Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal

MLVFS: A Scalable Storage System For Managing Big Scientific Data

Navid Golpayegani

3:00-5:00pm Tuesday 24 February 2015, ITE 346

Managing peta or exabytes of data with hundreds of millions to billions of files is a necessary first step towards an effective big data computing and collaboration environment for distributed systems. Current file system designs have focused on providing better and faster data distribution. Managing the directory structure for data discovery becomes an essential element of the scalability problems for big data systems. Recent designs are addressing the challenge of exponential growth of files. Still largely unexplored is the research for dealing with the organizational aspect of managing big data systems with hundreds of millions of files. Most file systems organize data into static directory structures making data discovery, when dealing with large data sets, hard and slow.

This thesis will propose a unique Multiview Lightweight Virtual File System (MLVFS) design to primarily deal with the data organizational management problem in big data file systems. MLVFS is capable of the dynamic generation of directory structures to create multiple views of the same data set. With multiple views, the storage system is capable of organizing available data sets by differing criteria such as location or date without the need to replicate data or use symbolic links. In ad- dition, MLVFS addresses scalability issues associated with the growth of the stored files by removing the internal metadata system and replacing it with generally avail- able external metadata information (i.e. data base servers, project compute servers, remote repositories, etc.). This thesis, moreover, proposes to add, plug in capabilities not normally found in file systems that make this system highly flexible, in terms of specifying sources of meta data information, dynamic file format streaming and other file handling features.

The performance of MLVFS will be tested in both simulated environments as well as real world environments. MLVFS will be installed on the BlueWave cluster at UMBC for simulated load testing to measure the performance for various loads. Simultaneously, stable version of MLVFS will run in real world production environ- ments such as those of the NASA MODIS instrument processing system (MODAPS). The MODAPS system will be used to show examples of real world use cases for MLVFS. Additionally, there will be other systems explored for the real world use of MLVFS, such as at NIST for research into Biomedical Image Stitching.

Committee: Drs. Milton Halem (Chair, Advisor), Yelena Yesha, Charles Nicholas, John Dorband, Daniel Duffy

Editor’s Note: The UMBC Alumni Association has partnered a several organizations to offer you special perks and benefits. This month, we wanted to share this announcement from our partner organization, Meyers and Associates*, about health care plan available to our newest graduates and their families:

How many times have you been sick, wishing you didn’t have to drag yourself (or a loved one) to the doctor? Why spend money going to the doctor when you can access quality care by phone or video chat from your home or while on the road? The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Alumni Insurance Program now offers telehealth— a simple, affordable way to meet your everyday healthcare needs. Physicians are available 24/7 with no limit on the time of consultation or frequency of calls. And there are no co-pays or deductibles.

Telehealth provides treatment for non-emergency ailments such as cold and flu, allergies, bronchitis, sprains and strains, pink eye, and more. Using electronic health records, telephone, email, and video consultations, doctors provide treatment and write short-term prescriptions, providing you with quality care at your convenience.  Individual and family memberships are available with special pricing for University of Maryland, Baltimore County alumni.

Telehealth doctors are practicing U.S. board-certified primary care physicians, pediatricians, and family physicians who average 15 years of experience and are credentialed every three years.

Telehealth does not replace your primary doctor, but it’s a convenient, affordable alternative that can help your family stay healthy in between regular doctor’s office visits.

Click here to learn more or call our program partner at 888-252-2242.

*posted on behalf of Meyers and Associates

As many states across the country have dealt with significant snowfall over the last two months, school districts have been forced to shut down for several days. School of Public Policy professor Dave Marcotte has conducted extensive research on the impact of snow days on student learning, and published an article in The Conversation about the work he has done with his colleagues.

“Research shows that fewer school days do reduce student performance, especially for the more disadvantaged students. Evidence from previous winters also shows that more days in school do, in fact, improve achievement for American students overall, something that has been hard to accomplish in recent times,” Marcotte wrote.

In his article, Marcotte referenced studies in Minnesota, Maryland, Colorado, and Massachusetts that have found in years with especially bad winters, there is a significant impact on scores and pass rates.

Marcotte also discussed why it’s possible decisions haven’t been made in states to increase the length of the school year: “…the most substantial obstacle to extending the school year is money. Re-constituting the school year means re-negotiating teacher and staff contracts, paying for extended use of buses and buildings, and in many cases retrofitting schools to include air conditioning to operate into the hot months of summer. Indeed, these costs led Oregon to repeal the provision to extend the school year of the 1991 Education Act for the 21st Century.”

To read Marcotte’s full article titled “Schools close and kids lose,” click here.

In the wake of Brian Williams’ six-month suspension from NBC News, Rebecca Adelman offered a fresh perspective on the story and argued that Williams’ actions were more complex than their first appearance on the surface.

Adelman, an assistant professor of media and communication studies, wrote an article for The Conversation in which she examined public reactions to Williams’ false claims about his experience reporting in Iraq and how they spoke to the way military service is valued in American culture: “…I’d suggest instead that Williams inadvertently revealed something about the profoundly contradictory place military service occupies in American culture,” Adelman wrote.

In her article, Adelman discussed how the automatic nature of public gratitude for military service in the United States makes it easy to mistake its origins.

“The Williams story revealed how readily, and convincingly, such attachments can be fabricated. Indeed, he explained his wrongdoings in terms of bewildered appreciation. It all started, he said in his apology, ‘in an effort to honor and thank’ the man who had protected him. This turned, he admitted, into a ‘bungled attempt … to thank one special veteran’ of the many who have his ‘greatest respect.'”

She added: “The public anger at Williams, in other words, may be rooted in something more than his deceitfulness. What may be upsetting us is his very visible failure to perform what many see as the purest expression of good citizenship – thanking the military.”

To read the full article titled “Brian Williams, the military and American culture, click here.

The new Career-Life Balance Initiative at UMBC is sponsoring a February 2015 workshop on preparing career paths that will include a healthy integration of work and those things that are important to life, e.g., health and wellness, family. This workshop is sponsored by UMBC’s initiative new project, “On Ramps” to Full Professor: Institutional Support for Post-Family Leave Faculty Research Reintegration, National Science Foundation Grant #1446406.” The series of workshops and seminars will be open to the campus community at UMBC, and guests from the University System of Maryland. The sessions will cover topics that support development of a better integration of career and activities that shape everyday life.

The precursor event will be a Career-Life Balance “Writing Corner” breakfast session for graduate students on Monday, Feb. 23. During this session, graduate students will be able to have some dedicated time to work on grant submissions, CV updates, dissertations, applications, etc. The Career-Life Balance “Writing Corner” is a new initiative that is taking the best practices from the PROMISE Dissertation House, PROMISE Writing for Publication, and PROMISE Postdoctoral Writing Suite activities, and combining them with needs that graduate students expressed in a CLB poll launched at UMBC during the Fall semester 2014. The “Writing Corner” concept was developed by the CLB GA, Amanda Lo, who worked with graduate students to gauge interest. Amanda describes the space as follows: “This room will serve to help others achieve career-life balance by providing a comfortable environment where graduate students, post-doctorate fellows, faculty, and staff can allocate time to work at ease on their writing. All participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops and any materials that they might need to assist them with their writing.” Students may RSVP for the Monday, February 23rd “CLB Writing Corner” here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/careerlifebalance/events/30310.

The key CLB event for the month will be a Wednesday, February 25, 2015 workshop on planning your career portfolio. This workshop will be led by Dr. Laura Koppes Bryan, Dean of the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences, at the University of Baltimore (UB). Dean Bryan is an advocate for effective strategies on managing both work and life responsibilities. She worked as an independent consultant for LK Associates, where she consulted with organizations on various areas, including work-life effectiveness. She also served as Director of Work-Life at the University of Kentucky where she analyzed data surveying the work-life culture for both faculty and staff members. She developed and implemented the UK Work-Life vision and strategy; through her advocacy and presentation to the University Board of Trustees, she was approved of a budget of 11 million dollars for the work-life initiatives. Dr. Bryan is a member of the PROMISE AGEP STEM Deans Council, and is partnering with The Career-Life Balance Initiative at UMBC, The PROMISE AGEP for the University System of Maryland, UMBC’s Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and The Graduate School at UMBC, to provide this seminar for all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, in all disciplines. All members of the campus community are invited to attend.

• Event: Developing A Career Portfolio
• Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2015
• Speaker: Dr.LauraKoppes Bryan,
  • Dean Laura Bryan from UB will discuss developing a career portfolio with a focus on managing both career and life responsibilities. At this event, attendees will be able to walk away with ideas or an outline for developing their career portfolio.  All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of Dean Bryan’s latest book, Shaping Work-Life Culture in Higher Education: A Guide for Academic Leaders.
  • About Dr. Bryan: http://www.ubalt.edu/cas/faculty/alphabetical-directory/laura-k-bryan.cfm
• Location: UMBC, The Commons, Room 329 (Directions to events co-sponsored by the PROMISE AGEP.)
• Time: 1:00 – 2:15 PM
• Lunch will be served
• This event is free, and is sponsored by NSF #1446406.
  • REGISTRATION: The event is open to all graduate students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and alumni. The event will be applicable to all academic disciplines. Visitors from other USM institutions are invited, as part of our PROMISE AGEP alliance.
  • Members of the UMBC community can register here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/29579
  • Visitors from other campuses can reply in the comment section of this email so that we will know that you are coming.

The Career-Life Balance project at UMBC is part of a special initiative that is being sponsored by the National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov/career-life-balance/, in concert with objectives on the topic that are being put forth by the White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/15/career-life-balance-fair-continues-promote-flexible-workplaces-america-s-scientists-. Read more from the press release by the White House here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/26/white-house-and-national-science-foundation-announce-new-workplace-flexi

In the wake of three hit-and-run accidents in the Baltimore region, the Baltimore Sun  recently published an article addressing the question of what leads someone to flee an accident where another person may have suffered harm?

Psychology professor Carlo DiClemente was quoted in the article and discussed how alcohol, a factor in about 30 percent of traffic fatalities nationally, can amplify emotions of fear, shame, and guilt which overwhelm self-control.

“Rational decision-making is clearly difficult in an intoxicated state, particularly as blood-alcohol levels increase,” said DiClemente. “Fear and escape motivations kick in and, without good executive functioning, make flight more probable.”

DiClemente, who researches addictive behavior, was recently appointed to the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The council advises and makes recommendations to the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) secretary, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) director on research program and policy matters in the field of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. For more information, click here.

To read the full article in the Baltimore Sun, click here.

In light of the recent significant snowfall across parts of the Northeast, School of Public Policy professor John Rennie Short wrote an article for The Conversation   in which he analyzed the impact of climate change on extreme weather events.

In referencing the 60 inches of snow that fell in 30 days on Boston and parts of the wider region, Short wrote: “This is the new normal for weather in the US. Global climate change increases the chances that the once-a-century event is now a once-every-twenty-years occurrence. The country is now experiencing more severe weather events: long droughts in the Southwest, destructive wildfires in the West, and more intense hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.”

In his article, Short discussed urban planning and climate adaptation and the value of publicly funded services, among other topics.

“Immediately after a storm, there is public outcry for more and better emergency responses, but these priorities quickly move to the back of the line of government priorities as the event passes from memory. We are not good at using public monies for extreme, irregular events,” Short wrote. “Major weather events also expose the recurring dilemma of balancing public concerns with private interest. The shift of the past forty years towards private interests is embodied in the desire for small government, reducing taxation and shrinking the public sector.”

To read the full article titled “Extreme weather exposes the vulnerability of our cities to climate change,” click here.