Department of Mathematics

F.A.Q.

If your question is not answered on this page or you do not understand the answer, you can contact the Helpdesk for technical help.

Misc

  • How to request network access for laptops

    To request network access for your laptop or your visitor’s laptop please go to the Network Access Request page.  You will need your Mathematics Department username and password to access this form.

    For help in determining what the laptop’s MAC address is see How do I find my computer’s MAC address

  • How to change your password remotely

    The best way to change your departmental password is to use our password change web page. From the Department of Mathematics web page:

    1. Under the “Resources” menu at the top of the page, click “Internal Resources”
    2. Click the “MathNet” link.
    3. You will be asked to log in using your current password.
    4. Click the “Password Change” menu item on the right.
    5. You will be asked to re-enter your current password, and your new password.

  • What is Banner? why do I care?

    BANNER is the new administrative software that maintains student, financial and personnel data. The impact of Banner will result in three important changes beginning Fall 2008:

    (1) Course rosters will now be obtained online from Banner (or Blackboard Vista) . The old system SIS will no longer exist.

    (2) Final course grades will now be submitted online via Banner (or Blackboard Vista) . The old green sheets will no longer exist.

    (3) Plus or minus grades are now possible .
    (a) All 100 and 200 level courses are required to give final grades that may include +/- grades (where necessary).

    (b) For all single-section courses above 300, giving final grades that may include +/- (where necessary) is strongly recommended.

    (c) All multi-section courses above 300 are required to have a consistent policy regarding the giving or not giving +/- final grades (where necessary).

    Reminders:
    # You must use your Purdue Career Account, not your Math account.

    # You must be FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) certified in order to access BANNER (or Blackboard Vista). Certification information is available at: FERPA Certification

    # Be aware that you will have access to student data, most of which you don’t need. Privacy and security should be maintained when accessing student records.

    More information on Banner can be found through the departmental Banner webpage.

  • Should I ever type my password into an email?

    No. Never type your password into an email.

    For more information see Is this a real email?.

  • How do I reset my Math password?

    Have you ever forgotten your math password? Has your math password ever been reset due to that 120 day limit?

    Instead of waiting for Math IT to reset a forgotten or unknown password, you can now reset it yourself!

    All that’s required is that you provide the answers to some questions now. Later, when you wish to reset your math password, you’ll be asked those same questions and will need to provide the exact same answers.

    1. Pick and answer the questions on this page: https://www.math.purdue.edu/mathnet/securitychallengequestions/
    2. Forget your password.
    3. Follow the instructions on this page: https://www.math.purdue.edu/resources/resetpassword to reset your password.

  • Where can I find New Account Information?

    You can find information about making adjustments to your Department of Mathematics account and other helpful information for new users on the New Account Information page.

  • How to use www.mathjobs.org

    The Department of Mathematics is using the AMS backed mathjobs.org job application system for tenure-track and research assistant professors.

    Mathjobs.org provides nice documentation for Logging on, getting started as well as a User Guide and a short video introduction (in flash). Any question not answered by the available documentation can be asked of Math’s Web-Helpdesk.

    1. You should have received (yet another) password in an email to your math email account. Using that password you can Login to Mathjobs.org at https://www.mathjobs.org by clicking the “… as Faculty or staff at employer institutions” link (under the “Login to MathJobs.org” heading). Use your email address at which your received your temporary password for your username. Upon logging in, you will be asked to change your password. You must pick a password that does not include a “dictionary word”.
    2. Upon logging in, the list of applicants is displayed for our two open positions. TT is the Tenure Track Professor position, RAP is the Research Assistant Professor. (Please make sure both entries in *[RAP0018362007 TT0018372007]* are shaded green. If, for example, *RAP0018362007* is shaded gray, the listed applicants will not include those applying only for RaP’s. Click on either of these entries to go back and forth from green to gray.) Also, as the list of applicants grows, they will not all be display on the first page. Please click on the “ALL” button at the top (or bottom) of the page to display all applicants.
    3. Clicking on a name will open a new window with that applicant information. Here you can read the various parts of the application separately (cover letter, letters of recommendation, teaching statement, research statement, etc.). You can click on the “All” button at the very top (to the right of “Address“) to generate a single pdf file which is just like a complete paper application.
    4. For each applicant, one can assign Ratings, Refer the applicant to another faculty member, and even jot down private notes.
      1. “Refer this appl to“: You can select other faculty on the list (right to the left of this box) who you think should also read it and select “email notify” to have the system send email to that person. Note: to select multiple usernames, one must hold down the the command key on a Mac (Mac command key icon), or the Ctrl key on a Unix or Windows machine.
      2. Your Private Notes. These notes appear as “yellow smiley faces” right below the applicants name once you return to the main Application List and after you click on the list again to update the system. These notes are only visible to you and the “managers” of the system who are the Department Head, Sally Goeke and the Webmaster.
    5. IMPORTANT: Please make sure you click on the “submit” button at the bottom of the screen or else your work will not be recorded!
    6. A useful tool for finding applicants that match specific parameters is the “Search” link at the top of the mathjobs.org webpage.

  • How can I use the Math Department letterhead in a tex document?

    Brad Lucier has installed new math department letterhead macros for amstex and plain tex for the new tex.
    You need to have /pkgs/texlive/2005/bin/sparc-solaris/ early in your unix path to use these new macros.

    There are sample files showing how to use them at:

    /pkgs/texlive/2005/texmf-local/tex/plain/local/

    The short version is that after the

    \input amstex
    \documentstyle{whatever}

    lines (if any) say

    \input mathletter2006
    You can use the macros \address, \salutation, and \closing for the obvious things. By default, it uses a black-and-white version of the Purdue logo; if you have a color printer and want to use the black-and-gold version, say \goldlogo after you input mathletter.
    Tell Brad Lucier if you have problems (but please see plaintest.tex and amstextest.tex first).

  • Purdue Career Account Help?

    Career Account help is available here: https://www.math.purdue.edu/resources/careeraccounthelp/

  • What's my PUID?

    Your PUID is a ten digit number that Purdue uses to uniquely identify it’s constituents. Your PUID is printed on your official Purdue ID card. Additionally, you can retrieve your PUID by authenticating yourself with your Purdue Career Account login and password here:
    https://www.science.purdue.edu/utils/whatsmypuid

  • Where can I see something really cool?

    SunRay Pan View

    Cable Mess

    SunRay Login Movie

  • Where can I find a general knowledge base of information?

    Purdue’s Engineering Computer Network website has a very useful knowledge base. Below is a link to the ECN Knowledge Base.

    https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECN/Resources/KnowledgeBase/

  • How do I connect to MathSciNet off campus through Purdue's VPN?

    To use MathSciNet while connected off-campus through the VPN, it is not possible to do this directly via the AMS web site portal.

    First, go to the Mathematical Science Library’s web page:

    http://www.lib.purdue.edu/math

    Then click on the MathSciNet link. Next, enter your Purdue career account information. This will link you to the MathSciNet portal.