CSUN ITR

   
 

CSU Academic Computing Specialty Centers

Cal State Northridge subscribes to five academic computing specialty centers, which can be used by faculty, staff and students. Three of the specialty centers are databases that are password protected. Once an account has been created, the user can query the databases for information pertaining to their research. The other two centers house site licenses for various software, and any information regarding the available software can be found at the URL for those sites.

Contact information for each speciality center is provided below.

Academic Mainframe Specialty Center (AMSPEC)

This Specialty Center installs and provides access to a variety of business databases. The databases include Compustat, Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), Disclosure, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and GLOBAL Vantage. Database access is via a web interface for some products whereas the database access for IMF and FRB are accomplished using special Windows Interface software or sometimes direct logon to the MVS/OS mainframe. 

A user account is required for access. Contact Marsha Epstein at mepstein@calpoly.edu to obtain a user ID and password.

AMSPEC DIRECTOR:
Marsha Epstein
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
1 Grand Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Voice Mail: (805) 756-6541
Fax: (805) 756-1536
Email: mepstein@calpoly.edu
To access general AMSPEC information use URL:
 http://www.calpoly.edu/~amspec
To access some of the databases use URL:
 http://www.amspec.calpoly.edu

Engineering Specialty Center (ESC)

This ESC provides access to a wide range of Engineering software and training documentation. The Engineering Specialty Center is not a database. It is a collection of contacts that provide access to software, training and documentation. System wide licenses are in place with Autodesk, SDRC, Microstation, Parametric Technology and several other suppliers of engineering software. To obtain software from Autodesk, please contact Tim Fox, Professor of Mechanical Engineering timfox@ecs.csun.edu . If you wish to obtain software from any other site, then please contact Bob Oberwager, Information Technology Consultant at bob.oberwager@csun.edu and he will determine which person to contact to obtain the software you need.

ECS DIRECTOR:
Floyd LeCureux
Sacramento State
6000 J. Street
Sacramento, CA 95819
Voice Mail: (916) 278-7350
Email: lecureux@csus.edu

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialty Center

GIS is employed by many disciplines that use maps and mapped information. The GIS provides support tools like:

  • Logical map overlays
  • Proximity analysis and spatial buffering
  • Network analysis (e.g. of roads and rivers)
  • Geocoding and address-matching
  • Three-dimensional surface modeling
  • Analysis of remotely sensed (satellite) imagery

GIS can compliment the Social Sciences Database Archive (SSDBA) for mapping data. Site licenses for leading GIS technology software from Environmental Systems Research Institute (RSI, Relands, California) are available. To name a few, there are software products available such as: ArcGIS 8 (ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcINFO) and extensions (Spatial Analyst, Geostatistical Analyst, ArcScene, Network, TIN, COGO, GRID, Arcscan, Arcstorm (Unix only), and ArcPress) on NT, Windows 2000 and Unix platforms.

Also available are training programs; a technical support program; teaching materials using local databases; and additional software and database access. A login account/password is required.

Anyone interested in obtaining software should contact Debra Dwyer at gis@sfsu.edu

GIS DIRECTOR:
Jerry Davis
San Francisco State
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132
Phone: (415) 338-2983
Email: jerry@sfsu.edu
MANAGER:
Debra Dwyer
Phone: (415) 338-6140
Email: gis@sfsu.edu
URL:
 http://www.sfsu.edu/~gis/CSU/spcl.html

Macromolecular Structural Analysis Resource Center (MSARC)

MSARC is also referred to as The CSUN Bioinformatics Core Resource Facility offered by the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biology (CSUPERB). CSUPERB is the bioinformatics and genomics core resource facility.

MSARC provides remote access to high-end computing facilities, and to software, databases, technical support, and expert consulting for CSU faculty and students conducting macromolecular structure analysis.
Supported databases are: GenBank, EMBL DNA Library, SwissPROT, PIR Protein Libraries and BLAST. Software available is the Western Sequence Analysis Package from The Genetics Computer Group. This is a set of integrated tools providing for sequence editing, fragment assembly, mapping, comparison database searching, multiple sequence analysis, pattern recognition, RNA secondary structure, translation, and sequence exchange.

A login/password account is required for access. Contact James Varnell at varnell@sciences.sdsu.edu to request a user ID and password.

MSARC DIRECTOR:
James Varnell
San Diego State University
College of Sciences
5500 Campanile Dr.
San Diego, CA 92182
Voice Mail: (619) 594-4881
Email: varnell@sciences.sdsu.edu
URL (of limited use):
 http://msarc.sdsu.edu/w2h/

Social Sciences Database Archive (SSDBA), CSU Los Angeles

Provides training, access to polling and survey data, census data, social science data, instructional modules (both substantive & methodological), and many other types of data (e.g., health care, educational, economic, etc.) and related services. The SSDBA is the Social Science and Census Data Specialty Center for all the CSUN campuses. Ever growing data sources are available from the Inner-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICSPR - University of Michigan), The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (University of Connecticut), The Field Institute-California Poll (San Francisco, CA), and Sociometrics. 

A login/password account is required for access. Contact Anthony Hernandez at aherna1@calstatela.edu to obtain a user ID and password, or complete and submit the online SSDBA Request For Account form by visiting http://ssdba.calstatela.edu/ and click on the "Getting Started" hyperlink.

SSDBA DIRECTOR:
Anthony Hernandez
Cal State University, Los Angeles
Academic Technology Support
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, Ca. 90032-8337
Voice Mail: (323) 343-2597
Fax: (323) 343-4575
Email: aherna1@calstatela.edu
URL:
 http://ssdba.calstatela.edu/
 

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July 30, 2003

Information compiled by Tina Reed
Modified by Bob Oberwager, User Support Services

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