This page contains general information about the department's resources and support staff. It is primarily intended as an orientation guide for new department members, but department veterans may well find useful information here. We encourage you to contact the webmaster if you have suggestions for new entries.

Start with the index or one of the categories below:

• Department Places: Conference rooms, computer labs, mailroom, etc.
• Department Resources: Office machines, office supplies, espresso, etc.
• Administrative Services (Building): Building problems, phones, keys, parking, etc.
• Administrative Services (Misc.): ID cards, purchasing, hiring, visas, etc.
• Student Services: Course registration, tuition remission
• Computer-Related Issues: New accounts, troubleshooting, website, etc.
• General Information: Physical Sciences Complex, office space questions, etc.
• Index

Department Places

• Mailroom: The main mailroom is located in Rm. 1204; contact Barbara to arrange for a mailbox. Student workers are usually here and can shred papers for you. If you receive paper checks, these are available in the mailroom every other Friday; ask the student worker or Barbara to obtain your check.
• Conference Rooms: The department conference rooms include Rm. 1248, Rm. 1255 (the library), and Rm. 2316. The former two have schedule signups by the door; for Rm. 2316's schedule, contact Jan Hall. The rooms are equipped for computer presentations as follows: Rm. 1248 (projector screen only), Rm. 1255 (TV display w/ cable TV and computer connectors), and Rm. 2316 (projector and screen). These rooms are also available as study spaces when not otherwise in use. Separate conference rooms are maintained by the Theory Group in Rm. 1224 (contact Massimo Ricotti) and the LMA in Rm. 0205A (contact Lee Mundy).
• Undergrad Interaction Room: The undergrad interaction room is a multi-use space for astronomy majors and the AstroTerps club. A TV display monitor is available for computer presentations. Contact MaryAnn Phillips for keycard access.
• Computer Labs: The department has a Windows computer lab in Rm. 1220 and a Linux computer lab in Rm. 0246. Note that courses have priority for use of the Rm. 1220 lab; schedules are posted on the door. Some individual groups (e.g. LMA, Theory) have their own computer labs or specialized group computers.
• Library: There is a small departmental library in Rm. 1255 with monographs, journals, and conference series. Books are still being added to the collection. Contact Eric with book recommendations or other suggestions. The library is also available for study space, meetings, and small classes. Please note that first priority of room use is given to department meetings which are listed on the calendar posted in the hallway.
• Visitors' Office: Contact Barbara Hansborough for information about the current location and availability of the visitors' office.
• Observatory: Elizabeth Warner is the coordinator of our campus observatory, including its open houses and other day-to-day operations. Dennis Wellnitz assists with maintenance and repairs of the telescopes.

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Department Resources

• Office Machines: We have a copier in Rm. 1202 and a fax machine and shredder in the mail room (Rm. 1204). Problems with these should be referred to Barbara Hansborough. Fax machines are also maintained by the planetary group and the space physics group. The Rm. 1202 copier is also able to send scans via email; contact Mark Wolfire or Eric McKenzie for instructions. (This service is still in 'beta testing'.)
• Office Supplies: These are primarily located in Rm. 1202. (If you take the last of an item or have a new request, you should add the item to the list kept in Rm. 1202 next to the catalog; contact Barbara with questions.) For use of tools such as tape measures, screwdrivers, and hammers, contact MaryAnn or Eric.
• Educational Supplies: Teaching demonstrations, videos, etc. may be found in Rm. 1250 (the TA office); you must use the signout sheet there. Other educational supplies are located in Rm. 1109A, the storage room for ASTR101; contact Grace if you would like to use any of these.
• Carts/Dollies: The department has carts and dollies; contact MaryAnn or Eric if you have need of them. The large cart may be located in Rm. 1112 or 1203. The dollies are located in Rm. 1112. Two smaller carts, often used for classes, are located in Rm. 1250; you must use the signout sheet there. Contact MaryAnn or Eric with any questions.
• Kitchen: The department maintains a kitchen in Rm. 0254.
• Espresso: There is a daily espresso get-together at 1:45-2:15pm in the department lobby (including ice cream on colloquium Wednesdays). Espresso pods and cups may be purchased from Barbara. Free tea, hot chocolate, and cookies (1 per person, please) are often available. When 'off-duty', the espresso machine is available for use in Rm. 1112.

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Administrative Services (Building)

• Building Problems: Building maintenance problems (e.g. A/C, air vents, ceiling leaks, missing bathroom supplies) can be reported to Work Control anytime at x52222. Alternatively, you may report the problem to MaryAnn, who will forward it to Work Control. For classroom AV problems (e.g. in Rooms 0201, 2400, 2428), contact OIT at x52600 or MaryAnn. For keycard access problems, call Building Security at x53286 (call the UMD police for after-hours access). For the UMD Police, call x53555 (or 911 for emergencies).
• Phones and Data Jacks: Contact MaryAnn for information about or problems with your phone or network data jacks. Eric is a backup if she is unavailable.
• Keys: Contact MaryAnn for room keys. She can also assist you with after-hours building access, which is handled through Building Security (x53286).
• Parking: Barbara is the department's parking coordinator; she arranges employee parking permits as well as 1-day parking passes for visitors.
• Hallway Announcements and Department Decor: Barbara oversees the posting of announcements (conferences, etc.) on the department bulletin boards. Eric oversees lobby/hall decorations and the lobby TV displays (and appreciates receiving new ideas).
• Movers and Terrapin Traders: To get furniture or large items moved from one place to another, contact MaryAnn Phillips. Contact Mark Wolfire to arrange Terrapin Trader pickups of all items that the department no longer needs, including furniture, computer hardware, etc. (MaryAnn and Eric are backups if he is unavailable.)
• Used Furniture: Used furniture occasionally becomes available in the department, e.g. due to office moves or other rearrangements. Examples include bookshelves, file cabinets, tables, desks, chairs, etc. If you could use a specific piece of furniture, contact Eric McKenzie, and he will notify you if your requested item becomes available. (Also let him know if you have an unwanted piece of furniture to donate to the cause.)

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Administrative Services (Misc.)

• ID cards: University ID cards for faculty, staff, and students can be obtained on the first floor of the Mitchell Building (M-F 8:30-4:30, 301-314-8240) once you are in the university's electronic records system. Barbara Hansborough can assist with any questions.
• Hourly Student Workers: Barbara hires and oversees most of our hourly student workers, who are usually based in the mailroom and the library; Mark may also have a student who assists with computer matters. The students are often available for short-term projects if needed; check with Barbara or Mark as appropriate.
• Colloquia: Barbara handles the department's colloquia, including website updates. She also handles arrangements for colloquium visitors, including travel approval/reimbursement forms and hotel/lunch reservations.
• Department Visitors: Barbara handles hotels, parking, and other arrangements for department visitors such as colloquium speakers, prospective students, etc. See also Visitors' Office.
• Business Office: The department's business office maintains its own webpage, which will be available soon and will include issues such as payroll, benefits, travel, timesheets, grant management, effort reporting, purchase orders, etc.
• Purchasing: Adrienne Newman handles most purchasing needs; send her the webpage or other specifics for the items that you need ordered. Mark Wolfire is responsible for computer hardware orders. Barbara is responsible for furniture purchasing orders, which normally must be purchased from Maryland Correctional Enterprises. See here for obtaining office supplies.
• FedEx Pickups: To arrange for FedEx pickups of packages, contact the mailroom student or Barbara if no student is available.
• Hiring: To hire a postdoc, first review your plans with your business manager. Eric McKenzie can assist with placing advertisements, e.g. in the AAS job register. When you are ready to make an offer, contact Eric and cc him on the offer letter. (Note that foreign researchers must pass through export control before being offered a position.) Eric's office will write a contract and (if needed) initiate visa proceedings. Adrienne Newman can assist with hiring undergrad employees or grad student RAs. Out-of-department grad students frequently leave resumes in Rm. 1205; contact MaryAnn Phillips to view these. Barbara Hansborough hires hourly students to work in the mailroom, library, and to assist Mark Wolfire.
• Foreign Visitors and Export Control: If you will be hosting a foreign visitor or employee, please contact Eric. ORAA now has an export control clearance procedure which requires 1) name as it appears on passport, 2) country of citizenship, 3) name and address of current employer/institution, 4) dates of visit/appointment, 5) FRS project number (if appropriate), and 6) technical scope of the research in which the visitor will be participating/collaborating (in layman's terms), including the field of investigation and major technologies that are involved. The clearance process can take up to a week, though it is often done within a day.
• Visas: The primary department contact person for visa issues is MaryAnn Phillips. (Eric McKenzie is a backup if she is unavailable.) The university-level office is International Education Services.

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Student Services

• Undergraduate Advisor: The undergraduate advisor is Ms. Grace Deming.
• Course Registration: Graduate students should contact MaryAnn Phillips to gain access to online course registration. (Eric is a backup if she is unavailable.)
• Tuition Remission: Contact Adrienne Newman for tuition remission questions for grad student TAs.

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Computer-Related Issues (+ Website)

• Computer Accounts: One of the first things that new grad students, postdocs, etc. will want to do is to obtain a department computer account (e.g. for email). This can currently be done by contacting Mark Wolfire or Bill Sebok. They can similarly assist with registering notebooks on the network. You will also need to set up a university account: Accounts for students - Accounts for faculty.
• Guest Wireless Accounts: Faculty and staff may arrange guest wireless accounts for up to 4 people for 30 days. For larger numbers of accounts, contact MaryAnn Phillips or Eric McKenzie.
• Computer Hardware Issues: Contact Mark Wolfire for problems with computers, printers, and other hardware, as well as Linux installations. Questions about network support and tape backups may also be directed to Mark. Please note that notebooks are not supported by the department except for DHCP service.
• Computer Software/Sysadmin Issues: Contact Bill Sebok for Linux/Sun system and software issues. If Bill is unavailable and the situation is time-critical, other department members with root access include Mark Wolfire, Peter Teuben, and Mark Pound. MS Windows is supported only on staff and lab machines; contact Mark Wolfire.
• Computer Peripherals: The computing wiki contains a current list of printers and their locations. The department has laptops, projectors, laser pointers, and USB drives; these can be checked out by faculty and students from MaryAnn Phillips.
• Website Updates: Contact the webmaster with any updates or errors that you notice. Simple fixes are usually made within two days.
• Directory and Exploder Updates: Barbara Hansborough maintains the department phone directory and directory webpage, as well as the primary email exploders; contact her with any additions or updates. A textfile of the phone list is located at /local/pub/phone . To see the full set of email exploders and view their members, check the directories /local/mail and /local/mail/autogenerated .

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General Information

• Physical Sciences Complex: The Physical Sciences Building is a new building which will be built adjacent to ours in the DD parking lot (ETA c. 2013) and will house part of our department, part of the physics department, and part of IPST. Eric McKenzie, Andy Harris, and Stuart Vogel have been attending planning meetings and can answer some questions about the PSC, including the effects on CSS during construction. PSC floorplans are currently located in Eric's office.
• Office Space: Eric McKenzie handles office space planning. Contact him with any questions.
• Undergrad and Graduate Catalog Info: Eric McKenzie handles updates for the undergrad and graduate catalogs. He also maintains the graduate program handbook. Please let him know of updates or corrections.

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