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Network Security Group

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NACS has formed a new 3-person team, Network Planning and Security (NPS or NetPlanSec). NPS is active in a variety of ways to improve the safety and reliability of UCInet.

NPS runs periodic scans for vulnerable servers on campus before attackers do. They also regularly publicize security information and notify system administrators when weaknesses are discovered. Presently, NPS is implementing the campus firewall and Intrusion Detection System. (Details may be found in the Border Router article below.)

NPS staff Garrett Hildebrand, Mike Iglesias, and John Lenning are available for consulting, both one-on-one and in public forums, on such issues as network security, wireless networking and security, and network planning.

Finally, they participate in the UC Policy and Security Officers Group, to develop and assess UC system-wide strategies to resist “cyberterrorism.”

New Staff

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NACS welcomes David Pritikin to the Instructional Web Technologies group where he serves as a primary support contact, assisting instructors in the use of web-based technologies. David held a previous position in the NACS Response Center, and has also served in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts computing support unit prior to rejoining NACS.

Diane Dunn has joined NACS as Project Manager for the Communications Project Unit. Diane manages campus-wide network and telephone infrastructure projects. Diane’s goal is to manage project resources and activities so that network projects are completed on time and within budget, but also to maintain the excellent quality of UCInet on which researchers depend.

Clyde Higashida joins Mike Scott and Dawn Bergan-Iglesias as a Network Engineer. Clyde and colleagues not only contribute to the design and maintenance of UCInet, but are also available to the campus community, answering technical questions and making recommendations to NACS for network improvements based on the needs he discovers while working with clients.

John Lenning joins Garrett Hildebrand and Mike Iglesias in the Network Planning and Security group, and will be contributing to both planning and security. John, an MCSE, comes to UCI with experience in the networked Microsoft Windows environment, adding new strength to the group.

New Staff

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Tony Soeller joined NACS on May 30, 2000 to enhance campus support for research and scientific computing. Tony has a B.S. degree in Geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an M.S. degree in Geology from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Tony is skilled in a wide range of programming languages and has extensive experience with 2-D and 3-D visualization applications. Tony is equally capable with UNIX, PC, and Mac computing platforms.

Previously, Tony has held management positions at a number of companies and academic institutions, including the Geographical Information Systems Laboratory at Caltech. Please feel free to call Tony at 824-3239 to discuss research computing needs.

NACS Staffing Update

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NACS is currently undergoing some staff turnover, which is common in the opportunity-rich computing industry. We are in the process of recruiting to replace each staff member who has departured.

Jim Surlow
Jim Surlow, who managed NACS’ DCS contract support group, left in September to fulfill a longtime goal of moving out of state. He has joined Kenan Systems in Denver. Dan Stromberg (strombrg@uci.edu) is acting as Interim Manager of DCS, with the support of NACS Associate Director Dana Roode (DRoode@uci.edu).

Don Frederick
Don Frederick, NACS’ research and scientific computing consultant, has left NACS to join the San Diego Supercomputer Center, SDSC. Until we hire a replacement, Allen Schiano (schiano@uci.edu) is fielding requests normally sent to Don, and redistributing them to other NACS Staff as appropriate.

Jan Vescera
Jan Vescera, NACS’ campus-wide computing support coordinator, has left NACS to seek employment closer to her Los Angeles home. Andrew Laurence (atlauren@uci.edu) and Bob Hudack (rjhudack@uci.edu) of NACS’ Indirect Support Team will be taking over Jan’s responsibilities, with help from a technical staffer being recruited.

Finally, we are pleased to welcome Carol Sison, who joins NACS’ Electronic Communication Services unit as Telecommunications Specialist. Carol comes to NACS/ECS from GE Capital Mortgage Services, where she spent 10 years as Telecommunications and Facilities Manager. Carol will be helping to administer UCI’s telephone system and wiring plant.

NACS Electronic Educational Environment Staffing Update

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NACS’ participation in UCI’s Electronic Educational Environment is once again in full swing after a series of staffing challenges earlier in the year. Shohreh Bozorgmehri, NACS’ principal EEE coordinator, has returned from a few months away on maternity leave. Eric Friedman and Leonard Megliola, who left to accept jobs in the commercial sector, have been replaced by Eric Carter and David Baskin.

Eric, a former NACS student staff member, joins NACS once again after a year working for the UCI school of Humanities. Eric is EEE’s system administrator and helps support EEE Web tools. He is currently working on a pilot program with other EEE team members to evaluate the “WebCT” web course software.

David Baskin joins NACS from USC-Wrigley Institute, where he was their Webmaster. He was previously responsible for the National Academy of Sciences Web site for the Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications. David is helping plan and teach EEE workshops, providing assistance to instructors, and is participating in the enhancement of the EEE Web site to improve usability and functionality.