🚀 go-pugleaf

> Since net.astro.expert has just magically appeared this morning ...

For me it didn't just just magically appear but took more than a month
of work to bring it into existence.  Whew... Now it is up to the rest of
you.  Enjoy.

> 	Should a national astronomy supercomputing center be set up?
>  ..... What priority should such a
> program have compared to the dessimination of VAX class computers (for both
> data reduction/analysis and theoretical work) to university
> departments and research groups? ...

I definitely think that Vax class machines should be available wherever they
are needed.  Beyond that I am not sure.  I know of a number of projects under-
way here that could use heavy computing power.  There are many hydrodynamic
codes and such running that could easily go to a finer grid.  This poor VAX
750 knows what it is like to constantly have several of these programs
constantly running in the background.
 
> 	Are astronomy graduate students getting a proper grounding in
> software engineering? ... Should we make it
> our business to teach students about coding standards, structured
> programming and software tools or do we "let them pick it up on their
> own" much as we expect many to pick up electronics or machine shop
> skills?

I could have used some training on electronics or machine shop. I guess one
always has the problem that instruction time is limited and adding more emphasis
on one thing means taking away emphasis on something else.  I definitely think
that undergraduates should be required to take one or more computer courses.
Some times I feel that a few professors could use it too.
-- 
Bill Sebok			Princeton University, Astrophysics
{allegra,akgua,burl,cbosgd,decvax,ihnp4,kpno,princeton}!astrovax!wls