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Free NCL workshop for qualifying UCAR-member universities

We are pleased to announce that NCAR is offering a free NCL workshop to a qualifying UCAR-member university in the 2008 calendar year.

We will cover all of the expenses to send two NCL instructors for a 4-day workshop, which includes lectures followed by optional hands-on labs. These workshops will be geared towards new users of NCL that have some programming experience and knowledge of UNIX.

For a sample workshop schedule, see:

http://www.ncl.ucar.edu/Training/Workshops/schedule.shtml
Selection of the UCAR-member university will be based on answers we receive to a set of questions (included below), provide that 1) a minimal set of criteria are met, and 2) the instructors are available on the desired date(s). Preference will be given to groups involved in earth sciences.

If you think your university would be interested in such a workshop, then send Mary Haley an email with complete answers to the following questions:

  • Name of your university (must be a UCAR-member university).

  • Date(s) you would be interested in hosting the workshop.

    [We generally teach the workshops Tuesday-Friday, with Monday being a lab setup day.]

  • Name/address/phone number of main contact person.

  • Number of students you expect to attend.

    [We prefer about 15-20 students.]

  • What kind of lab setup can you provide? Will each student be able to have their own system?

    [We require systems running UNIX, and prefer for each student to have their own computer during the labs. Also, a system administrator who is on hand to help with problems with the machines will be a plus.]

  • What level of programming knowledge will the students have?

    We require at a minimum:

    • A basic knowledge of UNIX.
    • Knowledge of editing files using editors like vi, emacs, or nedit.
    • Basic familiarity with an interpreted (e.g. Python, IDL, MATLAB) or non-interpreted (e.g. Fortran, C) computer language. Students who have no knowledge of computer languages will likely find the NCL workshop too advanced.
The deadline for submitting answers to these questions is January 25, 2008.