The Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT (MDM) Observatory has two fine telescopes in a good site and some very useful instrumentation. It serves a substantial constituency of astronomers who pursue a wide variety of projects. However, the observatory computer systems have become outmoded and overloaded. New computers are needed to support instrumental developments already in progress. We propose to replace the current observatory computers with relatively inexpensive RISC-based workstations and modern peripheral equipment. This will make it practical to use large- format CCD detectors and to properly reduce and inspect data on site. The result will be a great enhancement of scientific productivity of the observatory.
