On the occasion of HAL's fictitious birth in Urbana in 1997, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will celebrate its contributions to the revolution and evolution of computing. Through Cyberfest '97, the campus will showcase its achievements and play host to the world's high tech and entertainment luminaries with workshops, colloquia, and performances during a week-long series of events. Cyberfest '97 is scheduled for March 10-15.

NCSA Director Larry Smarr will kick off the festivities in Foellinger Auditorium on Monday, March 10 with his keynote speech "Why HAL was Born in Urbana." For some fifty years this campus has been home to one of the oldest and strongest computing and engineering programs in the country. In 1952, it became the birthplace of ILLIAC 1, the world's first electronic digital computer. Today, the strength of its research and academic programs in computing have cut across all disciplines.

NCSA is also taking part in the UIUC Faculty/Staff Tech Fair in the Grainger Engineering Library, March 13-14. The center will be demonstrating the NCSA Symera Distributed System (S3). This Web-related software focuses on high-throughput computing. S3 computing is not high-speed computing, but rather high-volume computing accomplished in a short period of time.

Another exhibit will feature a demonstration of the RiverWeb(TM) Web site. Still under development, this site, which will be used as a tool to attract project partners and funding, provides a glimpse of interactive and collaborative capabilities being planned for a Web-based, multidisciplinary information network for the Mississippi River Basin.

One event not to be missed is a one-of-a-kind "virtual time-space performance" by NCSA Senior Research Programmer Robin Bargar and his team of artists and engineers. The work integrates images, sounds, and music from Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey in a virtual space where musicians play and interact on an 18' x 24' screen. This performance is part of the CyberGala event on Friday evening at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, hosted by film critic Roger Ebert.

Following the CyberGala show, entertainment and scientific luminaries from the week's activities will celebrate HAL's birthday in notable style at 10 p.m. in the lobby of the Krannert Center. The party is open to the general public.

Cyberfest '97 is being hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Colleges of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Communications, Engineering, Fine and Applied Arts, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and NCSA.

Stay tuned to the Cyberfest and Tech Fair Web sites for more NCSA events and schedule information.

by Cameron Kline