Research Services Core

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The Technology and Computation Core includes: 1) an innovative Lab Technology Unit that has developed a new automated lab control system, has implemented custom installations in several labs within the Core-Center with ongoing migration to others; and 2) a complementary Computation Unit that maintains PC functions, networking, backup, and communications across CNCS labs, as well as database applications for the other cores of the CNCS. These Units will pursue the following goals. The Lab Technology Unit will continue to implement lab hardware/software solutions to stimulus and behavioral control, data acquisition, and data analysis across the CNCS. The Unit uses a modular, embedded PC-based architecture (LabView-Real-Time by National Instruments [Nl]) that includes a standardized set of real-time hardware and software tools to be interfaced to specific devices within each lab. The overall scheme ensures flexibility and modularity, while maintaining the specificity required by individual labs. A clear and reliable upgrade path from Nl ensures advancement and longevity. We have implemented the system in five labs, and will propagate the system across others, while at the same time upgrading all over time. New faculty and new labs, together with incremental needs of others, creates a fertile ecology for our new stateof- the-art lab control system. One result is a set of labs that share key attributes that in turn allow researchers at any level to rapidly equilibrate to any one of them despite different research goals or systems under study. The Computation Unit provides common office and lab PC and software solutions across the Core-Center, in concert with the Medical Center's extensive domain and more basic services (firewalls, security). Our labs are highly automated. PCs have supplanted many analog devices in our racks and are ubiquitous on desktops. Communications between labs and research personnel are essential. All of us are in need of new PC hardware and software over time, maintenance, training and support, and data backup, though such needs are rarely met effectively. The Computation Unit corrects these shortcomings to the benefit of our research productivity and efficiency. The Unit also supports CNCS web and intranet functions, including powerful database structures in other CNCS cores. In sum, the two Core Units serve crucial needs of all CNCS personnel. The environment established across the Core-Center has, and will continue to, catalyze new interactions and collaborations, and attract students and faculty to our research mission.