MilkyWay@home Fundraiser

News

New Separation Runs
I am working my way through the data for the South Galactic Cap and am posting new runs.
If you see large error rates let me know I will be watching them as they start to catch anything major.

de_85_DR8_8_3_00001
de_85_DR8_8_3_00002
ps_85_DR8_8_3_00001
ps_85_DR8_8_3_00002



Thanks Jeff 29 Jul 2014, 16:21:05 UTC · Comment

Milkyway/Bitcoin Utopia Update
Friends....

Another Boinc project has come aboard to help us fundraise for Milkyway.

Bitcoin Utopia has agreed to team up with us on fundraising for Milkyway's future. To take part in this type of assistance for our project, please go to their site and follow their procedures.

Their program for Milkyway is Campaign #3.

We truly appreciate their support!

Disclaimer: The Milkyway project staff, students and moderators are not responsible for any issues your computer may have with their WU's. Please follow their recommendations for optimal results (credits are pretty nice too!). Any concerns or questions over how their project raises funds should be posted on their website for their admins to assist.

The Admins of Bitcoin Utopia are fantastic people and my experience shows they will do whatever they can to assist you.

Also remember Bitcoin Mining is not a quick process so the Bitcoin Utopia folks and us want to remind you to still donate in the more direct manner if you wish to.

Any support is appreciated tremendously! 19 Jul 2014, 21:33:31 UTC · Comment

MilkyWay@home passes 50% of fundraising goal!!
Hello Everyone,

I would like to let you all know we have surpassed the 50% mark for our fundraising goal! We could not have done it without you all, Thank you! here is a message from Professor Newberg:

"I would like to personally thank each and every MilkyWay@home supporter who has helped us to raise $21,843.97 towards our goal of $40,480 to keep up operations through summer 2015. So far, 324 people have sent money by credit card, Paypal, and check to support our work of tracing tidal streams in the Milky Way halo and using them to determine the location of dark matter. We have received donations from $0.23 to $5000 (Wow!), and sent out 36 fabulous T-shirts to donors. Some of you have included really wonderful notes along with your donations, that I have really appreciated.

Already, your donations have made it possible to offer Jake Weiss his co-op job for fall 2014, we know we will be able to continue to publish our papers in highly cited journals for the next year, and graduate student Sidd Shelton has his summer salary funded. This puts in a much, much better position than we were two weeks ago. Additional donations will fund conference travel (so we can tell other scientists about our findings, and get new ideas) and undergraduate student summer salary. Undergraduate research have in recent years been the driver behind MilkyWay@home software development, but to continue that they need summer support and opportunities for professional travel.

Thank you all, really, for your continued support of MilkyWay@home.

Sincerely,
Prof. Heidi Jo Newberg"


Cheers,
-Sidd 15 Jul 2014, 20:40:59 UTC · Comment

Revised policy for Shipping T-shirts Internationally
Hello everyone,

There has been a recent change in our policy regarding shipping T-shirts internationally. We previously required an extra $100 dollar donation for international addresses. However, due to our recent experience with sending T-shirts international, we have decided that this is no longer necessary.

It costs us about $12 more to mail internationally than in the United States, plus we have to fill out a customs form, but we have found a convenient way to mail without running to the post office. While we would appreciate an additional donation for international shipping addresses, we will no longer require it. Unfortunately, the web form for credit card donations still says the additional $100 donation is required. You can ignore that and just type in the size requested.

As before, the sizes available are adult Small, Medium, Large, XLarge, XXLarge, or XXXLarge

Thank you all for your continuing support,
-Sidd
3 Jul 2014, 15:13:39 UTC · Comment

Fundraiser Progress
Hey Everyone,

Our current progress for the fundraiser is $11,505.22, which is a little over a quarter of the way there! We have already sent out 18 T-shirts! A big thank you to everyone who contributed from myself and the MilkyWay@home team!

Due to the large influx of donations, it will take some time to update the profiles for users who wish to have a special contribution badge appear. Therefore, I ask for some patience in that regard.

Thank you all for your continuing support,
Sidd
2 Jul 2014, 19:24:36 UTC · Comment

PayPal and other options
Hello All,

Many of you have asked about paypal and other donation methods. To address these concerns, Professor Heidi Newberg asked me to post the following on her behalf:


I would like to answer some of your posts. I am aware of the problem with not having a direct Paypal giving option. I prefer to use Paypal myself. Until the university wakes up to this as an important option, the only thing I can do is offer my personal Paypal account as an option. I will donate all of your donations back to MilkyWay@home. It will not be US tax deductible, but that is not a problem for donors who do not reside in the US. You can send to Heidi Newberg, paypal@quantconsulting.com and put your username/userID, indicate whether or not you would like a badge on your profile and T-shirt info in the notes section if applicable. So far five people have taken me up on this option. I know it is not ideal.

Regarding Kickstarter and other online donation sites, I did research these right after I was told that my grant was not renewed. These sites take a fraction of the proceeds (5% or more), and do not provide much (though they can figure out paypal better). I decided it was better to use the infrastructure provided by BOINC and by my university.

I am having some trouble understanding GRIDcoin/BitCoin donations. In understand that I could take donations in these currencies, and then convert them to the cash that I need to pay students, etc. However, doesn't that undermine the value of the currency itself? Why are people willing to exchange their BitCoins for GRIDcoins, and then their BitCoins for US dollars? Is there anything I can buy now with GRIDcoins (except BitCoins)?

And thank you for all of your help on my research project.

Best Wishes,
Heidi Newberg 1 Jul 2014, 18:51:26 UTC · Comment

New N-Body Runs (6/28)
These are the new runs:

de_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_0
de_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_1
de_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_2
de_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_3

ps_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_0
ps_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_1
ps_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_2
ps_nbody_06_28_orphan_sim_3


Most people's issues with the last set should be fixed. Post errors here please. Also, if you are having issues still with the ones from 6/10 and 6/11, expect to stop seeing those work units as the queue vacates in the next few weeks.

Thanks,

Jake 28 Jun 2014, 15:42:26 UTC · Comment

Dear MilkyWay@home Volunteers
Dear Milkyway@home volunteer,


During the past year we have made great strides in scientific research using MilkyWay@home and we have great plans for the future. Thank you for your help in making this happen! As a token of our appreciation we have introduced the volunteer badge system; our cyber-gift that tracks your years of service to the project and your contributed computer power. I encourage you to read our Newsletter to find out more. You can also track us on the Web. Check out our YouTube Channel, where we post our simulation videos, and like us on Facebook to get the latest updates.

Unfortunately, we now need your help more than ever. Last month I was informed that the U.S. National Science Foundation was not renewing our grant that operates MilkyWay@home. I would have been incensed, but unfortunately, due to the tight federal budgets, this is happening to strong and hard-working researchers all over the country.

To maintain operations for the next year, we need to raise $40K (for budget details), and we need your help. Your contribution, of any amount, will be recognized with a badge on your MilkyWay@home profile. In addition, for every $100 donated before August 15, 2014, we will send a free T-shirt, designed by our team members, that says “I support MilkyWay@home” to any address in the United States (additional donation required for international addresses or special shirt sizes, see here). You can even link a cool picture of you in your shirt to our Facebook page!

We really appreciate the use of your computer, which contributes to our 0.5 PetaFLOPS MilkyWay@home supercomputer. If you are also able and willing to help us financially you can make a donation by credit card here.

For other donation options and to track our campaign see our Fundraising page.
I and the MilkyWay@home team thank you so much for your assistance!

In appreciation,
Prof. Heidi Jo Newberg and the MilkyWay@home team 24 Jun 2014, 1:06:26 UTC · Comment

badge export for 3rd party sites.
Hi Everyone,

I've made a script which outputs everyones badges to an xml file for 3rd party export. The badge information can be downloaded here:

http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/download/badges.xml

And will be updated daily. This information can also be found in the show_user.php page, e.g.:

http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/show_user.php?userid=159&format=xml

Let me know how it's working!

--Travis 13 Jun 2014, 19:23:57 UTC · Comment

MilkyWay@home Fundraiser
Hey All,

At the end of this summer the National Science Foundation will cease the funding of MilkyWay@home. We will be holding a fundraiser this summer to raise funds to maintain operations. Check out our fundraising page for more information. It includes information on how to donate, our budget information and more. A gift of any amount will earn you (if you so wish) a donor badge on your MilkyWay@home profile. Your gift can also earn you a free MilkyWay@home T-shirt!

Here is the link:

http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/fundraiser.php


Thank you all for your continuing support!
Siddhartha Shelton 10 Jun 2014, 16:43:42 UTC · Comment

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