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      4. Mathematica

      Mathematica

      Mathematica is a computational software program used in scientific, engineering, and mathematical fields and other areas of technical computing. Mathematica seamlessly integrates a numeric and symbolic computational engine, graphics system, programming language, documentation system, and advanced connectivity to other applications.

      Platform: Windows, Mac, UNIX/Linux, Mobile, Web
      Cost: No charge (Access via App2Go Server)

      App2Go Login


      • License
      • Download/Renewal
      • Mathematica Online
      • Training
      • Support

      License Information

      VCU participates in the statewide license for Mathematica, Mathematica Online, and Wolfram AlphaPro from Wolfram Research Inc. The Wolfram applications, obtained under this VCU site license, may be used:

      • by VCU faculty, staff and students
      • for VCU related research and instruction
      • on University-owned computers
      • on personally-owned computers


      Mathematica, under the cross-platform license, provides an unlimited number of copies running at any time. The VCU Mathematica license agreement includes "Home Use" licenses for faculty and staff. Home-use licenses are restricted to a desktop computer or laptop owned by the employee. Home-use licenses are automatically registered to the individual who requests the license and may not be transferred to another individual. The Mathematica versions available for use under this site license include:

      • Mathematica for Windows 
      • Mathematica for Mac
      • Mathematica for Linux


      Mathematica Online was added to the university site license in June 2018. All users must sign up for a Wolfram account and subscribe to Mathematica Online. You may access Mathematica Online from a desktop or mobile device using a Web browser or Mobile app.


      Mathematica on App2Go is available for use without installing the application on your computer. Mathematica is accessed via a Web browser using a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer from the App2Go Server. Five (5) concurrent user licenses of Mathematica are available for use by VCU researchers on the App2Go Server.

      Mathematica for VCU Owned Computers

      Mathematica is available to download and install on your computer for the supported formats.  Mathematica licenses must be renewed annually to maintain an existing application.

      Download and install:

      Faculty/staff may register and download Mathematica 12.2.0 for installation on University-owned workstations:

      • Mathematica 12.2.0 for Windows   (see system requirements)
      • Mathematica 12.2.0 for Mac   (supports macOS 10.12 thru 10.15, and 11.0 Intel & Apple Silicon)
      • Mathematica 12.2.0 for Linux   (see system requirements)

      Also note:  What's New in Mathematica 12,  Summary of New Features in 12.2,  Mathematica Quick Revision History, and  How to uninstall Mathematica.

      Renew license:

      Mathematica licenses expire annually on August 31.  Using the links below, faculty/staff may renew existing Mathematica licenses on University-owned computers through August 31, 2021:

      • Mathematica 12.1.1 for Windows
      • Mathematica 12.1.1 for Mac
      • Mathematica 12.1.1 for Linux
      • Mathematica 12.0.0 for Windows
      • Mathematica 12.0.0 for Mac
      • Mathematica 12.0.0 for Linux
      • Mathematica 11.3.0 for Windows
      • Mathematica 11.3.0 for Mac
      • Mathematica 11.3.0 for Linux
      • Mathematica 11.2.0 for Windows
      • Mathematica 11.2.0 for Mac
      • Mathematica 11.2.0 for Linux
      • Mathematica 11.1.1 for Windows
      • Mathematica 11.1.1 for Mac
      • Mathematica 11.1.1 for Linux

      Mathematica Faculty/Staff Home-Use Licenses

      Each individual approved for a home-use license is issued a unique license number and provided with a single-machine version of the product for the platform requested. Each home-use license must be renewed annually. After your VCU employment status is verified, Wolfram Research will provide you with a home-use license.

      Request Mathematica home-use license & download from Wolfram 

      1. First, click the desired link below:

      • Request a Faculty/Staff Home Use License
      • Request a Faculty/Staff Home Use License Upgrade
      • Request a Faculty/Staff Home Use License Renewal (extension)

      2. Then, provide the following information:

      • When prompted for an activation key, enter L3065-4612.
      • For proof of faculty/staff eligibility, select:
        • Your status can be verified via the VCU Advanced Faculty & Staff Search. Copy/paste the following VCU Advanced Faculty and Staff Search URL into the textbox provided:

      http://www.ts.vcu.edu/askit/web-tools/vcu-search/search-for-users/advanced-faculty--staff-search/

      Mathematica for Students

      To download or renew Mathematica for Students:

      1. Register your Mathematica for Students' license with VCU.
      2. Instructions will be presented on-screen, and also in an email to your VCU address, for registering with the vendor, Wolfram Research, and downloading Mathematica from the vendor.

      Mathematica Online

      Mathematica Online allows you to browse, view, edit, and use interactive functions in your Mathematica notebook through the cloud. Providing instant access through the cloud enables the sharing of documents and resources. Mathematica Online may be accessed through a Web browser or mobile app.

       

      How to access Mathematica Online

         Create and validate a Wolfram account (if you don't have one):

      1. Go to http://user.wolfram.com and click Create Account.

      2. Complete the form using your @vcu.edu email and a secure password. VCU Information Security advises NOT to use your VCU eID password.

      3. You will receive an email from Wolfram acknowledging the request. Click the link to validate your account.

         Complete a request for Mathematica Online account:

      1. Login to the Wolfram User Portal.

      2. Complete the Mathematica Online Subscription Request Form and Submit.

      3. Login to the Mathematica Online.

       

      Where to find the Mobile App

      Wolfram provides a cloud app to access Mathematica Online through the iOS and Android Mobile devices. Visit the Apple Store or Google Play to download Wolfram Cloud.

       

      Mathematica On the App2Go Citrix Server

      Using a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer, you can access Mathematica via a browser window. Although Mathematica runs on the App2Go Citrix® Server, it appears to be running on your PC. You can open, save, and print files from your PC. Applications on the App2Go server are available to support research projects and are not intended for instructional use. Five (5) concurrent use licenses of Mathematica are available for use by VCU researchers on the App2Go Server.

      Current VCU faculty, staff, and students may access Mathematica on the App2Go Server for research. Documentation on how to use of the App2Go Server will provide you details such as system requirements, installation, opening files, saving files, and printing.

      Mathematica Tutorials

      The first two tutorials are excellent for new users and can be assigned to students as homework to learn Mathematica outside of class time.

      • Hands-on Start to Mathematica (videos)
        Follow along in Mathematica as you watch this multi-part screencast that teaches you the basics—how to create your first notebook, calculations, visualizations, interactive examples, and more.

      • Hands-on Start to Wolfram Mathematica and Programming with the Wolfram Language (book)
        Learn Mathematica at your own pace from authors with 50+ years of combined Mathematica experience—with hands-on examples, end-of-chapter exercises, and authors' tips that introduce you to the breadth of Mathematica with a focus on ease of use.

      • Mathematica Screencast and Video Gallery
        Screencasts and videos provide instruction and tips on how to use Mathematica.

      • How-To Topics
        Access step-by-step instruction ranging from how to create animations to basic syntax information.

      • Learning Center
        Search Wolfram's vast collection of materials for calculations or tutorials in your field of interest.

       

      Wolfram|Alpha Pro

      • Tour of Wolfram|Alpha
        New to Wolfram|Alpha? Take a tour to learn what you can do with Wolfram|Alpha, and explore additional features you get with Wolfram|Alpha Pro.


      Teaching with Mathematica

      Mathematica offers an interactive classroom experience that helps students explore and grasp concepts, plus gives faculty the tools they need to create supporting course materials, assignments, and presentations easily.

      • Mathematica for Teaching and Education—Free video course
        Learn how to make your classroom dynamic with interactive models, explore computation and visualization capabilities in Mathematica that make it useful for teaching practically any subject at any level, and get best-practice suggestions for course integration.

      • How To Create a Lecture Slideshow—Video tutorial
        Learn how to create a slideshow for a class that shows a mixture of graphics, calculations, and nicely formatted text, with live calculations or animations.

      • Wolfram Demonstrations Project
        Download pre-built, open-code examples from a daily-growing collection of interactive visualizations, spanning a remarkable range of topics.

      • Wolfram Training Education Courses
        Access on-demand and live courses on Mathematica, SystemModeler, and other Wolfram technologies.


      Research with Mathematica

      Rather than requiring different toolkits for different jobs, Mathematica integrates the world's most extensive collection of algorithms, high-performance computing capabilities, and a powerful visualization engine in one coherent system. This system is ideal for academic research in just about any discipline.

      • Mathematica for University Research—Free video course
        Explore Mathematica's high-level and multi-paradigm programming language, support for parallel computing and GPU architectures, built-in functionality for specialized application areas, and multiple publishing and deployment options for sharing your work.

      • Utilizing HPC and Grid Computing—Free video course
        Learn how to create programs that take advantage of multicore machines or available clusters.

      • Field-Specific Applications
        Learn what areas of Mathematica are used for specific fields.


      Other Training

      • Hands-on Start to Mathematica - Video

      • Mathematica Library Archive (books, demos, conference proceedings)

      Support

      The vendor provides support for the use of Mathematica. Contact the IT Support Center if you have an issue with the licensing or installation of Mathematica.

      • How do I install Mathematica?

      • Mathematica FAQs

      • Mathematica Online FAQs

      • Mathematica Support


      Sign Up for VCU MATHEMATICA-L LISTSERV

      LISTSERV subscribers receive notifications of Mathematica upgrades and maintenance fixes, times to renew Mathematica licenses, Mathematica training opportunities, etc.

      To subscribe to the VCU MATHEMATICA-L click on:

      • Mathematica-L Email List

      Note: Participation in this list is limited to VCU email accounts.

       

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