by Danielle Benaroche Gottesman
Nestled within the bustling atmosphere of Harvard’s Knafel Building—a site largely known for government and international studies—is a high-end refuge humming with a buzz of its own. The best part? It’s always open, and it’s filled with some of the most cutting-edge technology and software available.
“Most computer labs have gray walls and feel very plain,” says IQSS Computer Lab Manager Randy Kiessig, who manages the medley of computer labs located in CGIS Knafel building. “We have a colorful atmosphere, beautiful wood desks, and the winter garden—which feels a lot like a coffee shop.”
Students have long taken advantage of the benefits on-campus computer labs provide, making it a great investment for those needing to access technological resources; but with the lifestyle changes that the pandemic brought, user habits shifted to making do with personal computer use, in often-insular spaces. Esthetically and practically, the labs aim to meet the spectrum of needs aligned with Harvard students, staff, and faculty. Indeed, one can easily find amid the various Labs a pleasing and practical place to focus and achieve work-related goals.
Open to anyone with a Harvard ID card, as well as MIT-affiliated patrons, the Lab boasts the most powerful computers on campus and is “the only [computer] Lab available to everyone at Harvard,” says Lab Manager Rand Kiessig. “We see a lot of grad students, medical school students, GSD (Graduate School of Design) students, and government students, at all times of the day and night,” says Kiessig, who emphasized that with the quantity of desks, quiet space, and high-powered machines, the Labs are an ideal place for a wide range of users with varied needs.
“The top two ways people hear about us are from walking in,” he says, “or they’ll hear from friends about how good a lab it is. We're open 24 hours a day, staffed in person and online; and we are here to help whatever people need to get done faster.”
With four fully functioning labs—the Concourse Lab, room K301, the Computer Training Lab, and the Government Computer Lab (for government graduate students)—each of which offers varying capabilities, there exists access to specialized equipment that tends to exceed what most personal computers do or contain. The Labs house powerful workstations, each with a minimum of 32GB of memory, and two TB SSD hard drives, specialized software, and large monitors, all maintained to peak standards by trained Harvard IT professionals. The on-site technical support staff is available to help users troubleshoot issues and answer questions, which can be especially useful for people who are not as comfortable with technology, or who need assistance with specific software and hardware required for assignments.
The IQSS Labs offer not only a number of quiet areas (such as the Fung Library) conducive to solo projects, they also include collaborative spaces. From the comfortable and open winter meditation garden in the atrium to the K301 Lab, users can convene in any number of Lab areas. This can be particularly useful for students working on group projects or for faculty needing to brainstorm and problem solve across research-related endeavors.
K301 Lab
The fast, reliable internet connection within the Labs is another must for processing large files or significant amounts of data and utilizing online resources; and because security is an element that the IQSS staff take seriously, the handling of sensitive data within the Labs is met with utmost respect. The IQSS Lab is a secure environment, which is essential for dealing with projects involving confidential information. The lab computers are protected by antivirus software, and Harvard’s network provides additional security measures to ensure that work is safe from potential cyber threats. To that end, photography as well as video and audio recording devices are not permitted, so that and groups and individuals using the IQSS Labs can do so with the ease of knowing their content is safeguarded.
“We also have a high-velocity scanner that allows the scanning of thousands of pages in minutes, and also OCR (optical character recognition) that can scan into 15 languages, recognize the letters, and create a searchable PDF,” says Kiessig. His mission is to make sure that the lab exists to benefit all, and that, with “several ultra-powerful computers, including the Mac Pro [that has a 28-core intel machine, with 192 gigs of ram and a 32” Apple Pro display XDR]. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO [with 24 cores and 128 gigs of memory] will help with whatever anyone needs to get done faster. For people doing certain kinds of statistical work, the video card on the Dell makes it happen,” he says, and the 45” display offers an added bonus. Likewise, with printing capabilities in each lab, accessible to anyone who has a University Crimson Print account, users can take advantage of a range in size and color formats according to their needs.
The user-friendliness of the Lab works to cater to all computing styles and user preferences as well. “We have standing desks, and a docking station just for iPads,” says Kiessig. And for those looking to hook up their own PC to a larger monitor, that can be easily facilitated, along with use of an external keyboard and ethernet.
Students curious about the lab will likely find themselves drawn to any of the four IQSS Computer Labs to find the most up-to-date hardware and software, including powerful processors, high-quality monitors, and specialized software atypical to personal computers. For example, says Kiessig, “The STATA package (statistical analysis software) that would take two days to run on a laptop will run in 30 minutes on our Mac Pro, which is the only computer of its kind accessible to everyone on campus.” Working in the Labs allows users to more easily complete assignments, conduct research, and complete on any number projects with greater ease, while obtaining guidance and potentially gleaning new skills in the process.
Concourse Lab
Overall, the IQSS Computer Labs are a great and open resource offering a number of tangible benefits, including items that can be checked out, such as overhead projectors for presentations, a Yeti USB microphone for recording podcasts and interviews, and according to Kiessig, “pretty much every kind of cable and converter you would ever need.” The intangible benefits of using the Labs run the gamut and include increased productivity, as well as comfort and convenience while creating consistent structure, routine, and organized workflow.
“We try to be open to what people need and are always implementing feedback. If we can, we do,” he added. “Like all of Harvard, we want it to feel like a safe space to work and study in, and everyone should feel comfortable here."
