Supported Research Software

The name of each software package in the table below links to a page containing a software description, where you can run it, how you can learn it, and where you can get support.

How to Access Research Software

There are four ways you can use research software at UT: Licensed on your computer, in the OIT Computer Labs running on a PC or Mac computer, from our Windows Terminal Server called Apps@UT (apps.utk.edu), and on the High Performance and Scientific Computing clusters.

Download a license for your computer

If you own a computer, you may prefer running software on it. See a comprehensive listing of software available to download through OIT. Access to the OIT Software Download site will end on your ‘Left UT’ date in the UT Directory and is only available for teaching or academic research purposes. Additionally, once you have left the university, you are no longer licensed to use this software and it must be removed from your computer.

Visit an OIT Computer Lab

The OIT computer labs have an extensive selection of software available on PCs and Macs and are open to students, faculty, and staff at no additional charge. Faculty can also reserve labs for class use from that web page. See a list of software, hardware, and locations in OIT computer labs.

Access on the Apps@UT

Our Apps@UT system lets you run software as if it was installed on your own computer or on a computer in the labs. You can open and save files on your local disk drive and print to your local printer. You can learn the simple steps to use this system by reading How to Use Apps@UT. This server is available at no additional charge for students, faculty, and staff on the UT Knoxville campus.

Request access through HPSC

ISAAC is UT’s most powerful system with thousands of processors. However, it does require learning a way of working that is generally considered harder than using a desktop computer.

How to Choose the Right Software Package

When you have a research problem to solve, you will, of course, want to find the software best suited to the problem itself and to your computing resources.

What computer/OS do you use?

A very important consideration in choosing software is the type of computer you prefer. Due to the wide popularity of Microsoft Windows, all of the packages above are available for it. However, many of the packages are either not available on Mac and Linux computers, or are available with a limited feature set. Any computer you use can run the software we make available on Apps@UT. On the Mac, both VMware Fusion and Parallels usually run Windows software well. Booting a Mac or Linux system directly into Windows usually guarantees full compatibility when the computer is running an Intel based processor.

What level of support is available?

Each software is classified as either fully or minimally supported as indicated in the table above. Please see the RCS Support webpage for a description of the levels of support offered for OIT research software.

Software Usage and Costs

Academic Use of Software (Non-commercial)

University of Tennessee centrally funded research software is available for educational and non-commercial academic research purposes only. Non-commercial academic research generally means that the research is being conducted by enrolled degree-seeking students, faculty, and staff, where the results of such research are performed in support of academic publications, theses, and dissertations. The results of non-commercial academic research are not intended primarily for the benefit of a third party. 

Commercial Use of Software 

University licensed research software should not be used for commercial research purposes. Research commissioned as part of a consultancy for which any fee is received, that uses proprietary data from a commercial entity, or conducted as part of a service for which a fee is charged should be considered commercial. Generally, the commercial research sponsor owns any results and arising intellectual property generated by the researcher.

Open source software packages, such as R and Python, may be used as an alternative to university licensed software for commercial research.

If I am performing Commercial Research, how much will the software cost?

Licensed university software is centrally funded at UT. That means it is available at no additional cost as long as you are using it for internal teaching and academic research. Using any proprietary software (i.e. not open source) for the benefit of outside organizations, even non-profits or any government agency, requires a commercial license. The only exceptions to this rule are federal agencies whose only purpose is to fund scientific research for publication, such as NSF or NIH. Commercial licenses are purchased directly from the software vendor and often cost between $500 and $15,000.