The Division of Biology and Medicine Computer Services Office serves the entire Division, including all Biology and Medicine departments, faculty and staff. Support for hospital-based faculty is limited to email and phone consultation. The office consists of six staff members, with the following responsibilities:

Clifford Hirschman, Director, Information Technology, 863-3293, provides consultation on special projects and in-house computer systems, manages computer equipment procurement, provides back-up assistance to users with computer problems, and provides technical support for the web.

Gary Bryson, 863-9644, all on-campus locations, including 70 Ship Street

Ron McKay, 863-9623, all on-campus locations, including 70 Ship Street

Robert Medeiros, 863-2729, 121 South Main Street

Scott Lessard, 863-6530, Neuroscience Department, Sidney Frank Hall

Gary, Ron, Bob, and Scott are all desktop support specialists, and assist users with computer problems, install software and hardware, and configure Macs and PCs. They are responsible for the student computing clusters in the Biomed Center and at 121 South Main Street.

Natalia Onufrieva, Web Administrator, 863-1047, designs and executes the major division web pages, and assists users with creating their own web pages. In cooperation with the Interim Associate Dean for Communications, she defines the appearance and content standards for divisional web pages and provides tools that enable compliance with those standards.

So, Who Do I Call?

Software:

If you need help installing or upgrading university-supported software, call us at 863-2464. We can assist you over the phone, remotely connect to your computer to look at the problem, or arrange a personal visit. This includes applications, such as Microsoft Office, and operating systems such as Windows XP and OS X. If you are interested in having custom software written for your department, please schedule an appointment with Clifford Hirschman at the number shown above.
If you have a question about using Word or Excel, or one of the other University-supported applications, you should call the CIS Help Desk at 3-HELP (4357).

Hardware:

If your hardware is not working correctly, our staff can check it out, but if it is really a hardware problem — rather than a System problem, it will most likely have to go to Service & Repair (in the CIT building), 863-7349.

Web:

The computer services office has full-time web administrator who handles updates to existing pages and provides consultation to departmental users on developing their own web content. Please contact Natalia Onufrieva , 863-1047.

Networking:

If you have a problem with the network you should call us immediately so we can diagnose it. If you have an available active tap and you want to get your machine networked, our staff will do it for you. As a general rule, you should make an appointment for us to do it, but in some cases, if you are comfortable with the system, we can "walk you through" it over the phone.
You can connect to Brown's online services from off-campus using the Internet. CIS has prepared some useful information to help you get connected. If you need additional help, please call the Computer Services Office.

File Services:

The Computer Services Office operates a file server that is available to Biomed departments and individuals. We can create folders for sharing documents between department members and customize the access rights to your needs. Individuals can also obtain personal folders on the server that only they can access. The file server is backed up nightly, and can be accessed from any Windows or OS X computer. It is intended for administrative use, and not for large quantities of research data.

Equipment Procurement:

The Biomed Division's Equipment Replacement Program calls for each staff person and campus-based, tenured or tenure-track faculty member to receive a new PC or Mac every three years. However, this is subject to funding availability, and it is not always possible to replace each piece of equipment on this schedule. The Computer Services Office keeps an inventory of all equipment purchased and will notify you when it's time to replace your computer. You are also welcome to contact us to see where you are on the list.

The Computer Services Office can also handle purchases funded through grants, startup funds, and departmental operating budgets. We can handle the entire process, from determining the appropriate equipment based on your needs through purchasing and installation.