or learn about other CHCI software at java.cs.vt.edu/Public/View/CHCISoftware/ .
for Human Computer Interaction developed a place-based collaborative virtual
environment to support collaborative learning, knowledge management, quality
of life for military personnel, and community network activities. Visit
MOOsburg at: moosburg.cs.vt.edu
Engineering Workstation (DEW) software, developed by Virginia Tech and
the Electric Power Research Institute, is an open architecture program
that contains 20 analysis and design calculations that apply to electric
distribution systems. The new phase prediction algorithm uses start-of-circuit
measurements for several different loading conditions, along with customer
kWHr measurements and load research statistics to predict the phasing
of laterals. Contact Robert Broadwater,540-231-3771 or DEW@vt.edu
Visual Simulation Environment
The Visual Simulation Environment is a comprehensive software tool for creating and experimenting with discrete event simulation models. VSE technology enables discrete-event, general-purpose, object-oriented, picture-based, component-based, visual simulation model development and execution for solving complex problems. It was created by the Systems Research Center for the U.S. Navy and is now a commercially available software product www.OrcaComputer.com/
VTLS (Virginia Tech library system) began as an automated circulation and finding system created for Newman Library in 1975. By 1985, VTLS was the envy of the library world, VTLS Inc. was started as a for-profit company by Vinod Chachra, and VTLS software was adopted by libraries around the world. VTLS is now a library management, imaging, and information access software developer with headquarters and employees in Blacksburg, subsidiary offices in Helsinki and Barcelona, and some 300 clients. (www.VTLS.com)
out in 1996 as an effort by the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department of
University Libraries to increase customer service has ended in a software
license that brings international recognition to University Libraries.
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc. (VTIP) has finalized terms
with OCLC, Inc., the Online Computer Library Center, giving OCLC exclusive
worldwide distribution rights to the ILLiad software. OCLC has a membership
of more than 36,000 libraries in 74 countries. Before licensing the system
to OCLC last year, VTIP had completed 50 licenses in two years. Facilities
licensing the ILLiad system included California Institute of Technology,
Cornell University, the University of North Carolina, Harvard Medical
School, Brigham Young University, and Case Western Reserve University.
Marian ('the librarian')
MARIAN is an indexing, search, and retrieval system optimized for digital libraries. It was developed at the Virginia Tech Computing Center for VT Information Systems, with development continuing at the Digital Library Research Laboratory. www.dlib.vt.edu/products/marian.html
Sky Image Processor (SIP)
SIP is an astronomical image processing program which runs over the Web (www.phys.vt.edu/~jhs/SIP/). While SIP is designed for use by instructors and students, it can be used by anyone with access to the Web. The program provides simple, yet quite general tools that enable the user to carry out standard CCD image processing procedures. The goal is to provide a means for students to learn how to accomplish the three major tasks of astronomical imaging: image processing and analysis, photometry, and astrometry. These tasks, while of basic astronomical importance, are similar to much of the image processing and analysis done in a wide variety of scientific and technological fields. The author is John Simonetti of the Department of Physics at Virginia Tech.
Swan is a
data structure visualization system developed as part of Virginia Tech's
NSF Educational Infrastructure project. Using Swan, a C or C++ program
can be annotated to provide views of the data structures used in the program.
The Swan Annotation Interface Library is designed primarily for ease of
use, so that instructors and students can annotate existing programs with
relatively little effort, much as a programmer might place print statements
in a program to get information to help in debugging. Swan is designed
to support visualization of graphs, including arrays, lists, trees and
general graphs simon.cs.vt.edu/Swan/Swan.html
Learning in a Networked community (LiNC)
The Center for Human Computer Interaction developed a collaborative learning environment for middle and high school physics. Learn more at linc.cs.vt.edu .
HOMPACK90 is a suite of Fortran 90 codes for solving nonlinear systems of equations, based on globally convergent probability-one homotopy algorithms. Both small dense and large sparse problems are supported.
POLSYS_PLP is a suite of FORTRAN 90 codes for solving polynomial systems of equations with complex coefficients. The algorithm is globally convergent, finds *all* solutions to a system, and exploits structure in the system of equations.
Contact Layne Watson at firstname.lastname@example.org