Pitt’s Center for Research Computing (CRC) provides researchers with free access to advanced computing hardware and software, along with training and consultation by CRC research faculty. University faculty are able to perform resource-intensive functions, such as simulations; data, image, and text analysis; and genomic sequencing to help give shape to innovative ideas.
For the past 18 months, many campus offices have been empty. Hallways were quiet, office doors were locked, and lights stayed dark. But recently, the familiar hum of a new academic year grew louder, with thousands of students moving into the residence halls and in-person activities resuming.
A new semester brings many things: new members of the Pitt community, a new schedule, and a new year of working on your device. Unfortunately, it also brings new cybersecurity threats, with hackers hoping to wreak havoc with your online identity. But you can stop them in their tracks. Here are some tips for keeping your information, your devices, and yourself safe and secure.
Welcome (back) to campus, Panthers! For all the students who are new to Pitt and all the students who haven’t been on campus in over a year, here’s a Pitt IT 101 crash course on all the computing facilities on campus.
It takes a lot of PCs, servers, storage, and systems to support the University’s teaching, learning, and research mission. But it’s hard to think of all that technology as a perk. It’s Pitt IT’s job to think about the computing infrastructure that is the backbone of so much that happens on our five campuses. But there are other IT benefits that are provided specifically to you.
The fall semester will be here before you know it. Whether you’re a first-year student or coming back for another great year, make move-in less hectic by completing a few key IT tasks before you arrive.
Over the past few weeks, you may have noticed an influx of Pitt IT alerts regarding phishing scams. (If you’re subscribed to IT Alerts, that is.) It seems like online thieves are in overdrive these days: From mid-June to early July, two major schemes directed over 70,000 scam messages at the Pitt community. And these were not your “I am a Nigerian prince, please transfer money to me ASAP” emails.
Researchers in the University of Pittsburgh’s Biomedical Informatics department needed to grant multiple outside researchers access to sensitive biomedical data that would speed treatment to patients in need. With Pitt IT, they collaborated with Microsoft cloud solution architects to deploy a secure research enclave in record time using Microsoft Azure. Now, the University has a blueprint for replicating this secure environment, creating broad, secure access to sensitive data from multiple sources.
In April, the Office of the Provost announced that 2021-22 will be the Year of Data and Society, encouraging the University community to focus on the importance of data science in our daily lives. One project in particular under the Data and Society umbrella has been underway for quite some time. The School of Computing and Information (SCI) is working to educate the broader Pittsburgh community on the importance of data and how we can keep our data secure … and Pitt Information Technology is an eager participant.
While the word “standard” can mean ordinary or generic, it can also be defined as the minimum criteria that something must meet. At Pitt IT, the Computing Equipment Purchasing and Standardization Program is in place to ensure that all staff and faculty are working on high-quality devices at affordable prices, with exceptional support and ease of use.