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Academic Technology, Faculty/Staff, MakerSpace, Students

5 Tools for Faculty and Students doing Research at Swarthmore

ITS provides a number of services to support faculty and student research.  Whether you are coding software, collecting important data, or building experimental apparatus, we have you covered.

1. Research data storage and backup

ITS provides several methods of safeguarding your important research data.  Learn more at our Research Data Storage and Backup page.  Each researcher’s needs are different so check out what we offer and get in touch with us to set up a consultation.

2. High performance computing

ITS offers access to high performance computing through an agreement with XSEDE, an NSF-funded project to provide computing resources to researchers.   Any professor or student at Swarthmore can run code on some of the fastest computers in the world.

3. MakerSpace and Media Center

ITS runs both the Beardsley MakerSpace and Media Center.  In the MakerSpace you can use 3D printers, our large laser cutter, and woodworking equipment to construct your experimental apparatus.  Our MakerSpace Manager, Russell Prigodich, provides full time support for the space and can consult with you on your designs.  In the Media Center, you can design and print out your research poster or use our workstations for video editing or graphic design.  Jeremy Polk, our experienced Media Center Coordinator, is ready to support your work.

4. RStudio/JupyterHub Servers

The R is an increasingly popular statistical programming language.  Jupyter (formerly iPython) notebooks are widely used to code and share the results with a wide audience.  ITS provides web-based versions of each via our RStudio and JupyerHub servers.  Because the systems are accessible from a web browser, you can start working on campus and continue anywhere else in the world without having to copy files around.  Contact help@swarthmore.edu to obtain a login.

5. GitHub Enterprise

Software version control is critical to any coding project.  Keep your source code safe and secure while collaborating with your research group by using Swarthmore’s GitHub Enterprise service.  More information is available at our GitHub Enterprise help page.