[vtkusers] Please help VTK: Letters of Support needed

[Will Schroeder]

Dear VTK Community-

Kitware is submitting a software maintenance grant to the NIH in early June
and we’d like you to send us a letter of support. This five year proposal
aims to make significant improvements to VTK including rendering
architecture enhancements (mobile and web platforms), large data additions
targeted at biomedical data, improved interaction capabilities, community
support (improving the software and contribution process, documentation),
and outreach to five leading medical research institutions (UNC, JHU, UH,
Stanford, Brigham).

We are very excited about the proposal since it will make a very positive
impact on VTK and its associated community, as well as the many affiliated
applications that use VTK. However, we can really use your help. Part of the
strategy of our proposal is to demonstrate to the reviewers that VTK plays a
critical part in medical innovation. Along this line we are including many
“formal” letters of support from leaders in biomedical research, however,
and probably more importantly, we want to hear from the developers and users
of VTK.

If you’d like to help, we have included a brief example letter which you can
use verbatim, or modify as necessary to fit your circumstances. Place this
text on your letterhead, sign it, and then send it (a scanned pdf is fine)
directly to me by June 1. The letter in no way obligates you or your
employer, it simply states “VTK is great and important to my work.” Also,
don’t worry if you are not doing biomedical research, we want to hear from
everybody. Note that this information (i.e., the names of endorsers) is
considered private, only the writers of the VTK proposal and the NIH review
team will see this information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me
directly. Thanks and we hope to hear from you (by June 1).

Sincerely,
Will Schroeder

---------------------- Sample Letter of Support ---------------------

Dr. WIllian J Schroeder, President and CEO
Kitware, Inc.
28 Corporate Drive
Clifton Park, NY 12065, USA


Dear Dr. Schroeder-

I enthusiastically endorse your proposed effort to improve VTK. I use this
open source software in my work and have found it extremely helpful as we
create new technological solutions. VTK fills a vital role in the
international community’s scientific computing infrastructure; additional
developments along the lines that you propose will certainly accelerate
innovation.

Sincerely,

Helpful VTK Community Member


-- 
William J. Schroeder, PhD
Kitware, Inc.
28 Corporate Drive
Clifton Park, NY 12065
will.schroeder at kitware.com
http://www.kitware.com
(518) 881-4902
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