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June 2026 Maintenance Update

· 3 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

June Maintenance Schedule​

We want to provide an early heads-up about our June maintenance periods.

Scheduled Downtime:​

  • Tillicum: Tuesday, June 9, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Klone: Tuesday, June 16, 9:00 AM through Wednesday, June 17 5:00 PM

Maintenance reservations are in place. Jobs whose --time limit would extend into the maintenance window will not start. Adjust your jobs accordingly! Additionally, work will include login nodes, so any active SSH, screen, or tmux sessions will be closed at the start of maintenance.

The Tillicum maintenance is expected to be routine and shorter in duration, primarily covering system updates and security patches.

The Klone maintenance window is longer than usual due to significant backend account management and infrastructure improvements. Most of this work should be transparent to users, but it will improve update turnaround time, address existing backend deficiencies, and bring Klone and Tillicum into closer alignment operationally and administratively.

warning

Important Storage Reminder for Hyak Klone​

Hyak Klone does not provide backup, persistent storage, or archival storage. All data on Klone exists as a single copy and is therefore vulnerable to loss due to hardware failure, filesystem issues, facility damage, or natural disasters. Users are solely responsible for transferring important results to external systems (for example, Kopah S3 or Lolo Archive) during the course of their project if persistent or long-term storage is required. Retaining long-term or archival data on Klone is against administrative guidance.

Office Hours Update​

We will continue hosting office hours through the summer, but after the end of spring term on June 12, all office hours will move online.

  • Cloud Computing Office Hours – Every other Tuesday at 10am on Zoom. Check our events Calendar.
  • Hyak and Tillicum Office Hours:
    • Wednesdays at 2pm on Zoom. Attendees need only register once and can attend any of the occurrences with the Zoom link that will arrive via email. Click here to Register for Wednesday Zoom Office Hours.
    • Thursdays at 2pm in person in eScience (through June 12 only). (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195).
  • Check out our Event Calendar to find office hours sessions and remote joining details.

RCC STF Usage Check-In​

If you use Research Computing Club (RCC) STF-supported resources, please complete the 2026 RCC Usage Check-In Survey. This reporting helps us maintain funding for student Hyak accounts, Tillicum credits, and cloud credits, and is required to maintain access to RCC-supported services.

Please do not report work completed on non-STF lab or departmental accounts.

eScience AI in Practice Summer Institute​

The eScience Institute’s AI in Practice Summer Institute will take place July 27–31 and will provide hands-on training in practical AI methods for research, including deep learning foundations, foundation models, and project-based workflows.

The program is open to researchers across disciplines, including students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. Space is limited and priority is given to UW participants.

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

UW Hosts Quantum Hackathon in Partnership with IBM Quantum

· 3 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

A Day of Hands-On Quantum Computing​

On May 14, 2026, the University of Washington hosted an exciting Quantum Hackathon in partnership with IBM Quantum, marking the largest event organized by UWIT Research Computing in the past three years.

The event brought together students, researchers, and staff from across the UW community for a full day of hands-on exploration in quantum computing. The hackathon was made possible through a collaborative effort between the Office of Research, UWIT Research Computing, and the Research Computing Club, reflecting UW’s growing commitment to advancing emerging technologies and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Quantum intro presentation.

Introduction to Quantum presentation from IBM Quantum's Alexandre Choquette.

Participants working on quantum challenges.

Participants working on quantum challenges.

Learning from IBM Quantum Experts​

A highlight of the event was the participation of IBM Quantum scientists who led engaging discussions and introduced a series of quantum computing challenges for participants to tackle throughout the day. Their expertise provided attendees with valuable insight into both the theory and practical applications of quantum technologies.

IBM Quantum also generously provided access to real quantum processing units (QPUs), allowing participants to run experiments on actual quantum hardware. Using tools such as Qiskit, attendees gained firsthand experience programming and testing quantum algorithms in a real-world environment.

Winner from table 16 with IBM Quantum scientists and AVP of Cyberinfrastructure, Ting Cao.

One of the winning teams (Kostiantyn Babich, Bharathi Ganesh Kumar, Poonam Sharma, and Priya Musale) pictured with Ting Cao, Associate Vice Provost for Cyberinfrastructure and IBM Quantum Scientists: Alexandre Choquette, Soyoung Shin, and Meltem Tolunay.

Building UW's Quantum Computing Community​

In parallel with the hackathon activities, UW faculty members and graduate students participated in a dedicated discussion session with IBM experts, where they explored research challenges and opportunities in quantum computing. These conversations enabled deeper engagement on topics ranging from quantum algorithms and applications to future research collaborations, helping strengthen connections between UW researchers and the broader quantum computing community.

Most importantly, the event’s success was driven by the enthusiasm, curiosity, and creativity of the participants. Throughout the day, teams collaborated closely, explored new ideas, and engaged deeply with quantum computing concepts, creating an energetic and highly interactive learning environment.

The Quantum Hackathon represents another step forward in building a vibrant quantum computing community at the University of Washington. Organizers look forward to expanding future programming and continuing collaborations that provide students and researchers with opportunities to engage with cutting-edge computational technologies.

Participant presentation.

Participants (Priyal Jain, Sreeraj Parakkat, Akanksha Mattoo, and Apurv Gude) presenting their solutions during the hackathon.

Participant group smiling at the camera.

A team (Sowmya Dadheech, Niteesh Kumar, and Sai Achuth) celebrates after completing a quantum computing challenge.

What to get notified about Research Computing Events?

May 2026 Maintenance Update

· 4 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

May Maintenance Schedule​

Our monthly scheduled maintenance will take place on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 (2nd Tuesday of the month).

Scheduled Downtime:​

  • Klone: Yes - 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
  • Tillicum: Yes - 10:30 AM-5:00 PM

Maintenance reservations are in place. Jobs whose --time limit would extend into the maintenance window will not start. Adjust your jobs accordingly! Additionally, work will include login nodes, so any active SSH, screen, or tmux sessions will be closed at the start of maintenance.

Update: New Maintenance Communication Approach​

Starting this month, we are updating how maintenance notifications are sent:

  • Week-out reminder - Sent to hyak-users and includes:
    • Maintenance schedule overview
    • Announcements and events
  • Day-before and day-of reminders:
    • Sent separately to klone-users and tillicum-users
    • More targeted and system-specific
  • Maintenance complete notifications:
    • Sent separately per system with relevant updates

Why this change?​

  • More targeted communication for users of each system
  • Flexibility when maintenance differs between Klone and Tillicum
  • Reduced noise for users who only rely on one system

About the mailing lists:​

  • klone-users and tillicum-users are automatically managed based on login access
  • hyak-users remains a voluntary list for broad announcements
warning

Important Storage Reminder for Hyak Klone​

Hyak Klone does not provide backup, persistent storage, or archival storage. All data on Klone exists as a single copy and is therefore vulnerable to loss due to hardware failure, filesystem issues, facility damage, or natural disasters. Users are solely responsible for transferring important results to external systems (for example, Kopah S3 or Lolo Archive) during the course of their project if persistent or long-term storage is required. Retaining long-term or archival data on Klone is against administrative guidance.

Upcoming Events & Workshops​

  • Webinar: Google’s Agent Platform (formerly Gemini Vertex AI) - Join us on Thursday, May 7, at 10:30am on Zoom to discover the future of academic research with Google's Agent Platform! Learn how to deploy from 200+ foundation models, process massive literature reviews with Gemini Enterprise, and ground your AI using RAG services to eliminate hallucinations.
  • Last chance to sign up for our Quantum Hackathon with IBM Quantum on Thursday, May 14, from 10:00 AM–5 PM in the UW Tower South Cafeteria.
  • AWS Kiro - Getting Started from Build to Operate – Join us on Tuesday, May 19, from 10:00 AM–4 PM in CSE2/Gates Hall Room 371 for a hands-on session where you'll explore the capabilities of Kiro, an AI-powered assistant designed to accelerate software development and cloud operations. Lunch will be provided for participants.

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

Office Hours​

  • Cloud Computing Office Hours – Every other Tuesday at 10am on Zoom. Check our events Calendar.
  • Hyak and Tillicum Office Hours:
    • Wednesdays at 2pm on Zoom. Attendees need only register once and can attend any of the occurrences with the Zoom link that will arrive via email. Click here to Register for Wednesday Zoom Office Hours.
    • Thursdays at 2pm in person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195).
  • Research Computing Club Office Hours – In person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195). Times may vary. Check our events Calendar.

External Training Opportunities​

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

April 2026 Maintenance Update

· 4 min read
Kaichen Xie
Kaichen Xie
HPC Staff Scientist

Our April maintenance is complete, and Klone and Tillicum are back in operation. The next maintenance is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 2026. During this month’s scheduled maintenance window, we completed several system upgrades and routine updates across Klone and Tillicum to improve stability, performance, and security.

Notable Updates​

In addition to routine package and security updates, we completed the following user-relevant changes:

  • Open OnDemand ADA Update - This update includes improvements for digital accessibility.
  • Upgrade of Globus on Klone and Tillicum - This update fixes the access/permission issues.

New: Tillicum GPU Credits for Students​

UW students can now apply for $250 in Tillicum GPU computing credits to support research projects, class work, and technical exploration that benefit from high-performance GPUs. Tillicum features NVIDIA H200 GPUs and is designed for workloads that can take advantage of large GPU memory or multi-GPU scaling.

These credits are provided by the Research Computing Club, with funding from Student Technology Fees, to help expand student access to advanced research computing resources.

Learn more and apply.

warning

Important Storage Reminder for Hyak Klone​

Hyak Klone does not provide backup, persistent storage, or archival storage. All data on Klone exists as a single copy and is therefore vulnerable to loss due to hardware failure, filesystem issues, facility damage, or natural disasters. Users are solely responsible for transferring important results to external systems (for example, Kopah S3 or Lolo Archive) during the course of their project if persistent or long-term storage is required. Retaining long-term or archival data on Klone is against administrative guidance.

Upcoming Events & Workshops​

  • Multi-GPU PyTorch Workshop – Join us on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, from 10 AM–12 PM in Room 371 CSE2/Gates Hall or online via Zoom. This NVIDIA-led, hybrid training will guide practitioners with existing PyTorch scripts in scaling workloads using Distributed Data Parallel (DDP) and NVIDIA Nsight tools. Participants will learn recommended DDP patterns, avoid common throughput pitfalls, profile and diagnose performance bottlenecks, and practice hands-on exercises to analyze GPU utilization, CPU/GPU interactions, and other performance signals.
  • Quantum Hackathon with IBM Quantum – Join us on Thursday, May 14, from 10:00 AM–5 PM in the UW Tower South Cafeteria for a quantum computing hackathon on Quantum Machine Learning co-organized with IBM Quantum. This hands-on coding event will explore quantum computing through guided challenges and collaborative problem-solving. Participants will work with IBM Quantum tools to experiment with quantum algorithms on real hardware and simulators. This event is open to anyone interested in learning by doing—no previous quantum experience required. Lunch will be provided for participants.
  • AWS Kiro - Getting Started from Build to Operate – Join us on Tuesday, May 19, from 10:00 AM–4 PM in CSE2/Gates Hall Room 371 for a hands-on session where you'll explore the capabilities of Kiro, an AI-powered assistant designed to accelerate software development and cloud operations. Lunch will be provided for participants.
  • 2026 VISIONS cruise is taking undergraduate applications – no experience needed, just enthusiasm to learn about oceanography while going to the sea for 12 days this August on a 270-foot research vessel. The application deadline is April 15, with possible extensions.

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

Office Hours​

  • Cloud Computing Office Hours – Every other Tuesday at 10am on Zoom. Check our events Calendar.
  • Hyak and Tillicum Office Hours:
    • Wednesdays at 2pm on Zoom. Attendees need only register once and can attend any of the occurrences with the Zoom link that will arrive via email. Click here to Register for Wednesday Zoom Office Hours.
    • Thursdays at 2pm in person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195).
  • Research Computing Club Office Hours – In person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195). Times may vary. Check our events Calendar.

External Training Opportunities​

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

March 2026 Maintenance Update

· 4 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

Our March maintenance is complete, and Klone and Tillicum are back in operation. The next maintenance is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, 2026. During this month’s scheduled maintenance window, we completed several system upgrades and routine updates across Klone and Tillicum to improve stability, performance, and security.

Notable Updates​

In addition to routine package and security updates, we completed the following user-relevant changes:

  • Open OnDemand upgraded to 4.1.4 - This update includes improvements for digital accessibility along with other upstream fixes and enhancements.
    • Additionally, we have deprecated the Open OnDemand Job Composer feature in alignment with the Open OnDemand roadmap. 
  • Tillicum PixStor/GPFS code patch - A PixStor code patch was applied to support continued stability and reliability for the GPFS-backed storage environment.
warning

Important Storage Reminder for Hyak Klone​

Hyak Klone does not provide backup, persistent storage, or archival storage. All data on Klone exists as a single copy and is therefore vulnerable to loss due to hardware failure, filesystem issues, facility damage, or natural disasters. Users are solely responsible for transferring important results to external systems (for example, Kopah S3 or Lolo Archive) during the course of their project if persistent or long-term storage is required. Retaining long-term or archival data on Klone is against administrative guidance.

Upcoming Events & Workshops​

  • Quantum Hackathon with IBM Quantum - Join us on Thursday, May 14, from 10:00 AM–5 PM in the UW Tower South Cafeteria for a quantum computing hackathon on Quantum Machine Learning co-organized with IBM Quantum. This hands-on coding event will explore quantum computing through guided challenges and collaborative problem-solving. Participants will work with IBM Quantum tools to experiment with quantum algorithms on real hardware and simulators. This event is open to anyone interested in learning by doing—no previous quantum experience required. Lunch will be provided for participants.
  • AWS Kiro - Getting Started from Build to Operate - Join us on Tuesday, May 19, from 10:00 AM–4 PM in CSE2/Gates Hall Room 371 for a hands-on session where you'll explore the capabilities of Kiro, an AI-powered assistant designed to accelerate software development and cloud operations. Lunch will be provided for participants.

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

Office Hours​

  • Cloud Computing Office Hours - Every other Tuesday at 10am on Zoom. Check our events Calendar.
  • Winter AWS Office hours – AWS solutions architects will be on Zoom to answer your questions and help you troubleshoot.
  • Hyak and Tillicum Office Hours:
    • Wednesdays at 2pm on Zoom. Attendees need only register once and can attend any of the occurrences with the Zoom link that will arrive via email. Click here to Register for Wednesday Zoom Office Hours.
    • Thursdays at 2pm in person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195).

External Training Opportunities​

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

February 2026 Maintenance Update

· 5 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

During this month’s scheduled maintenance window, we worked on a set of planned upgrades and routine updates across Klone and Tillicum aimed at improving system stability, security, and overall performance. As with any maintenance, some items may require additional follow-up work in future windows. The next scheduled maintenance window is Tuesday, March 10, 2026 (the second Tuesday of the month).

Notable Updates​

  • System-wide firmware upgrades to improve stability and security
  • Upgrade of Globus on Klone to the latest stable release
  • Updates to Open OnDemand on both Klone and Tillicum
  • Package updates and node reboots on Tillicum, focused on faster system recovery and improved uptime
warning

Important Storage Reminder for Hyak Klone​

Hyak Klone does not provide backup, persistent storage, or archival storage. All data on Klone exists as a single copy and is therefore vulnerable to loss due to hardware failure, filesystem issues, facility damage, or natural disasters. Users are solely responsible for transferring important results to external systems (for example, Kopah S3 or Lolo Archive) during the course of their project if persistent or long-term storage is required. Retaining long-term or archival data on Klone is against administrative guidance.

Winter 2026 Computing Workshops​

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

Office Hours​

  • NEW Cloud Computing Office Hours:
    • Need support with your research or project using cloud resources? Attend Cloud Office Hours to get help navigating University of Washington cloud services and storage solutions (Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure).
    • Every other Tuesday at 10am on Zoom - Check our events Calendar
  • Winter AWS Office hours – AWS solutions architects will be on Zoom to answer your questions and help you troubleshoot.
  • Hyak and Tillicum Office Hours:
    • Wednesdays at 2pm on Zoom. Attendees need only register once and can attend any of the occurrences with the Zoom link that will arrive via email. Click here to Register for Wednesday Zoom Office Hours.
    • Thursdays at 2pm in person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195).
  • See our office hours schedule, subscribe to event updates, and bookmark our UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

Additional Training Opportunities​

Computing Training from eScience​

eScience logo.
  • The eScience Institute is holding a Software Carpentry workshop on February 17th-20th from 9:00 a.m. to noon PT each day on Zoom. The workshop focuses on software tools to make researchers more effective, allowing them to automate research tasks, automatically track their research over time, and use programming in Python to accelerate their research and make it more reproducible. Register here.
  • Programming from Zero to Hero! The advent of AI-assisted programming (sometimes called “vibe programming”) enables researchers with little or no programming experience to create running programs. This is often referred to as programming from zero. However, codes that run are often not codes that produce the correct result. This lecture introduces techniques for AI-assisted programming for checking correctness, correcting errors, and adding new features. Some prior programming experience is desirable, but not essential. We will be developing Python programs using Google Colab. You should check that you have access to this free service. Please visit our Google Form to register for the February 23, 2-4pm event at the eScience Institute WRF Data Studio.
  • The A.I. ABCs is an eScience workshop that surveys the many AI/ML tools available for analyzing structured data. The workshop is targeted at researchers with some programming experience. The workshop will take place 9:00 a.m. to noon PT each day from Monday March 2nd through Thursday March 5th. Register here.

External Training Opportunities​

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

January 2026 Maintenance Update

· 5 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

During this month’s scheduled maintenance window, we completed several system upgrades and routine updates across Klone and Tillicum to improve stability, performance, and security. The next maintenance is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2026 (the second Tuesday of the month).

Notable Updates​

In addition to routine image updates and security patches, we upgraded:

  • Klone login node process enforcement to Arbiter 3 and paused user notifications and Klone and Tillicum (read more below).
  • Klone has been upgraded from cgroups v1 to cgroups v2. This upgrade shouldn't be a noticeable for most users, but in some cases memory accounting under cgroups v2 is unified and includes all file-backed page cache. This difference may make memory usage appear higher or "inflated" compared to v1 in niche cases and some specific Java-based applications.
  • Slurm version 25.11.1 on both clusters.
  • Duo 2FA on Klone (Tillicum already up to date). This change aligns with ongoing UW security upgrades.
Action Required

All University of Washington technology users must update Duo Mobile to version 4.85.0 or later on all registered devices by February 2, 2026. Users who cannot update their devices must register a platform authenticator, a new phone/tablet, or request a hardware token from UWIT. The Duo phone call authentication method is being phased out by the University and no longer available for logging into Klone or Tillicum. 

Check your device’s Duo Mobile application version.

Login Node Usage & Arbiter Enforcement (Important Reminder)​

Login nodes are shared community resources intended for:

  • Transferring data
  • Navigating the filesystem
  • Editing and developing code
  • Submitting jobs to the scheduler

As part of this maintenance, Klone was upgraded to Arbiter 3, a tool which automates login node monitoring and enforces usage limits to ensure stability and ensure fair access.

Arbiter monitors resource usage on login nodes and will:

  • Slow or halt processes that exceed permitted thresholds.
  • Terminate processes outright if necessary.

Arbitor email notifications halted​

Previously, users received email notifications for each offending process when Arbiter thresholds were exceeded. We have found these notifications are not an effective way to communicate our policies. To avoid notification fatigue, we have stopped sending these emails.

This does not mean enforcement has stopped. Arbiter continues to actively limit, halt, or kill processes on login nodes as needed.

Be a good HPC-citizen - do not connect to a login node

Connecting directly to the login node using tools like VS Code Remote-SSH frequently leads to Arbiter intervention and could cause login node instability since background server processes persist beyond an active session.

Instead, follow our recommended best practices and set up your ProxyJump to connect your local VS Code to Klone or use the streamlined option offered by our Open OnDemand interactive application for VS Code.

Winter 2026 Computing Workshops​

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

Office Hours​

Additional Training Opportunities​

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

December 2025 Maintenance Update

· 6 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

During this month’s maintenance window, we conducted routine security updates and performed hardware consolidation in the Data Center. The next maintenance is scheduled for Tuesday, January 13, 2025 (the second Tuesday of the month).

Notable Updates​

  • Node image updates – Routine updates and security patches.
  • We also installed new modules:
    • gcc/15.2.0
    • conda/Miniforge3-25.9.1-0 (read more below)

New Feature: Conda Module Now Available on Hyak Klone​

This month, we’re excited to announce that the Conda module is now available on Hyak Klone. Previously offered only on Tillicum, the module has now passed testing on Klone and is ready for full use. We highly recommend it as the primary way to manage Python environments on Hyak Klone due to its simplicity, reliability, and improved storage efficiency.

Using the Conda module means:

  • No miniconda installation required. Just load the module and start creating environments.
  • More efficient storage usage, leading to fewer issues with home directory quota limits.
  • Cleaner, isolated Python environments, easier debugging, reproducibility, and environment cleanup.

Below is a quick guide to help you get started.

Conda Environments​

Conda allows you to create isolated environments that include specific versions of Python, libraries, and tools.

Load Conda Module​

First, load the Conda module:

# remember on Klone, module commands are only available on compute nodes
module load conda

After loading the module, the conda command becomes available. You can now create and manage your own environments.

Create and Manage Conda Environments​

For example, create an environment named "myenv" with Python 3.12 and the NumPy package:

conda create --name myenv python=3.12 numpy

Activate the environment to use it:

conda activate myenv

List your available Conda environments:

conda env list

Remove an environment:

conda env remove --name myenv

To install additional packages in myenv environment, use conda install. Conda has several default channels that will be used first for package installation. If you want to use another channel beyond the defaults channel, you can, but we suggest that you select your channel carefully.

warning

By default, the system Conda stores environments in your home directory ($HOME/.conda/envs). We recommend installing Conda environments to your project directory under /gscratch/<group>/<myfolder> due to the limited storage space (10 GB) in your home directory. Please apply the steps by following the instructions below carefully.

Customize Environment and Package Locations​

There are two ways to specify where your Conda environments and packages are stored.

Option 1. Use --prefix for explicit paths​

Manually set the path to your Conda environment by --prefix and always activate your Conda environment with full path.

module load conda
conda create --prefix /gscratch/<myproject>/<myfolder>/myenv python=3.12
conda activate /gscratch/<myproject>/<myfolder>/myenv
conda install numpy scipy matplotlib
Option 2. Configure defaults in $HOME/.condarc​

To make this the default behavior, edit (or create) the file $HOME/.condarc:

envs_dirs:
  - /gscratch/<myproject>/<myfolder>/conda/envs
pkgs_dirs:
  - /gscratch/<myproject>/<myfolder>/conda/pkgs

This will place all of your environments and package caches in this directory by default, and you won't have to worry about specifying the full prefix to your environment when installing it or activating it.

Installing Packages with pip​

You can use pip inside a Conda environment to install Python packages. Our suggested use of pip is inside a conda environment. For example:

module load conda
conda activate myenv
pip install seaborn

This ensures that pip installs packages into the active Conda environment — not globally — making it easy to clean up completely when you are done.

See the best practices from Anaconda for using pip with Conda and pip documentation for more information.

New Tutorials Now Available​

This fall, our training sessions focused primarily on Tillicum, our new GPU-accelerated service. However, the core skills and workflows we covered apply equally well to Hyak Klone. With only minor adjustments to file paths or partitions, Klone users can benefit directly from these materials because the overall computing environments are very similar and the tools (modules, Slurm, containers, Python workflows, data management) work the same across both systems. We will offer more Hyak Klone trainings in 2026.

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

Office Hours​

External Training Opportunities​

  • The NSF LEVEL UP AI (Launching an Educational Vision to Expand Leadership, Understanding, and Progress in Artificial Intelligence) project brings together educators, researchers, and professionals across the computing community to build a shared vision for expanding capacity and access to AI education. 01/07/26 - 12:00 AM to 01/08/26 - 11:59 PM EST Learn more and register.
  • 2 Postdoc positions in AI with deadlines arriving soon.
  • The eScience Institute offers the annual Winter School to students and lecturers interested in developing basic skills and knowledge of the tools used in data science. Gaining literacy in topics such as Python, R, Jupyter, and reproducible environments can be beneficial beyond STEM, including areas like global or public health, public policy, social sciences, social work, international relations, and business management. There are no prerequisites to take this course and there is no credit offered. Only UW faculty, staff, students (undergraduates and graduates) from all three campuses are welcome to apply. Deadline to apply: February 4th, 2026.

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

November 2025 Maintenance Update

· 3 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

This month’s maintenance window was used for internal testing and system improvement work. We also added Open OnDemand functionality that will enable new users to create and initialize their home directories from the web page. Lastly, we automated the Hyak Klone intracluster SSH key setup process, reducing the manual steps needed for workflows that move between nodes.

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar. The next maintenance is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, 2025 (the second Tuesday of the month).

Upcoming Events​

  • Tillicum Containers Workshop November 13 1-3pm – even if you aren’t a Tillicum user, we will review relevant commands and protocols for containers that can be applied to Hyak Klone.
  • AWS Generative AI Unicorn Party GameDay November 20 12:30-7pm – A hands-on competition where you’ll team up to build and deploy real AI solutions using AWS’s latest generative AI tools. Solve fun challenges, create magical applications, and win prizes!
  • Docker Containers Workshop December 2 1-3pm – learn the basics of containerization for research computing using Docker.

Office Hours​

  • AWS Office hours – AWS solutions architects will be on Zoom to answer your questions and help you troubleshoot.
  • Hyak and Tillicum Office Hours:
    • Wednesdays at 2pm on Zoom. Attendees need only register once and can attend any of the occurrences with the Zoom link that will arrive via email. Click here to Register for Wednesday Zoom Office Hours.
    • Thursdays at 2pm in person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195).
  • See our office hours schedule, subscribe to event updates, and bookmark our UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

If you would like to request 1 on 1 help, please send an email to help@uw.edu with "Hyak Office Hour" in the subject line to coordinate a meeting.

External Training Opportunities​

  • Cloud Clinic - AI Access in the Cloud 11/18/25 - 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM EST Learn more and register.
  • ACES: Python for Data Scientists 11/25/25 - 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST Learn more and register.
  • COMPLECS: Batch Computing (Part III) High-Throughput and Many-Task Computing - Slurm Edition 12/04/25 - 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST Learn more and register.
  • Globus and ACCESS: Automating Data and Compute Management Tasks with Globus and ACCESS Resources 12/05/25 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST Learn more and register.
  • R for HPC 12/09/25 - 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST Learn more and register.
  • SpinUp Workshop - December 10 - 18, 2025 SpinUp Workshops are designed to help NERSC users learn how to build their own services on NERSC’s Spin platform. Learn more and register.
  • NERSC, in collaboration with NVIDIA and the OpenACC organization, will host an End-to-End AI for Science bootcamp on December 10 - 11, 2025.
  • The NSF LEVEL UP AI (Launching an Educational Vision to Expand Leadership, Understanding, and Progress in Artificial Intelligence) project brings together educators, researchers, and professionals across the computing community to build a shared vision for expanding capacity and access to AI education. 01/07/26 - 12:00 AM to 01/08/26 - 11:59 PM EST Learn more and register.

Having trouble? Get Research Computing support.

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team

October 2025 Maintenance Update

· 3 min read
Kristen Finch
Kristen Finch
Director of Research Computing Solutions

During October’s maintenance, we refreshed the operating system images for both login and compute nodes and made improvements to our monitoring stack.

Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list and the UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar. The next maintenance is scheduled for Tuesday, November 11, 2025 (the second Tuesday of the month).

Notable Updates​

  • Node image updates – Routine updates and security patches.
  • Improvements to our monitoring stack.

Tillicum GPU Cluster​

General availability for Tillicum GPU Cluster begins tomorrow October 15, 2025.

Office Hours​

  • Wednesdays at 2pm on Zoom. Attendees need only register once and can attend any of the occurrences with the Zoom link that will arrive via email. Click here to Register for Wednesday Zoom Office Hours.
  • Thursdays at 2pm in person in eScience. (address: WRF Data Science Studio, UW Physics/Astronomy Tower, 6th Floor, 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195).
  • See our office hours schedule, subscribe to event updates, and bookmark our UWIT Research Computing Events Calendar.

If you would like to request 1 on 1 help, please send an email to help@uw.edu with "Hyak Office Hour" in the subject line to coordinate a meeting.

Upcoming Events​

Featured - AWS GameDay Series​

Join the AWS Generative AI Challenge Series! 🦄 Power up your cloud skills and get ready for the AWS Generative AI Unicorn Party GameDay on November 20 (12:30–7pm)!

Start your journey with our Warm-Up Workshops — designed to build your AWS knowledge and confidence before the big day:

Then drop into Office Hours (on Zoom) on Nov 12 or Nov 19 at 11am to get answers and fine-tune your strategy.

External Training Opportunities​

Questions about Hyak Klone, Tillicum, or any other UWIT Research Computing Service? Fill out our Research Computing Consulting intake form. We are here to help!

Happy Computing,

Hyak Team