Doing a college presentation on F@H, did I forget a topic?

[Nantes]

Hi guys,

I study in one of the best Pharmacy colleges in Brazil and decided to do an presentation (1h max) about FAH. I expect around 15 people to show up, which happened in my last presentation on a different subject, but I will also leave ads in faculty's notice boards recruiting people for FAH and telling them to call me or e-mail me for more info if they want. I have thus prepared a PowerPoint presentation in Portuguese. Here is the slide order:

1- What is FAH? (where I explain it's a distributed computing program designed to calculate protein folding)
2- Folding? (explains what protein folding is)
3- What is it good for? (Explains that understanding protein folding can help scientists understand diseases better and come up with cures)
4- Who manages the project? (says a little about Vijay Pande)
5- How does it work? (Explains project and WU structure)
6- How hard is it to calculate? (Contains a table saying that a nanosecond of folding takes a day to calculate on the average computer and other similar info)
7- Why don't they simply use a supercomputer? (Explains the combined power of FAH is 3x greater than the best supercomputer and incurs little cost for Stanford)
8- Who can participate? (Anyone with a computer more than 2 GHz fast)
9- Donor distrubution (Using a world map found in the website)
10- Will my computer performance be affected? (No, FAH has minimum priority)
11- What are the disadvantages of donating? (more computer noise, energy consumption, risk of overheating on certain conditions)
12- FAH Client window screenshot
13- Screenshot of the screen that comes up when you click a project's number in the FAH client, detailing the project
14- Screenshot of the protein viewer (currently broken, I know)
15- Results (95 scientific papers published using FAH data)
16- Other distributing computing projects (Einstein@Home, Enigma@Home and so on. This is just for curiosity's sake)

Does anybody know something I forgot to include?

Thanks.

[GreyWhiskers]

Excellent idea, and good topics

I've included an extract from the FAH Wiki that may help you. Setting up a team, and encouraging selfless participation might be addressed

I would also include in topic 8 reference to the End user License Agreement I've reproduced in the CODE block below. Emphasize that the users must only run the software on computers they own. You might be able to work with the school administration to get formal, written permission from someone authorized to commit the University's resources to run FAH on the school's servers - a very worthwhile goal if you can accomplish it, but likely to be very difficult.

Good luck!!

Convincing_(a_large_institution)_to_run_the_FAH_client

Note:

Please read and understand the Stanford University folding@home EULA (End Users License Agreement), before attempting any of the following.

Folding@College

I have recently convinced my college to run Folding@Home on college computers. 400+ machines! I also set-up a page on the college's intranet to provide students with general information and a guide to setting it up at home. It took a while, but it was worth it! I would advise anyone else looking to do the same to consider these points:


-- Appeal to their better nature. Don't start off by saying "I'd like you to run this".
-- Make sure they know what it is, what the benefits are and why it would be a good idea to run it on the computers.
-- It should be a 'Selfless' act. Don't try to get them to run it for your own benefit. Suggest they set up a team of their own, and that employees,/students/whatever join in at home too. If you have any sort of ulterior motive, such as +600 points per day from their computers then they're bound to throw the idea out. Also you'll get more people involved at home too.
-- Be sure to keep on their good side. Don't keep pestering them (but don't let them forget about it either!) and volunteer to do as much work towards it as possible (even if you know that you couldn't actually do much because of security restrictions or whatever). A willing helper is much more appreciated than a begging man.
-- And on that note, remember that "Beggars can't be choosers".

Code: Select all

Folding@Home distributed computing client

Copyright 2001-2009. Stanford University. All Rights Reserved.
License Agreement:

Please carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software. Use of this software indicates acceptance of this license agreement and disclaimer of all warranties.
Disclaimer of Warranty:

IN NO EVENT SHALL STANFORD UNIVERSITY BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF STANFORD UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOTLIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS PROVIDED "AS IS". Folding@home HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
Restrictions:

You may use this software on a computer system only if you own the system or have the written permission of the owner.
You may not alter the software or associated data files, or de-compile or reverse engineer the software.
You may only use unmodified versions of Folding@home obtained through authorized distributors to connect to the Folding@Home servers. Use of other software to connect to the Folding@home servers is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes 3rd party installers which download directly from Stanford web sites, unless written permission is granted from Stanford University.
Distribution of this software is prohibited. It may only be obtained by downloading from Stanford's web site (http://folding.stanford.edu and pages linked therein) or the web site of one of our commercial partners (Sony, NVIDIA, and ATI).

[Nantes]

Excellent idea, and good topics

I've included an extract from the FAH Wiki that may help you. Setting up a team, and encouraging selfless participation might be addressed

I would also include in topic 8 reference to the End user License Agreement I've reproduced in the CODE block below. Emphasize that the users must only run the software on computers they own. You might be able to work with the school administration to get formal, written permission from someone authorized to commit the University's resources to run FAH on the school's servers - a very worthwhile goal if you an accomplish it, but likely to be very difficult.

Good luck!![/code]

Thank you for the reply.

About the points, when I get to the client screenshot I would show the PPD display and explain about the points system from there.

About convincing the uni to run it, their machines are most of the time turned off or in the windows user screen (the one where you have to input your username and password to access the desktop), and I don't think changes to the desktop are saved across user profiles (each student has their own ID and pass supplied by the uni). I don't think FAH would work under such a system, they'd have to rethink their security policies to accomodate FAH. It would also significantly increase the uni's energy bill. Thus it is very unlikely I would succeed, but I will try.

[bruce]

FAH can run at what you've called the "windows user screen" if it's installed as a service. The service will use the CPU (not a GPU, even if you happen to have one that's supported) and will start when the machine is actually booted, not when somebody logs on. The monitor can enter power-savings mode while processing continues but if the CPU enters a power-saving mode (sleeps/hibernates) it will stop processing.

I agree that getting permission to run it on Uni machines is going to be difficult, but you won't know until you try. You'll need a champion in whatever department installs and maintains the computers who will follow through with an occasional update to the standard image in 5 or 10 years when you're no longer a student.

[Nantes]

Added info on the Playstation 3 and clarified that Stanford shares the scientific data with whomever desires.

Guys, I created a small slide to advertise FAH and my presentation, which I will print and post in the many notice boards throughout the faculty. How good do you think the text is right now? Translating from the Portuguese:

Folding@Home Project

Did you know that a software developed by Stanford University allows taking advantage of processing power your PC or Playstation 3 does not utilize to calculate protein structure, and thus help science to better understand diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and many others? It is extremely easy to set up and does not affect computer performance the slightest. Come learn more!

(Date, time, place and presenter's name)

Got interested but will not be able to attend the presentation? Send me a message on Facebook or my e-mail and I will be glad to assist you.

(Pictures of the Stanford logo, a protein folding and the FAH viewer screen)

Please point out any improvements that could be made. I want it to be as appealing as possible!

[Jesse_V]

Hmm nice! Wouldn't it be better if the disease impacts were listed before the other details? That's one of the main selling points for F@h. I know Google Translate will butcher this if I try to put it back into Portugese, but how about something like this:

Did you know that cures for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer, and many other disease are being pursued by hundreds of thousands of ordinary people around the world? Software developed at Stanford University can utilize the spare processing power of your PC or Playstation 3 to simulate protein folding, a little known molecular process that is key to life but can cause diseases if gone astray. Its easy to run their secure software and it doesn't affect computer performance. Come learn more!
...

[Zagen30]

I'd be hesitant to state that FAH "does not affect computer performance in the slightest," as many posts on this forum are from people who have found that is not the case. Many of those cases are due to GPU folding, which isn't as common as CPU folding, but it's not such a minority case that I'd ignore it altogether. I know that "minimally impacts computer performance" isn't as convincing as "has no effect," but I wouldn't want people trying it out to get upset if they do notice lag when you stated there wouldn't be any.

[Nantes]

Hmm nice! Wouldn't it be better if the disease impacts were listed before the other details? That's one of the main selling points for F@h. I know Google Translate will butcher this if I try to put it back into Portugese, but how about something like this:

Excellent idea! It is now phrased as follows:

Did you know you can help scientists find cures for diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and many others? A software developed by Stanford University allows taking advantage of processing power your PC or Playstation 3 does not utilize to calculate protein folding, a still little-known process. The software does everything automatically, is extremely easy to configure and does not affect your machine's performance ta all. Come learn more!

I'd be hesitant to state that FAH "does not affect computer performance in the slightest," as many posts on this forum are from people who have found that is not the case. Many of those cases are due to GPU folding, which isn't as common as CPU folding, but it's not such a minority case that I'd ignore it altogether. I know that "minimally impacts computer performance" isn't as convincing as "has no effect," but I wouldn't want people trying it out to get upset if they do notice lag when you stated there wouldn't be any.

I will explain the GPU aspect in the presentation. But for the CPU aspect there should be no impact on performance as long as the computer is not overheating.

[verlyol]

I also agree that the cpu aspect does not affect performance, for the use with the gpu, in quite a few cases of lag may occur (depending on the WU).

[Nantes]

I spoke with the vice-principal of the Pharmacy college today, she was interested in the project and said she wants to attend my presentation! She was even open to the idea of running F@H on their computers, although she needs to speak to the IT guys first to see if it is feasible. What a nice lady! I hope she doesn't get some sudden meeting or something and will really be able to attend

She did ask however how are FAH's results shared among other institutions. It seemed to me she implied she'd like my college to obtain the FAH data. How would this process work?

[7im]

For starters, all the research papers are published, and publicly available.

[Jesse_V]

She did ask however how are FAH's results shared among other institutions. It seemed to me she implied she'd like my college to obtain the FAH data. How would this process work?

The Pande lab doesn't sell F@h's results. Also see on this page how many institutions and laboratories from around the world use F@h. The data sets are shared with other researchers upon request, along with some key parts of F@h software. See:
http://folding.typepad.com/news/2008/04 ... e-and.html
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19643&p=197898#p197898

For starters, all the research papers are published, and publicly available.

True, but some of them aren't freely accessible. For these cases, if you have a paid subscription to the journal then you can access it from the public Internet. If I wasn't a student, I would only be able to freely see the publication's abstract. As Dr. Pande wrote in the post I linked to, "Note that essentially all scientists (at Universities and companies) have free access to these journals, due to institutional subscriptions."

[7im]

...

True, but some of them aren't freely accessible.

Depends on your timing, and or location. After a year, they're all free, to everyone. Or you can travel to a local institution and read the paper at no cost in their library, without waiting.

And consider your audience here. The person asking is FROM one of those institutions. So while making that distinction about not being freely available is helpful to a wiki article, it misses the target you were shooting at here.

[Jesse_V]

...

True, but some of them aren't freely accessible.

Depends on your timing, and or location. After a year, they're all free, to everyone. Or you can travel to a local institution and read the paper at no cost in their library, without waiting.

And consider your audience here. The person asking is FROM one of those institutions. So while making that distinction about not being freely available is helpful to a wiki article, it misses the target you were shooting at here.

Right. I don't think the college will have difficulty getting to F@h's results. I just wanted to reiterate the PG's position on the matter, so that they could see that such a thing was indeed very possible.

[Kamicrit]

One little detail I love to spit out when talking about #7 is . Not only is F@H 3x more powerful than any super computer, but it is the only super computer that is self upgrading. You never hear about Stanford buying new IBM racks with every new Intel processor.