Any significant achievement is invariably a success due to individual contributions through a team effort. USMS and KerDAP is no exception to this rule.
The authors would like to first of all thank Ms. Bonnie Neas, Director of ITS at NDSU, for creating an environment which nourishes and encourages this type of effort in a research/production environment.
Special acknowledgements go to Mr. Dick Jacobson and Mr. Dale Summers. The development of the USDB and its integration with the administrative parent systems is the result of their programming and organizational talents. Success of any middleware initiative is dependent on access to individuals such as these that have a thorough knowledge of an organization, its operation and the policy implications of implementing effective middleware strategies. Their efforts were aided by Mr. Mick Pytlik and his administrative services staff which worked closely with them in identifying successful integration strategies.
Finally a special thanks to the tireless legions of Open-Source programmers. Their efforts toward the common, collective good provided the tools and the sandbox without which this project would not have been possible.