Account Qualifications and Affiliations

If you are unsure whether or not you qualify for an RC account or what arrangements your school or department has with FAS Research Computing, this document may help you sort out these questions before requesting an account. If you then wish to proceed, click the following link to proceed to the account request tool.

POLICIES

Cluster access is intended only for legitimate purposes which benefit research at Harvard University. Access must be authorized by the faculty or management of the FAS and our partners, and by the staff of Research Computing. Account access should only be granted for the purposes necessary to accomplish the goals of Harvard University and its research projects. All active FAS RC account holders are subscribed to our notifications mailing list which is a requirement for all users.

Cluster usage and additional resources may be subject to charges to the PI, school, or department. All billing is done via Harvard internal billing codes at the Tub/school level. See our billing FAQ.

All account holders, whether Harvard affiliates or outside collaborators agree to be held accountable by the Harvard University Electronic Access and Information Security polices: http://huit.harvard.edu/information-technology-policies. In addition, researchers should make themselves familiar with the university research policies maintained by the Provost’s Office.

TIPS BEFORE SIGNUP

• The majority of users will sign up as POSTDOC/RESEARCHER, GRAD STUDENT, UNDERGRAD, or STAFF. See Job Titles below for clarification.
• When requesting FACULTY status during sign-up, you must have a Harvard faculty appointment with a supported affiliation or your request may be rejected. Faculty accounts have additional controls and privileges and are provided only to those with faculty appointments.
• If you have a non-faculty appointment but have PI rights with a supported affiliation and your own 33-digit billing string(s), you should select NON-FACULTY PI (your account and PI rights will need to be vetted before approval. FASRC may contact you for more information).
• If you are a Harvard faculty member but wish to sign up as an individual collaborator under another faculty member’s cluster group, please choose POSTDOC/RESEARCHER as choosing FACULTY will require billing information and start the new lab setup process.
• If you are faculty member at another university collaborating with a Harvard PI, please choose EXTERNAL.
• If you are student or researcher at another university or company collaborating with a Harvard PI, please choose EXTERNAL.

 

PRIMARY AFFILIATED SCHOOLS

• FAS – Research Computing is primarily funded by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. As such, active FAS affiliates (faculty, staff, researchers, post-docs, etc.) qualify for an RC account and general cluster use. FAS manages the basic cost, so there is no cost to FAS departments for access. Additional dedicated data storage is available at a cost through our Storage Service Center.
• Rowland Institute – Rowland is considered a part of the FAS and its appointed staff are eligible for RC accounts and cluster access. Additional dedicated data storage is available at a cost through our Storage Service Center.
• SEAS – Research Computing has an arrangement with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to provide cluster access accounts and cluster storage for faculty, staff, researchers and other appointed users. Accounts and storage usage are billed to SEAS at the school level. Additional dedicated data storage is available at a cost through our Storage Service Center.
• HCSPH – Research Computing has an arrangement with the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Cluster and/or storage usage for accounts for faculty, staff, researchers and other appointed user are billed to HCSPH at the school level. For more details and account sign-up instructions, please see our dedicated HCSPH overview and Q&A pages. Additional dedicated data storage is available at a cost through our Storage Service Center.
• IQSS/GSD/GSE – Our agreements with the Institute for Quantitative Social Science are very specific and all on-boarding to the cluster for their users is handled by IQSS. If unsure how to proceed, please discuss with your IQSS partners or contact FASRC.
• HBS – Faculty members from The Harvard Business School should first contact HBS research computing to determine your needs and before signing up. Research Computing has a billing arrangement with HBS. Cluster and/or storage usage for faculty, staff, researchers and other appointed user are billed to HBS at the school level.  Additional dedicated data storage is available at a cost through our Storage Service Center.
• HKS – Research Computing has an arrangement with The Harvard Kennedy School of Government to provide cluster access accounts and cluster storage for faculty, staff, researchers and other appointed users. Accounts and storage usage are billed to HKS at the school level.  Additional dedicated data storage is available at a cost through our Storage Service Center.

UNAFFILIATED SCHOOLS

• HMS – The Harvard Medical School maintains its own cluster (Orchestra) which is available to you. You can find more information from them at: https://rc.hms.harvard.edu/.
  HMS has informed us that they do not sponsor or otherwise cover the costs of any HMS PI/researchers using the FAS cluster. We do not have an MoU with HMS that allows us to bill charges directly to the school.
  If you are collaborating with a PI at HSPH and need an account for that purpose, you should select the Researcher/Postdoc job type and select that HSPH PI as your sponsor.
• Hospitals – The hospitals are not Harvard-owned entities and we are not able to bill or support external entities. The Harvard Medical School maintains its own cluster (Orchestra) which you are likely eligible to use. You can find more information from them at: https://rc.hms.harvard.edu/.
  If you are collaborating with a PI at HSPH and need an account for that purpose, you should select the Researcher/Postdoc job type and select that HSPH PI as your sponsor.
• Radcliffe – At this time we do not have an MoU with Radcliffe providing us with a way to bill. If you wish to use the FASRC cluster, please ask your finance personnel or the Radcliffe finance administration to reach out to us about establishing an MoU.
• Law School – At this time we do not have an MoU with the Harvard Law School providing us with a way to bill. A small pool of pilot users was crated before our service center was established, but now that billing has commenced, an MoU will be necessary to onboard new labs and users. If you wish to use the FASRC cluster, please ask your finance personnel or the HLS finance administration to reach out to us about establishing an MoU.
• SAO/Smithsonian – At this time we cannot support or provide access for Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) staff and researchers. If and when we have an agreement and billing path, we will notify the SAO leadership.
• OTHER – See our Other Institutions page for additional information

JOB TITLES

You will be asked to select a Job Title during signup. Your selection should match your appointment or employment type no matter your intended use.

• STAFF – You are an employee of Harvard. This may include some special appointments. If you are paid by Harvard and are not a Postdoc/Researcher or Faculty member, this is likely the right choice for you. Lecturers and visiting scholars or outside faculty who are on a term appointment should also use this designation.
• UNDERGRAD – You are an enrolled undergraduate working under a PI who belongs to one of the Affiliations above and who will approve/sponsor your account.
• GRAD STUDENT – You are an enrolled graduate student working under a PI who belongs to one of the Affiliations above and who will approve/sponsor your account.
• POSTDOC/RESEARCHER – Your are a researcher (post-doctoral or a researcher working in a similar capacity) with a PI who belongs to one of the Affiliations above and who will approve/sponsor your account. Harvard faculty who are simply collaborating with another PI should also use this designation to avoid triggering billing and vetting required for a new cluster lab group.
• FACULTY – You are an appointed Harvard faculty member with a supported affiliation who wishes to establish your own cluster lab group. Faculty accounts have additional controls and privileges that are provided only to those with faculty appointments.
  PLEASE NOTE: Faculty signups require vetting and will take longer to process. 
• NON-FACULTY PI – You have a Harvard non-faculty PI appointment/PI rights. Non-Faculty PI accounts have additional controls and privileges that are provided with those appointments.
  PLEASE NOTE: Non-Faculty PI signups require vetting and will take longer to process. A 33-digit billing code is required at signup. 
• EXTERNAL – You are an external collaborator working under a Harvard group or PI who belongs to one of the Affiliations above and who will approve/sponsor your account. The PI/Sponsor is responsible for the usage and conduct of any external collaborators. If the account will be active for more than 90 days, the PI and user should work to obtain a Harvard “Person of Interest” appointment. The PI/Sponsor is responsible for the usage and conduct of any external collaborators. A Standard PoI appointment lasts for one year: PoI Guide
• VENDOR – This is a very specific type of title used by the Cores and FASRC to identify vendor accounts. These are generally short-lived accounts to allow vendors to perform work on instruments or other resources.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

Except for External Collaborators, an active appointment or enrollment with Harvard University is required for access to Research Computing resources. Each account must be tied to an individual (account sharing is not allowed) and sponsored by a Harvard PI who has a lab group on the FASRC cluster. It is expected that when that individual no longer has need of the account, the lab or PI responsible for sponsoring their account will notify us of their leaving. This is especially important if the account incurs a charge (billing applies until we are notified to close an account) or has access to sensitive research data.  If it is necessary to extend a user’s access beyond their appointment/enrollment, accommodations can be made with PI/faculty approval.

An exception can be made in some cases to allow collaborators access to Research Computing resources and/or lab data. As with all accounts, PI/faculty approval is required. Please contact rchelp@rc.fas.harvard.edu for any questions surrounding collaborator access.

Please note: Sharing of accounts is not allowed and in direct violation of security policies. Shared accounts are subject to being immediately disabled and the PI/faculty member sponsoring the account notified.