Proposal

Narrative

Reason: The computers currently used in the general physics labs were acquired mostly from the surplus of other departments almost a decade ago. They are mismatched and designed for Windows XP. Through the years, FAU has required operating system upgrades to Windows 7 (and later Windows 10), increasing the demands on already obsolete hardware. Further scheduled upgrades to Windows 11, as well as demands of current software, require the replacement of the machines to head off catastrophic failures in the lab courses. 2- Proposal: Here we propose that as the initial step to replace the computers in rooms 149 and 150 with models having modern operating systems and hardware sufficient to fully utilize the software, hardware, and equipment in the labs. This will be supplemented with software that allows for a quick “refresh” of the machines used by scores of students every week. In addition, we propose installing networking infrastructure in the labs, something that has never been done. 3- Finance The financing of a project like this is outside the scope of the single-year departmental budget. In addition, the lab fee structure used to replace consumables doesn’t apply to the hardware of this type (even though this hardware deterioration is the primary consumable in the physics labs). The tech fee program is a suitable avenue to finance these necessary upgrades. 4- Impact and scope The General Physics labs are among the IFP courses for most students at FAU. It is a required component for nearly all students with majors in the College of Science or College of Engineering. Therefore the Physics department hosts more than 1500 undergraduate students in these labs annually. This proposal will greatly enhance the learning experience of those students.

Facilities

Setting up the network infrastructure of PS-55 rooms 149, 150, 151, and 152 is a part of this upgrade.

Hardware Requirements

20 all-in-one Dell computers spec: OptiPlex 7400 All-In-One 12 Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700 (25 MB cache, 12 cores, 20 threads, 2.10 GHz to 4.90 GHz Turbo, 65 W) Windows 10 Pro (Windows 11 Pro license included), English, French, Spanish Intel® Integrated Graphics Intel® Integrated Graphics 16 GB, 1 x 16 GB, DDR4 512 GB, M.2 2280, PCIe NVMe, SSD, Class 35 23.8", FHD, Integrated Graphics, WVA Non-Touch Anti-Glare, FHD Camera, Bronze 160W PSU each $1,429.00 total $28,580.00

Software Requirements

Pasco software is required but the license already exists. Mathematica will be installed on some of the machine

Personnel Costs

NA

Other Costs

Adding network to PS-55 rooms 149-150-151-152 total cost $44,514.87

Timeline

The timeline for the first phase of the replacement of these computers would be the end of the spring semester of 2023.

Sustainability

We anticipate that the requested computers have a serviceable lifespan of three to five years.

Resource Matching

NA

Implementing Organization

Office of Information Technology, Florida Atlantic University, for networking. Office of Information Technology, Charles E Schmidt College of Science, for computers.