---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPARC MOMENTUM CONTINUES IN EDUCATION SunFLASH Vol 22 #7 October 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Four Major Universities Purchase Sun's SPARC-Based Systems ATLANTA --October 14, 1990-- At EDUCOM '90, Sun Microsystems announced today that four top U.S. educational institutions, the University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles, Michigan Technological University and the Ohio State University, have recently made significant purchases of Sun SPARC(R)-based workstations and servers. The total value exceeds $7 million. Sun systems are now installed in more than 1,000 educational and research institutions worldwide. With the built-in networking, ease of use and competitive price/performance of Sun systems, leading educational institutions are moving to the Sun platform, reaffirming Sun's leadership as a major vendor in the education marketplace. University of Southern California (USC) The Central Academic Computing Division at USC recently purchased 100 low-end SPARCstation(TM) SLCs, 50 mid-range SPARCstation 1+s and six high-end SPARCserver(TM) 490s. With more than 1,200 Sun systems now installed throughout the campus, the university has based its computing system primarily on the Sun platform. "USC is committed to providing its science and engineering departments with a consistent and modern computing environment," said Jim Pepin, USC's director of academic computing. "To achieve this goal, we've chosen Sun's SPARC/UNIX(R) platform. This consistent platform allows the faculty to use similar computing tools for both undergraduates and graduates, as well as for research." Sun workstations are found in most buildings on the campus. In the physical sciences department, professors use Sun systems in research and instruction. The campus also has public access rooms with approximately 150 Sun systems available for student use. The university law school uses Sun workstations for desktop publishing and for accessing public databases. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) The Department of Radiological Sciences at UCLA recently purchased approximately 30 high-end SPARC-based systems, ranging from the SPARCstation 330 to the SPARCserver 490. The systems are being used for a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), in which patient X-rays and other radiological information is obtained and reviewed via computer image processor and display station, rather than with a film-based process. The department also uses the SPARC systems for image acquisition and as servers for image archiving on optical disk libraries. "The Department of Radiological Sciences chose the high-end Sun platform because of its VME bus architecture, UNIX environment, state-of-the-art technology and customer support," said Dr. Bernie Huang, professor and chief of the department's medical imaging division. "Since the Sun platform is based on industry standards, the department has the freedom to upgrade and customize its systems according to changing needs. Sun systems are being used in a number of other departments at UCLA, including electrical engineering, computer science and math, earth and space sciences and social science computing. There are approximately 140 systems installed on the campus. Michigan Technological University The College of Engineering at Michigan Technological University recently purchased more than 200 Sun systems, including SPARCstation SLCs, IPCs and 1+s. The workstations are being installed on every faculty member's desk and in all student engineering labs. "The Sun systems will teach our engineers how computers are used in the workplace," said Dr. Barry Kunz, dean of the College of Engineering. "Sun equipment is an industry standard for engineering use and the availability of application software for the Sun platform is excellent." The Ohio State University The Department of Computer and Information Science at Ohio State purchased 260 SPARCstation SLC workstations to use in the department's academic instruction computing laboratories and in faculty offices for instruction, research and desktop publishing. "We are very impressed with the packaging and performance of the SPARCstation SLC," said Dr. Mervin E. Muller, chairman of the Computer and Information Science Department. "We have three years of experience with Sun systems and believe that the Sun computing platform is superior to comparable systems from its competitors." The new installation increases the number of Sun systems on campus to approximately 600 workstations. University departments using the workstations for research and instruction include the engineering, physics, chemistry, math, hearing and speech, and graphic arts departments. Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX operating system and productivity software. ### UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International, Inc. SPARCstation and SPARCserver are trademarks of SPARC International, licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. All other products or services mentioned in this document are identified by the trademarks or service marks of their respective companies or organizations. Press Contact: Lauren Swingle (415) 336-7273 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sunflash is an electronic mail news service from Sun Microsystems, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It is targeted at Sun Users and Customers. For additional information about SunFlash send mail to info-sunflash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM SunFlash is distributed via a hierarchy of aliases. Try to address change requests to the owner of the alias that you belong to. If you want to be added to the SunFlash alias, please contact the systems engineers at your local Sun office and/or send mail to sunflash-request@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. "All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region." Address comments to the SunFlash editor (John McLaughlin) at sun!sunvice!flash or flash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770.