June 3 – Aug 9, 2002
Welcome to Pitt’s REU Summer Undergraduate Program
Miscellaneous Info for Participants
Program dates: Monday, June 3 through Friday, August 9, 2002. The official start time of the program is: It begins at 9:00am in Chevron Science Center (Department of Chemistry), room 706.
Please plan to arrive on Sunday, June 2, 2002. From now on Ms. Deb Hunt will be your contact for information about travel arrangements, housing, and related details. If you should have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call her at (412) 624-8203 or email debhunt@pitt.edu. If you cannot get in touch with Ms. Hunt, then address your concerns to Prof. Grabowski (412-624-8632 or joeg@pitt.edu) and he will ensure they are answered.
Stipend: The $4000 stipend will be paid in 3 installments, at the end of June, July, and August. Your August paycheck will be mailed to you at the end of that month. Be sure we have a valid mailing address before departing the program.
Housing: The suites are located in Brackenridge Hall on the 5th floor. Please pick up your Welcome Packets at the lobby desk during check-in where you will receive your keys and room assignments. The keys for your room will open the entrance door to your suite as well as the door to your bedroom. The bedrooms are furnished with a chest of drawers, single bed and desk and have ample closet space. The common area has a kitchen with a small dorm size refrigerator, microwave and sink. All rooms within the suite have ceiling fans but are not air conditioned. Each bedroom has bathroom facilities with a sink, shower and toilet. You will need to bring with you your own bedding including pillow, single size sheets, blankets and towels. The kitchen is not equipped with dishware or eating utensils, so you will need to bring those with you also. Janitorial services are not provided, so you will be responsible for keeping your suite clean. (See FAQ list on our REU site for campus maps and more info about the dorm room.).
Phones: You can set up your free account
for local calling privileges from your room phones by calling
1-800-445-6063 (9 am-midnight EST). This
will allow you to make local calls and Toll-Free 800 calls.
You must use your own phone cards for any other calls.
When you call, you must have ready:
University,
dorm, room #, phone #
Social
Security Number
Permanent
Home address
They may ask for your student number as well so have your ID Cards
ready
ID Card: You must go to the Panther Service Center located in the main lobby of the Towers (from 5th Avenue, go up the steps in front of the Towers and enter through the revolving door. The Panther Service Center is right there on the left) to get your Student ID Card. Take one form of photo ID with you! Identify yourself as part of the REU Summer Undergraduate Program run by the Chemistry Department. The Hours for the ID Center are Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. This card gives you access to the libraries, computer labs, shuttle bus transportation, Trees Hall physical recreation facility, and the cafeterias.
Meals: A partial meal plan is provided to you, coded into a separate ID card. This is worth $200 worth of credit (called “PittFunds”) that you can use at University cafeterias and certain eating establishments. (Previous REU students had advised us that an increase in the stipend was more useful than "PittFunds" since cash is accepted everywhere while "PittFunds" are of limited use. The "PittFunds" card is help tide you through until your first stipend check. A list of vendors is enclosed with this packet. This is also your “flash card” to get into the residence hall, so keep it handy!!!
Bus Transportation: We will provide bus passes for the month of June to help you learn how to get around the Pittsburgh area using the Port Authority Transit (PAT) bus system. You can use this bus pass to go anywhere that the buses go within a one zone area. You will need to pay an additional charge to go beyond that first zone. Have fun exploring!
Health Insurance: This is not provided for by the REU program. If you are not already covered by an insurance plan, health care can be purchased from the University of Pittsburgh Student Health Service for a one-time fee of $65. There is also a pay-per-service fee starting at $40 for a general visit, on upwards for specific services like X-rays, lab work, injections, allergy shots or immunizations. (Please note, these fees are not set by us and so they are subject to change at anytime; undoubtedly if they change, they will go up.)
Parking: Please be aware that parking spaces near the University are in short supply. We recommend that you not bring your car; parking arrangements are your responsibility. Public transportation is excellent and you will find that you can get all around town very conveniently by using the municipal bus system. The REU program will provide you with a bus pass for the month of June to facilitate your exploration of Pittsburgh. In July and August, individual bus rides can be purchased for $1.60 (subject to change without notice) each or you can purchase your own monthly bus pass (see Ms. Hunt for how to do that). If you plan on bringing a car to campus, please contact Prof. Grabowski asap. For those of you that have parking permits, they are used to park in Soldiers and Sailors parking garage on Bigelow Blvd.- Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On weekends or after 5:00 p.m., you can park in any lot on campus that does not require a key card. You are not allowed to park in meter spaces at anytime. Be sure to pay attention to the hours of operation for Soldiers and Sailors garage.
Computer Accounts: Stop by and see Deb Hunt in the main office (Room 234) for your Pitt computer account information. This will help you to access the library systems that you will use in your research. You can log in using this password. Then you can go to http://accounts.pitt.edu, login using this user name and password, and then there will be an option where you can change the password to something of your own choice