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Finance Committee
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dear colleagues:
I am pleased to submit a request to replace my aging SUNBlade workstation, which was purchased five years ago, at the cost of $7800.
The replacement equipment requested is the Sun Ultra 45 workstation, with a cost of $7960, including computer and monitor. At about the same cost, this workstation is four (4) times faster (3.2 GHz) and can store seven (7) times more data (250 GB) than the workstation which it replaces.
I will use the workstation to support the work of the Visualab. This includes about 30 online scripts used in instruction of CIVE 445 (Applied Hydrology), CIVE 530 (Open-channel Hydraulics), CIVE 632 (Computational Hydraulics and Hydrology), CIVE 633 (Environmental Hydrology), and CIVE634 (Surface-water Hydrology). Additionally, the workstation will run many other hydrologic computer programs that have been developed over the past 26 years.
The new equipment is needed to maintain the web-based scripts that are used in these classes, as well as to develop new scripts. The existing scripts are: onlinecomp.sdsu.edu (9 scripts), onlinehydro.sdsu.edu (5 scripts), onlinechannel.sdsu.edu (7 scripts), onlinetc.sdsu.edu (6 scripts), rational.sdsu.edu (1 script), and slopearea.sdsu.edu (1 script). These scripts have been programmed in PHP, which runs with APACHE web-serving software on a SUN SPARC platform. Additionally, many other popular instructional webpages, including manningsn.sdsu.edu, manningsn2.sdsu.edu, milestones.sdsu.edu, and facets.sdsu.edu, will be supported and maintained.
The work will directly benefit CIVE students. Currently (Spring 2005) 18 students are registered in CIV E 445, 20 in CIV E 530, and 6 in CIV E 632, for a total of 44 students. There are two students (Fadi Khoury and Tuba Ertas) currently working on their Masters' thesis (CIVE 798) in the Visualab.
I am also requesting $1,460 to purchase an Aqua-Pro soil-moisture sensor kit (12 sensors) for hydroecological research, and $2802 to purchase an 11" light-weight laptop. Tuba Ertas is developing a thesis on the hydroecology of two San Diego County shrub/tree species in the fractured rock aquifers of East San Diego County. This equipment is needed to carry out field data collection.
Pleased let me know if you have any other questions regarding this request.
Sincerely yours,
Victor M. Ponce
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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