Any researcher with a legimate scientific need for access to the tools we have developed can apply for a Resource User Account (of course you'll need to be physically present at UCSF to make use of our facilities such as our 3D interactive graphics workstations). See our administrative assistant, Robin, in S-1024 to obtain an account application form or print this PDF file. Users must also sign a personal statement concurring with our policy on computer security and on electronic communications. The completed application form and signed concurrence statement should be returned to room S-1024 in the Medical Sciences building.
Account Approval Process
Potential users of the Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics (RBVI) must fill out an account application form which then must be approved by the Resource Director. This usually takes a day or two. Accounts are reviewed annually (occasionally more often) to make sure usage conforms to established guidelines and to insure that our scarce resources are being used for the purposes we intended when we applied to NIH for funding of the Resource. Occasionally a user's account may be terminated if it is determined computer usage is not appropriate to the charter of the Resource. The decision to terminate an account may be appealed in writting to the RBVI Executive Committee. We request that users who no longer need use of their account notify us so that their account can be deactivated. (We retain user files on backup tapes indefinitely, so a user can always have access to past data even if their account is terminated.) Accounts which have been inactive for 180 days or more are also deactivated.
As we are required by our funding agency, the NIH National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), to submit a detailed Annual Report summarizing usage of our facility, we in turn require all users to submit a summary of their research progress annually. Failure to provide a research progress report in a timely manner when requested to do so will result in termination of your account.
Annual Research Progress Report
Approximately every twelve months we will request the following information from you:
- The title(s) and a one page description(s) of each of your research projects that depend on the Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics. It is important to describe how you make use of the Resource in your writeups. Please use first person style writing in your report.
- A list of the titles and grant numbers of your relevant supporting grants (NIH [noting which institute], NSF, DOE, etc.). NCRR makes extensive use of this information as an indication of how funding is maximally leveraged.
- A list of publications from the previous twelve month period which depended upon RBVI resources (i.e. workstations, software [e.g. MidasPlus], collaborations with RBVI staff, photographs made with RBVI software, etc.).
- Two reprints of each publication which has not previously been supplied to us.
- A list of the titles and locations of scientific conferences and seminars in which you used slides, film or video generated at the Resource during the previous twelve month period.
- A list of publications, presentations, television programs, videotapes or other public service use of images generated at the Resource during the previous twelve month period.
We realize that reporting on your research progress annually is yet another burden to you, but the Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics and the UCSF Computer Graphics Laboratory (CGL) exist in part because of the generous funding we receive annually from the NIH and the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) is very demanding in what they need for the Annual Reports from the facilities they fund. We give details of the information that we will be asking from you now in hopes that you keep this requirement in mind as the year progresses and thereby minimize the burden in making your individual progress report when we ask for it.
If you already have a RBVI or CGL account and either want to update the current information we have for you now, or just see what the on-line annual report submission form looks like, look here.
Acknowledging Use of the Laboratory
Following NCRR policy, all use of the Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics Laboratory must be acknowledged. The exact form of the acknowledgement depends on the specific services utilized. Pictures created with MidasPlus software should state ``Molecular graphics images were produced using the MidasPlus program from the UCSF Computer Graphics Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco (supported by NIH P41-RR01081)'' with a reference to:
- T.E. Ferrin, C.C. Huang, L.E. Jarvis and R. Langridge, "The MIDAS display system," J. Mol. Graphics, 6:13-27 (1988).
If you make use of MidasPlus "conic" images in your publication you should also include the following reference:
- C.C. Huang, E.F. Pettersen, T.E. Klein, T.E. Ferrin, and R. Langridge, "Conic - A Fast Renderer for Space-Filling Molecules with Shadows," J. Mol. Graphics, 9(4):230-236 and 242 (1991).
Similarly, images of MidasPlus Van der Waals surfaces should reference:
- P.A. Bash, N. Pattabiraman, C.C. Huang, T.E. Ferrin and R. Langridge, "Van der Waals Surfaces in Molecular Modeling: Implementation with Real-Time Computer Graphics," Science, 222:1325-1327 (1983).
Our supporting NIH grant (P41-RR01081) should also be acknowledged. Lastly, we would also appreciate receiving two reprints of any publications resulting from your work in our laboratory.
Additional Information
Got questions? We got answers, at least to the most commonly asked questions. Just see our Frequently Asked Questions page. (Note, since the FAQ page contains information that could be considered sensitive, these pages are only accessible to local UCSF users.)
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