News
- Microsoft is retiring their enterprise video platform Stream (Classic) and replacing it with Stream (on Sharepoint). On April 9, 2024 UW-IT will automatically migrate exisiting Stream (Classic) videos to Stream (on Sharepoint). For more information, see the UW-IT project page.
- Starting April 2024, UW is implementing email authentication for outgoing email. Check this website for more information
- Starting May 1st, 2024, UW is implementing a 30-day retention policy for Microsoft Teams chat messages. For more info, see project page.
- On June 11, 2024, the UW Google Storage limits will change. See UW Google changes project for more info.
Support Options
For the quickest response to computer support issues (hardware or software) send email to one of the following addresses:
- Physics - help@phys.washington.edu
- Astronomy - help@astro.washington.edu
- eScience Institute - help-datasci@phys.washington.edu
- Institute for Nuclear Theory - help-int@phys.washington.edu
Our first-tier technical support schedule is Monday-Friday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM. The Help Desk is monitored by all members of the PACS team. We will respond to your ticket within one business day, and try to solve all support issues within two business days.
When opening a help ticket, remember to provide as much of the following as possible:
- Your Full Name
- Your Location (Office Number / Lab)
- Contact Info (Email and Phone)
- Your Computer Name (if you know it)
- Description of the Problem (including Operating System if applicable)
For others means of support you can try the following
- PACS Website - Intranet for Astronomy and Physics. ***NEW***
- UW IT Connect - For Help with NetID, phones, Email and many other online resources.
- UW IT Service Status - UW-IT notices, eOutages and high priority incidents.
- Personal Computers
- Mathematica - For more information on the software system Mathematica.
History
The Physics and Astronomy Computing Services group (aka PACS) services the departments of Physics and Astronomy as well as the Institute for Nuclear Theory (INT). This group was started in the early 90's when these three units realized that combining funding for IT under one group provided the following benefits:
- Provided a larger-scale, managed IT environment
- Reduced overhead costs for staffing
- Combined buying power
PACS now also supports the eScience institute.
Mission
The PACS mission is to increase the efficiency and collaborate closely in the academic, research, and administrative functions of the units we serve. PACS uses its extensive academic IT experience to execute the strategy set forth by the faculty of these units, within the fields of information technology, data management, high-performance computing, software development, and business intelligence.
2024 Goals
- Provide outstanding customer support
- Continue to document our systems
- Update our PACS intranet
- Cross-train team members to provide better day to day support
- Keep overhead costs down by:
- Standardizing desktop, laptop and printing platforms
- Centralizing purchasing of IT equipment
- Centralizing computing and storage services by using internal and external service providers