UNIDATA Equipment Proposal: Upgrading McIDAS for OS/2 at Iowa State University

爱荷华州立大学利用国家资金建立了一个UNIDATA系统。该系统将根据该奖项得到加强。UNIDATA在大气科学和农业气象的教学和研究项目中都发挥着重要作用。例如，联合教授的气象学导论课程每年招收800多名学生，在每堂课开始的天气讨论中使用McIDAS产品。几个研究项目依赖于“实时”数据输入，包括一个项目，该项目利用高空数据、雷达观测和卫星图像在业务预报模式下预测边界层的虫害运动。购买的设备将实现五个主要目标：1。用三台IBM PS/2 70型计算机更新四台IBM PS/2 60型计算机。这将允许爱荷华州立大学在UNIDATA对PC-McIDAS DOS版本的支持终止后继续接收McIDAS天气产品；2. 获取用于IBM PS/2型号80（将充当摄取器）和四个型号70的OS/2操作系统的网络软件（TCP/2）；3. 获取PC X-Window软件，与现有的IBM PS/2 60型计算机一起作为X-Window系统使用。目前管理UNIDATA SDM的现有Sun 3/160将充当X-Window服务器；4. 增加700mb硬盘单元，提高McIDAS和SDM产品的归档能力；5. 发起采用COMET计算机学习模式，作为大学本科和研究生教学的教育资源，并促进工发数据中心和COMET方案之间的协同作用。

Iowa State University established a UNIDATA system using State funds. The system will be enhanced under this award. UNIDATA plays an important role in the teaching and research programs for both the atmospheric science and agricultural meteorology programs. For example, the jointly taught Introduction to Meteorology course with a yearly enrollment in excess of 800 students uses McIDAS products in the weather discussion which begins each lecture. Several research projects depend upon "real-time" data input including a project which uses upper-air data, radar observations and satellite imagery in an operational forecast mode to predict insect pest movements in the boundary layer. The equipment to be acquired will accomplish five main objectives: 1. Update the four IBM PS/2 model 60 computers with three IBM PS/2 model 70 computers. This will allow Iowa State University to continue receiving McIDAS weather products after the UNIDATA support for the DOS version of PC-McIDAS terminates; 2. Obtain networking software (TCP/2) for the OS/2 operating system for the IBM PS/2 model 80 (which will act as the ingester) and the four model 70's; 3. Obtain PC X-Window software to use with the existing IBM PS/2 model 60 computers as X-Window systems. An existing Sun 3/160 which now manages UNIDATA SDM will act as the X-Window server; 4. Add a 700 megabyte hard disk unit to improve the ability to archive McIDAS and SDM products; 5. Initiate the introduction of COMET computer based learning models as an educational resource for undergraduate and graduate instruction at the university and to foster synergism between the UNIDATA and COMET Programs.