Research Computing Office
Much of science is now digital, with research data increasing in size and complexity, rapid advances in computational methods, new analytical approaches like artificial intelligence, and changing regulatory requirements. Research computing is vital to UMass Chan Medical School’s mission and operations, and the Research Computing Office provides important and timely leadership.
The mission of the Research Computing Office is to support scientists by advancing scalable, secure and sustainable computational resources at UMass Chan. Our office is positioned at the intersection of science and technology practice, strategy, and governance. We fulfill this mission through listening, thoughtful planning and strong partnerships across the research community, information technology, administration, sponsors, and external partners.
Research Computing Office resources
The Research Computing Office supports critical and rapidly evolving initiatives for the UMass Chan community through our intranet in partnership with Information Technology and the Research Informatics Core, including:
- A central resource for research computing in the Research Computing Office intranet.
- The UMass Chan AI Commons and UMass Chan Chat generative AI service.
- Helpful guidance, procedures and policies for research data and computational practices.
- Research computing trainings and best practices for using UMass Chan resources.
- Connection to the UMass Chan Research Computing Office Slack community.
- Research Computing Office services that meet scientists’ unique needs.
- Timely updates on what is going on in the world of research computing, compliance and sponsor requirements.
(The above links require UMass Chan credentials to access)
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Who we are
William Barnett, PhD, is the inaugural chief research computing officer at UMass Chan. He has an extensive background in research computing, including strategic planning, governance and institutional leadership; high performance computing; biomedical research; instrument-generated research; research with regulated data; research databases; research software; and information systems security.
Dr. Barnett came to UMass Chan from Harvard Medical School, where he oversaw the research computing group, supporting their extensive research mission, and partnering across Harvard on strategic and collaborative research computing initiatives. Previously he was at Indiana University and the Indiana University School of Medicine, providing high performance computing applications, technical support for clinical trials recruitment and management, and serving as the CIO of the precision medicine initiative. Read more about Dr. Barnett.
Jared Vessella-Smith is a bioinformatician with experience as a full-stack software engineer. With expertise in many different languages and frameworks, Jared has developed custom software solutions for research laboratories and biotechnology companies. His experience at Harvard University includes building applications and APIs to support laboratory workflows, while his tenure at Epivax saw him leading tumor vaccine pipeline development and creating web-based bioinformatics tools for large biotech firms. Currently pursuing a master's in biotechnology/bioinformatics at Harvard University, Jared excels in bridging the gap between computational research and practical implementation, ensuring that software solutions align with scientific objectives. His background in biological research and computer science further enhances his ability to support complex research computing initiatives here at UMass Chan.
What we do
Partnership with the research mission
We participate with faculty and the research and informatics communities (specifically the chief research informatics officer) to identify opportunities to advance the research mission through computational and data services, resources and facilities.
Enabling research services
We work with researchers, experts and core facilities, and IT to bring research computing tools and services to the research community, lower the barrier of use, and provide training and guidance.
Collaboration with administration and service organizations
We collaborate closely with IT, the Lamar Soutter Library and UMass Chan administration to optimize and align research computing and data services to advance the research mission.
Strategic Planning
We are creating the first strategic plan for research computing, an integral part of the IMPACT 2030 institutional strategic plan.
Basic Science IT Subcommittee
Dr. Barnett co-chairs, with Job Dekker, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the Joseph J. Byrne Chair in Biomedical Research, and professor of systems biology, the Basic Science IT Subcommittee, which advises the institutional IT Committee on IT matters pertaining to the basic science research mission at UMass Chan.