Faculty Information

Some specific information for faculty (especially new faculty).

Computer Accounts

Mathematics Cluster Accounts

Accounts on the mathematics cluster (machines maintained by the department's systems administrator) are available by filling out the department's account request form (PDF) and submitting the form to the department's systems administrator. Account policies are the same for all users.

CIS Accounts

CIS runs the college's Windows and Macintosh computer labs and maintains the college's networking infrastructure. They administer the accounts for their systems. The CIS account-request form allows you to select what systems you need access to.

Consulting these descriptions of some of the CIS servers may help you choose which types of accounts you need.

Amber Cluster Accounts

If you need access to the math and CS department's shared cluster, Amber, please let me know. Check our Amber pages for details on the application process, machine configuration, available software, and so forth.

Desktop and Laptop Machines

If you're not purchasing equipment out of your startup funds or as part of your startup deal, you may want to consider requesting a laptop or desktop system from CIS's PCs for Faculty Program.

Each semester, CIS sends out a call for applications that includes several preconfigured machines to choose from, generally a Dell laptop and desktop machine running Windows XP Professional and an Apple laptop and desktop running Mac OS X. Once we have the machine, we can wipe it and install whatever OS we like on it, so if one of the standard configurations works for you, then we can go with that.

If none of the preconfigured machines does quite what you want, PCs for Faculty program will provide around $2000–$2200 (the exact amount may vary each semester; these amounts are from fall, 2005) towards the purchase of a nonstandard system.

In either case, I encourage you to talk to me about what you want to do so that we can figure out the best solution together. Because CIS “takes back” any PCs for Faculty funded machine (even ones that have been partially funded), it may be worth considering whether some peripherals should be purchased outside the program so that they may be retained when that machine is replaced.

Shared Resources

The department maintains a number of shared resources for use by faculty.

Printers

The department has an HP Color LaserJet 5550dtn and shares a Canon imageRunner 8070 with the other departments in Olin. Both of these machines can duplex (print on both sides of a sheet of paper).

gaspode is a color laser printer, suitable for printing reasonably detailed color documents. If you want to print photographs, you're probably better off taking them to a drugstore or other store with photo-printing equipment, or buying your own inkjet printer.

wuffles is a digital copier, and can produce multipage documents (such as exams or class handouts) that are printed duplex, stapled, and even three-hole punched.

Poster Printing

Through the generosity of Hewlett Packard and the tenacity of Mike Raugh, the department also has scraps, an HP DesignJet 1055cm. scraps can print posters that are 36" on one dimension. We have more information about printing posters available, including templates, college logos, and other material.

Computers

The department has additional, shared computers that you can use. These include:

dorfl
A Windows XP Professional machine located in Olin 1273 (the small room next to Lisette de Pillis's office). dorfl can also be accessed using Microsoft's Remote Desktop protocol. There are clients for Mac OS X, Windows, and even Linux (type man rdesktop for details). This machine also has a color scanner and software that will allow you to scan to PDFs. This machine uses your CIS account for access.
sacharissa
A dual-processor Apple Power Macintosh G5 running Mac OS X 10.4. Located in the Publications Room, Olin B-143A (small room off the scientific-computing lab). Has a very nice color scanner and Adobe's Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat Professional) and can be used to create PDF files from scanned pages.
ponder
ponder is a 3.06 GHz dual-Xeon machine with 12 GB of RAM. It can be used for computations requiring a large amount of local memory or for long-running processes. ponder was purchased by Darryl Yong out of his startup funds; he has generously shared it with the rest of the department.
floater
Shared Windows XP laptop. Can be borrowed from Suzanne.

Software

MATLAB

The college has two types of licenses for MATLAB—classroom licenses, for use only for instructional use in classroom labs, and a more general use (including research) license that includes fewer products.

MATLAB can also be purchased for individual or group use on laptops and home machines. Consult their price list for details.

Standalone Classroom Preparation License

The college has obtained permission from MathWorks to allow faculty to install a standalone copy of the classroom license of MATLAB (for use on laptops or home machines). This license can only be used for classroom preparation (and not for research, consulting, or any other purpose) and requires that each faculty member sign a form provided by CIS and return that form to CIS. Please also be sure that I have a copy so that I can verify that CIS has approved your request.

If the CIS link is broken, please use this local cache of the form.

Desk Copy Option

MathWorks also has a faculty program where they will grant a faculty member a six-month “desk copy” license for the student version of MATLAB for classroom preparation only (not for research). They will want details about your class, the textbook(s) you're using, how you will be using MATLAB in the class, and so forth. If you choose to use MATLAB in your class, they will extend the license to one year, but be warned—they will contact you to see how your class is going.

Maple

Maplesoft's Maple Adoption Program is a bit less rigid, although its requirements are similar to MathWorks's requirements (you have to be using/recommending the use of Maple 9 for a class). Once you have the software, however, you may use it for research as well as classroom prep.

Mathematica

We now have a Claremont Colleges-wide license for Mathematica, which includes support for home and laptop use for faculty and staff.

For college-owned laptops, please see me about getting the necessary software (ideally, I can install it for you while I'm installing other software). CIS has requested that we use standalone installs for all laptops.

For your home system, you have to fill out a form at Wolfram's site. You can then download the software or request a set of CDs to be sent to you.

You will need the Colleges' license number to complete the form. The number was sent to all faculty by Elizabeth Hodas in the summer of 2006; if you don't have that message, let me know and I'll send you the information.

Other Software

If you have questions about particular software packages, please feel free to ask the department's systems staff for more information.

More (Local) Information

More information about our support for various software packages is available from our support site. Quick links to specific packages:

Other Services

Other services provided by other departments include the following.

Audio/Visual

CIS provides audio/visual services, such as arranging for projectors, cameras, microphones, or other equipment for classrooms, seminar rooms, or meetings. Requests should be made at least 24 hours before the service will be needed through their online form