Summer Institute

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For information about SI, please contact si-contact@osc.edu, or call 614/292-0890.

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Highlights

Summer Institute

Preparations

Dress
Wear comfortable, easy-care clothing that can be layered. Since OSC is air conditioned and temperatures vary greatly from room to room, it is advisable to bring a sweater or sweatshirt. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, too.

On the program's second day, we will participate in an obstacle course at Outdoor Adventure Center. For that day, we recommend athletic shoes and attire and rain gear in case we have bad weather.

Students must wear professional attire or business casual attire for their presentations at the SI Closing Ceremonies.

Expenses
All program activities and materials will be provided at no cost to the students. Students will pay for their housing and some meals at The Ohio State University (OSU) dorms. (Approximately $500.00. Prices are subject to change.)

The students and their parents should determine the amount of spending money needed for snacks and personal expenditures. Although some snacks will be provided, the Center has vending machines for students' use.

Evening Activities
Students may either participate in planned evening activities or enjoy some "down time."

Students are encouraged to spend quality time with each other at the dorm or to take advantage of the resources the university has to offer.

Medical Needs
Full medical and emergency dental services are available to SI participants at the Student Health Center (SHC). All services are subject to an office visit fee with additional charges as necessary. Health expenses will be billed directly to the students' parents. Students who need allergy shots during SI can have them administered at the SHC with the proper medical documentation and paperwork received in advance. As with other services provided by the SHC, there is a fee for allergy shots.

Housing
OSC has reserved a block of rooms in an OSU dorm. SI students, teachers, and chaperones will stay in the dorm from Sunday, June 20 (check-in after the SI Welcome Reception) through Friday, July 2 (check-out in the morning). The dorm will be closed to SI participants during the weekend of June 26. Students need to check out immediately following the end of SI activities on Friday, June 25 and return on Sunday, June 27, after 3:00 pm.

The dorm will provide bed linens and towels. For more detailed information about OSU Summer Conference Housing, click on http://conferenceservices.osu.edu/. Please note that the SI Director will make the housing reservations for students and teachers. Payments for housing and meals will be made directly to OSU Summer Conference Housing when the participants check in on July 6. For questions regarding payments, please call (614) 292-9725.

Although students can request a roommate preference, room assignments are not guaranteed.

Expectations
SI participants are guests of the State of Ohio and The Ohio State University. They are expected to treat university personnel, peers, and others affiliated with the program with respect.

Students will be working and studying at The Ohio State University -- the same place where researchers, and members of industry, faculty and staff will be working. It is imperative that students help OSC maintain a professional work environment free of interruptions and distractions. Please keep in mind that SI will be a more enjoyable event for everyone if we take others into consideration and "Follow the Golden Rule."

Since OSC believes that each SI participant is an exceptional person with unquestioned character, the number of rules is minimal. OSC expects each student and their parents to read the enclosed rules and guidelines and contact the OSChelp line at (614) 688-8300 with any questions or concerns prior to SI.

Project Selection and Suggested Reading
We strongly encourage students to read the Projects web pages at http://www.osc.edu/education/si/projects/ before arriving at SI. This will help students make an informed decision when they select a project on day three of the program. Students will be asked to self select teams of four students. After forming their work groups, they will be asked to indicate their first three project choices. Please keep in mind that students are not guaranteed their first or second choices of projects. Efforts will be made to match the students with the appropriate projects.

Summer Institute staff members have provided a suggested reading list for students. This list is intended to give students some fundamentals to prepare them for their work at SI. Please note that some of the resources are project specific and are not required reading unless you think you will choose the project as your first or second choice. You are not limited to the resources on this list. There is a wealth of information out there on programming. A partial list includes:

General Programming Reading:

http://cisnet.baruch.cuny.edu/holowczak/classes/programming/
Focus on following topics (ignoring the stuff on graph theory):
Topics
    * Introduction
    * Program Structure
    * Variable Declaration
    * Boolean Algebra
    * The Boolean Operators
    * Comparison Operators
    * Combining Boolean and Comparison Operators
    * Conditional Statements (IF..THEN..ELSE)
    * The Binary Number System
    * The Modulus Operator

UNIX

UNIX Made Easy: The Basics & Beyond!, Muster, John

Using UNIX at OSC:
Introductory UNIX: http://www.osc.edu/supercomputing/training/bunix/
Batch processing: http://www.osc.edu/supercomputing/training/batch/