OVERVIEW
This documentation provides information and suggestions that should help folks get “up to speed” with the Webb Theory and Simulation group. The objective is to provide useful guidance and references for current, new, or prospective group members. The scope of the document is broad and will change/expand over time. While a significant portion of this manual is dedicated to technical elements, another important facet will be the philosophy and guiding principles espoused. Typically, I cover all of this information at some point in time in direct conversation or messages with group members (or perhaps it is relayed from one member to another). This manual is not a pure substitute for those interactions, but it is a concrete resource that can limit repetition, improve clarity, etc. For current/new members, I hope you will become familiar (over time) with pretty much everything in the document, and we can build on that common ground. For prospective students, you’ll gain some insight into what the group is like, what computational research is like, and what constitutes my research/advising philosophy; these elements may inform whether you would be compatible with the group.
A couple of things straight out of the gate. This document is a reference; it need not nor should it likely be read “cover-to-cover.” I am hoping that the Sphinx documentation style will make it easy to navigate and even searchable. It’s not Paradise Lost, anyhow, so I think you can figure it out. Also, by in large, herein are a list of suggestions and recommendations–not a list of commands or mandates. For research in the Webb group, I do not believe that “All roads lead to Rome;” however, certainly there are many possible roads that end there or even some that might yet be built. The most important thing is that you find effective ways to conduct your research.