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guides:thebasics

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Lab check-in

Welcome! This section highlights the initial steps and resources that will connect you to the lab. It also has links to more specific lab guides. Please let me know if anything is out of date, or if you have suggestions! - MvdM

1. If you don’t have one yet, establish your university identity. You need to be “in the system” before you can do any of the other steps. If you are a Waterloo student (undergrad or grad) with a student number, you are OK; if you don’t have one, see Jennifer Collins. If you are a visiting student or staff member (e.g. postdoc), see Jennifer Lehman. The outcome of this should be that you receive “WatIAM credentials” (username and password; student# if applicable).

→ send MvdM an e-mail with the subject “WatIAM credentials” and your username in the message body. If you are a Waterloo student, also include your student number.

2. Get keys to the main lab space from Monica Beal. B1-282 is the “computer lab”, and B1-285 is the “workshop”; the same key works for both. Do not do anything in the workshop until you have completed step 6 (below) and reviewed the workshop guide. You can also request the key to access the Biology building itself; you’ll need this to come in on certain holidays.

Important! Get into the habit of checking that the door to any lab space is locked when you leave. The Biology building is publicly accessible 24/7 so the door locks are our only defense against theft and vandalism.

3. All computers use the mvdmlab account; the current password is ozomatl1. (This arrangement is required for MATLAB licensing.) Read the ComputingGuide before using a lab computer for anything beyond the steps in this document.

4. Get a uWaterloo e-mail account. I use “mailservices”, but you may prefer “exchange”. Sign up here. Your e-mail address should be XXXX@uwaterloo.ca, where XXXXX is your WatIAM username; you can request aliases if you don’t like your WatIAM username. See the Science helpdesk if you have trouble.

5. Sign up to the lab mailing list. There is no requirement to use your uWaterloo e-mail for this, but keep in mind that (1) you will only be able to post to the mailing list from the address you sign up with, and (2) you will frequently need to send e-mails to the list from shared computers (where you don’t have a local e-mail client installed). So pick an account that has a convenient web interface. Also, please don’t use hotmail or other domain likely to be rejected as spam.

Important! All correspondence on the lab mailing list should be kept confidential (i.e. within the lab; except to update animal health technicians on status).

6. Safety first! Before starting work, all lab members (students and staff) must complete the following online training modules:

→ send MvdM an e-mail with the subject “contact information updated”

8. Congratulations! You’re now officially part of the lab.

guides/thebasics.1366919653.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/07/07 10:19 (external edit)