Category: Empower the Future of Research

Self-Help, Expert Help When You Need It

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The UF Computing Help Desk website has self-help resources for students, faculty and staff, accessible from anywhere, at any time. Among the how-to pages are step-by-step instructions for connecting to eduroam and the UF VPN, setting up UF GatorMail on your phone, updating passwords on your phone, and managing your GatorLink account. For visual learners, how about putting that RTS bus time to good use by watching a video on UFIT’s YouTube channel? There are nearly 100 videos on https://www.youtube.com/GoGatorsUFIT, with more added each month.

For 24/7 assistance regarding technical services you cannot fix on your own, the Help Desk has you covered. During regular business hours, in-person and online consultations cover: VPN and wireless network connections, email services, GatorLink account issues, UF systems, e-Learning [Canvas] support, desktop application support, and thesis and dissertation formatting assistance. After hours (nights and weekends) phone support includes account management issues and general tech information.

There are multiple ways to connect with UF Computing Help Desk experts: Visit (132 Hub), call (352-392-HELP/4357), email (helpdesk@ufl.edu), or submit a myIT ticket to the team. Remember to have your UFID number handy!

Sharing UF’s AI Journey with the World

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Enhancements to UF’s https://ai.ufl.edu/ website (AI) debuted on January 26. The site now more fully showcases UF’s commitment to integrate AI across academic, research, and outreach efforts. The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing partnered with UFIT’s Web Services to bring about the site enhancements.

“The story we want to share digitally is one that encompasses all aspects of AI at UF,” notes Melanie Schramm, assistant vice president for strategic communications. “UF’s AI Initiative touches on every aspect of the university. Working with UFIT, this site will help us share information and discoveries with stakeholders around the world.”

The new design features a restructured homepage with content blocks dedicated to university-wide research and announcements. Two new tabs have been added: the Industry tab details UF’s investments in solidifying its role as the first “AI University,” while the News tab lists updates and events from departments and units. Students can also check out the chart on the Academics tab that lists all new and enhanced undergraduate and graduate courses that include AI components. The popular Calendar link lists the symposia, trainings, webinars, and other events focusing on AI across the enterprise. UF Human Resources also has a Jobs page dedicated solely to the AI-focused faculty and staff positions available with the university.

Our Purpose. Our Legacy.

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On behalf of the staff of UFIT, it is with great excitement that we share the University of Florida 2020-2025 Strategic Plan for IT with Gator Nation! This five-year plan outlines how UFIT will support the university as it transforms to a national leadership role in the application of AI in higher education, including an expansive plan to elevate research, teaching, and economic development. The plan is built around six goals:

1. Enable Student Success
2. Empower the Future of Research
3. Accelerate Philanthropic Impact
4. Elevate the Stakeholder Experience
5. Advance an Analytics-Enabled Environment
6. Build a Resilient Cybersecurity Environment

We gratefully acknowledge the hundreds of faculty, students, and staff who gave their time to assist in the formation of the University of Florida 2020-2025 Strategic Plan for IT. While the plan was under development, the U.S. has been grappling with a global pandemic and addressing racial equality and social justice, important causes on campus and in our community. These issues are also addressed in the plan, with actionable items included as part of UFIT’s objectives. Anyone with questions about the plan or who would like to provide feedback is welcome to send their comments to VP and CIO Elias Eldayrie.

Launching UF’s AI Initiative

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On July 21, the University of Florida announced its partnership with NVIDIA, the multi-national technology company that is the world leader in artificial intelligence (AI). This $70 million initiative will enable UF researchers to solve global challenges, provide unprecedented access to the most powerful AI tools, transform how UF educates its students, and help create the workforce for tomorrow.

The opportunities to profoundly impact the world and lead the way in research and discovery will be powered by HiPerGator and the supercomputing environment built and managed by UFIT. Along with recent enhancements to storage and facilities improvements, UFIT will complete the installation of the NVIDIA GPU system (NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD™ architecture) and design and deploy other required components to support the HiPerGator 3.0 go-live scheduled for January, 2021.

More information about this first-of-its-kind partnership for AI in higher education are available via the following resources:

■ https://ai.ufl.edu/
■ UF Press Release
■ NVIDIA Partnership Announcement

Research Computing Support Available Remotely

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Research computing consulting support is now available through remote channels. Based on the precautions taken by the university regarding the COVID-19 virus, facilitators who normally hold walk-in hours on campus are available via Zoom. The online support options for UF’s research community include:

  • Visiting the Research Computing website for information on services and the current status of HiPerGator.
  • Posting questions in the Slack #support channel. Research Computing staff monitor the channel and reply as quickly as possible. Use this link to join.
  • Attending a Zoom meeting during the listed walk-in hours. Please allow at least 5-10 minutes for your request to be acknowledged. If a facilitator is in another meeting, your Zoom call will be placed in a waiting room and answered as quickly as possible. Personal Zoom links are available here.

Researchers are welcome to contact Erik Deumens, director of Research Computing, about their consulting support needs.

ResVault is UF’s Ultra-Secure Bank for Restricted Data

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UF’s ResVault meets the NIST 800-171 requirements, enabling scientists and collaborators to conduct research on restricted and confidential data. The new ResVault brochure is now online.

“We worked with UFIT to develop a robust environment that meets the very strict federal information security guidelines,” says Roland Estrella, clinical research manager for the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics. “The ResVault environment provides authorized users with on-demand access to linked data from multiple state agencies and has the capacity to process billions of medical and administrative records.”

Think of ResVault as a bank vault for restricted data. Like a bank, account holders can purchase a “safety deposit box” to store valuables. That box is a highly controlled environment where only authenticated, authorized users can work on the restricted data stored there. ResVault also has significant privacy protocols that protect what’s stored there from other customers and staff. When you want to access data stored in your ResVault, you have your own secure area to privately do so.

Researchers who would like to use ResVault may contact Brian Parks, Senior Information Systems Operations Analyst with UFIT Research Computing.

Phase III of UFIRST Service Available July 6

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Phase III of UFIRST went live on July 6 and brings the post-awards business process online. UFIRST Awards creates a more efficient award management process for researchers and administrators and introduces a streamlined environment for the $700+ million in research funding currently managed at UF.

Completed in nine months, the new functionality represents the third and final phase of the UFIRST initiative. Phase III also introduced a new proposal management system with electronic integration to grants.gov for federal submissions. This has enabled the Office of Research to retire Cayuse, its previous software for electronic grants submissions, resulting in savings of $180,000 per year. The entire grants management process is now more transparent, as relevant information for the processing of awards is visible in one location.

There are multiple resources to help research staff with the transition to UFIRST Awards. Training is available as are instruction guides located in myUFL’s Grants Toolkit. An article covering more specific dates, training requirements, and the functionalities of the UFIRST service was published in FYI. Anyone with questions about using UFIRST may email ufirst@research.ufl.edu.

UFIRST – New Grants Proposal System

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UFIT has been working with the Office of Research on the University of Florida Integrated Research Support Tool (UFIRST). A new proposal routing system for the university, the first phase of the UFIRST implementation, goes live March 23.

UFIRST will significantly improve the way research is administered at UF, from proposal submissions through the awards process. Among the improvements is a streamlined workflow process designed to improve transparency, tracking, and reporting throughout the life-cycle of the proposal.

This is not the end of UFIT’s work in support of this new Office of Research system. Subsequent stages of implementation will occur in fall 2015, when UFIRST replaces Cayuse as the submission tool to http://www.grants.gov/, and the new awards system, expected to go live in spring 2016.

Resources for UFIRST, including information on training and security roles needed to use the system, are available via the UFIRST website. The UF research community is invited to submit questions, suggestions for any of the implementation phases, or general feedback to the UFIRST project team.