As a part of the Shared Infrastructure Governance which advises campus endeavors around research computing, we are pleased to announce the creation of a new User Experience Committee dedicated to addressing training, support, and accessibility of research computing infrastructure at UMBC.

Beyond discussion of structured user support and experience questions, the SIG User Experience Committee will provide an open forum for users to share insights, identify areas for improvement, and help guide enhancements that best support the needs of the computational research community.

Participation
All current and prospective users of research computing infrastructure at UMBC are invited to participate. This infrastructure includes the chip cluster, Google Workspace tools, and other cloud platforms.

Activities

• Regular meetings (monthly or as scheduled)

• Discussion of user needs, challenges, and potential improvements

• Communication of user perspectives to system administrators and other governance groups

How to Get Involved
Those interested in joining the User Experience Committee should attend the inaugural meeting on Oct 21, 2025 from 1330ET to 1430ET in PHYS 401 or via the Google Meet link (https://meet.google.com/ufp-wswt-nwf).

Your participation will play a vital role in ensuring that the campus research computing infrastructure continues to evolve in ways that enhance productivity, accessibility, and satisfaction across the research community at UMBC.