Office FAQ

Questions:

Answers:

What is our address and fax number?

We have 2 addresses.

Mailing address (for letters):

Person's name

Brandeis Biology

415 South St. M/S 008

Waltham, MA 02454

Shipping address (for packages or anything that needs a signature):

Person's name / Van Hooser lab

Brandeis Lab Supplies

415 South St.

Waltham, MA 02454

(if you are placing an order with a lab pcard and need a billing address, use the one here.)

Fax: We have a fax machine that is shared among the whole Biology department; the machine is located in the Biology office, and the number is 781-736-3701 (use attn). The words "use attn" mean that the sender should include a cover page that indicates to whose attention the fax should be directed. The biology office staff will put it in your mailbox.

How do I make a call to outside Brandeis from a Brandeis phone?

1. If it's a local or 800 number, dial normally. Our area code is 781.

2. If it's a long-distance call, dial 8-1-(pho)nen-umbr. When prompted, enter our long-distance code.

How/where do we receive packages?

Our packages arrive at a Lab Supplies Receiving and are signed for by the staff, Warren Vail or Ronnie Reardon. Lab Supplies Receiving is located in the temporary-looking building in the middle of the parking lot right outside Bassine. Someone from the lab (generally the lab manager) should visit Lab Supplies Receiving once per business day to check for packages. Often Warren and Ronnie will give Nora a call when packages come in.

I ordered something and it hasn't come in yet. What should I do?

You should be vigilant about products that you've ordered. Nora and Steve also keep on top of this, but extra communication is a good thing. Ask Nora or Steve to check the ordering mechanism; if Nora or Steve ordered it via Pcard, then we will have to contact the company. If it was ordered via a Purchase Order (PO) from Procurement, then we'll have to make sure they actually placed the order (a common snag point) and then continue on to contact the company if the product has been ordered.

How do I access the Brandeis online journals from home?

The easiest way is to launch Pubmed or another database from the LTS database page; it will prompt you to log in with your Brandeis unet ID and it will then allow you to click through directly to the journals: http://lts.brandeis.edu/research/articles/index.html.

How do I connect to the lab server KFC or files.brandeis.edu?

See the Computers FAQ

How do I install drivers for the Color Laser Printer MFC-9440?

Go to http://www.brother-usa.com/downloads/default.aspx?PGID=5&R3ModelID=MFC9440CN

Or use the disks - in the bin in the office, above the tea cart.

What does VOOT on the calendar mean?

It means "Van Hooser Out of Town". Extrapolate to interpret other people's vacation notifications, or to make your own!

What do I do if the ferret delivery guy calls?

Our lab phone number is the backup number for the ferret delivery guy when he/she drops off the ferrets. If he calls, arrange for someone in the lab who is on one of the ferret protocols to go down to Foster and sign for the ferrets. The boxes should be "off the floor" but left in the delivery area sort of near the door.

How do I submit a work order to Facilities Services?

Go to http://www.brandeis.edu/facilities then click "submit a work order request" on the lower right of the page.

How do I use the Dymo Labelwriter to make labels?

Download their drivers from http://sites.dymo.com/Pages/home.aspx?locale=enUS

The printer is on the network via the admin desktop.

Who can I contact about computer problems / computer repairs?

If it is a minor problem with a Mac or PC in the lab, ask Steve or a grad student/postdoc. If it is a lab computer and is some greater issue, contact Steve Karel (karel@brandeis.edu). Steve Karel could make some brief recommendations for computing issues at home on a computer you use for work. Finally, there is the Brandeis LTS Tech Help desk, which can answer a lot of questions and arrange for repairs. They also work with phones.

What do those people down in the Bio Office actually do?

Jean Wong handles some money and admin tasks for all of Bio. She spends afternoons in the Volen office. Talk to her for -

  • reimbursements

  • accounting on the university grants, and moving money around between grants

  • autoclave issues (Bassine) **AS OF 12/23/17 THIS NO LONGER SEEMS TO BE THE CASE (try Laura Woolf**

  • random esoterica - Jean's been around forever, and she knows a LOT

Quyen Chu is around until 2:45 most days. Talk to her for -

    • undergraduate hiring, chart string changes, and terminations

    • weekly payroll and time sheets (inclusive of UGs and staff)

    • keys and card access

    • seminar listings

    • room and projector reservations

Amanda Rochette is over in Volen. She arranges -

    • post doc and staff hiring, etc.

    • courtesy appointments

Maryanna Aldrich is over in Biochemistry. Talk to her for -

    • all things prospective student

    • grad school admissions

    • speakers and conferences

    • general liasing with the non-Brandeis universe

Email scipersonnel@brandeis.edu with staffing questions, scifinance@brandeis.edu with any questions about money in the grant and budgeting sense.

There's decent turnover in the Bassine back office. People in those rooms do the books for all outside grant funding. Andrea McDonald is the grants manager; Traci Walkup does Biochem and Chem grants; Carolyn Signore and Jean Wong do grants for biology. Jean runs the books and budgets for the VH lab grants.