ICDS News

Staff Spotlight: Carrie Brown

The Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) client support team, led by Carrie Brown, provides frontline support to Penn State researchers, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty using the Roar Collab system to “reduce the time to science.” 

Brown, who started at ICDS in February 2021 as the advanced cyberinfrastructure research and education facilitator, seeks to improve the ICDS client experience by increasing documentation, training, and on-demand support. By making these improvements, Brown hopes that Penn State researchers will be able to limit the barriers to entry to get their studies up and running on the Roar system. 

“Our goal is to make our systems approachable and intuitive to use so our researchers can establish their workflows quicker and accelerate their scientific discoveries,” Brown said. 

In her current role as interim client support lead, she monitors and mentors graduate students who are working to answer client questions, tickets, and matching researchers with need-based resources and support. 

“We [the client support team] provide the opportunity for graduate students to learn more about high-performance computing, software and technical support in ways they may not otherwise have access to,” Brown said. “Working hands-on with the issues our clients raise provides the graduate students with valuable experiences in learning more about the hardware, software solutions and system configuration and issues.” 

The client support team also collaborates with the ICDS business and technical teams to ensure that Penn State researchers are set up with Roar accounts and that they know how to use the system. The teams work together to communicate systems updates and changes to researchers. 

“The collaboration between all of the teams is extremely important,” Brown said. “Working together allows us to fully meet the researcher’s needs and support their work in a timely fashion. The technical or business teams often have answers to questions we in client support can’t answer on our own. We gather that information and interpret high technical concepts into concepts that are easily digestible by experts in other domains. All of this involves close collaboration with different teams within the institute.” 

Brown’s favorite parts of her role include mentorship and helping researchers move past challenges. 

“I work with people who are stuck in one way or another,” Brown said. “They may not understand something on the system and are hitting a roadblock. It’s a great moment when the road clears and the researcher can see a path forward and get excited about their work.” 

Her previous role within ICDS focused on Roar system transitions, outreach through workshops and training, and streamlining services between different units within the University. 

More about Carrie Brown… 

For those who don’t already know, Brown’s first language is American Sign Language (ASL). 

In her free time, Brown is a fiber arts artist who knits and crochets. She was familiar with the craft, but in sixth grade joined an after-school crochet club to take on the hobby. She’s submitted work to local fairs and has won blue ribbons. 

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