Laboratory power boost

Cornell computer science students will have powerful new tools thanks to Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) of Sunnyvale, Calif. The company has donated 40 high-end workstations based on its AMD Athlon 64 processors to replace outdated machines in the instructional lab in 329 Phillips Hall. Present for the commemorative ribbon-cutting Feb. 19 were Cornell and AMD representatives (including several who are Cornell alumni), from left, foreground: Jane Oglesby, AMD senior development engineer; Abeezer Tapia '02, AMD product marketing manager; Stephan Meier '89, M.Eng. '90, AMD senior architect; Clifford Pollock, professor and director of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, holding a dedication plaque; Kent Fuchs, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering; and AMD representative Jeff Erhardt '98. In the background, taking pictures, is Bill Mutch, Phillips Hall assistant building manager and equipment technician. The new computers, with 64-bit processors, are "the big diesels of the industry," Pollock said, and make possible complex simulations, including circuit design. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography