Computing Department Reorganizes
The Computing Department has been reorganized to better serve the scientific community and to take advantage of new technologies.
One of the major changes is that PREP--acronym for Physics Research Equipment Pool--and Instrument Repair have been transferred from Research Services to the Computing Department. Familiar people with new responsibilities include Jeff Appel, who is now associate head of the Computing Department and head of the new Data Acquisition Group in the Department. The Data Acquisition Group includes both the hardware and software efforts associated with gathering data for the high energy physics experiments at the Laboratory.
Appel, a physicist, joined the Department from the Energy Saver Division.
Art Neubauer, who was in charge of PREP and Instrument Repair with Research Services, is now head of the Hardware Group which includes PREP, Instrument Repair and Mini-Computer Maintenance, headed by Chuck Andrle and Rich Knowles, respectively. Andrle was with Research Services, and Knowles was already with the Computing Department.
"In their new positions, Appel, Neubauer, Andrle and Knowles have increased responsibilities and challenges," said Al Brenner, head of the Computing Department. "We are pleased to have them in these key reorganization positions."
For the time being, however, PREP and Instrument Repair will remain physically on the 14th floor of the Central Laboratory. Both Brenner and Appel explained that a "physical consolidation" is anticipated in the near future.
What Brenner and Appel described as the "boundary" in basic data acquisition, between on-line computation and data gathering, has dissolved somewhat with the advances in electronics and other disciplines. The dissolution of the boundary makes it much more natural for the Laboratory to bring together PREP, Instrument Repair and the mini-computer hardware and software. This new approach will help the Laboratory provide more service for each experiment.
Two New Managerial Employees Now With Computing Department
The Computing Department has two new managerial employees. They are Jack Pfister, manager of Computing Services; and Eugene Dentino, manager of Computer Operations.
Pfister is responsible for all computing services supplied to the Fermilab community. He is, therefore, responsible for relationships between the Computing Department and the user community, the various vendors supplying services to Fermilab and to DOE. He has responsibilities for coordinating efforts so as to maintain an optimum computing service to the user community with respect to both large data processing and on-line computers. Pfister joined Fermilab after having spent a number of years as a project manager for the U.S.Navy and a commercial consulting firm.
Dentino, who comes to Fermilab with considerable experience with Chicago-based firms, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the large computer systems. In this role, he coordinates the efforts of the various operations and other support and also serves as liaison between this group and the system and application groups, as well as with various vendors who provide services to Fermilab. Dentino, who reports to Pfister, also is responsible for large computer systems, including the Cyber complex, the new IBM 4331 recently delivered, and the associated ancillary equipment located on the seventh and eight floors of the Central Laboratory.
