Midsize Facilities The Infrastructure for Materials Research (2006) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 177-188
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From page 177... ...
Trip reports were filed for internal committee use from each of the area groups, and summary reviews were conducted by the group leaders at the COSF meeting at the Stanford University campus in October 2003. The host institutions for the Boston area included the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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From page 178... ...
, Bill Appleton, Director -- Venkatesh Narayanamurti, Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences -- Rowland Institute of Science, Frans Spaepen, Director -- Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, David Weitz, Director -- Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) , Robert Westervelt, Principal Investigator (PI)
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From page 179... ...
There are two staff assigned to each of the primary SEF elements: Materials Analysis, Crystal Growth and Preparation, Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Diffraction. The shared facilities are most often operated by the individual users after hands-on training by the facility staff.
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From page 180... ...
magnetometers. · Electron Microscopy: 250 kV field-emission scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEMs)
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From page 181... ...
CAMMP uses service contracts and buys new to avoid maintenance costs; lower-use equipment is given to NE faculty. In contrast to MIT, CAMMP SEFs have no technical staff, and technical support is done by postdoctoral associates on extended terms (called research assistants)
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From page 182... ...
Background/Origins/History The Electronic Materials Research Institute (EMRI) started in 2002 with a modest seed grant from the university to hire and invest in equipment; 15 faculty are involved now, with planned increase to 20 to 25.
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From page 183... ...
The merging of the shared facilities also allows cost share of operational expenses, including support staff. The site visit team also heard briefly about the Rowland Institute but did not visit those facilities.
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From page 184... ...
The instruments merged analysis and fabrication capabilities in one organization. Materials research instruments include TEM, SEM, ultra-high-vacuum-STM, Rutherford backscattering, XRD, ion accelerators, and fabrication instruments such as electron-beam lithography, FIB, optical pattern generator, furnaces, deposition, and etching tools.
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From page 185... ...
· There are efficiencies that industry can teach the universities with regard to interaction among staff, but there are important differences -- for example, NSF must take a much longer view. · While the sharing of experimental facilities is key to keeping down the overall cost of materials science research activities, it is evident that such sharing is most effective when the shared facilities are not too distant from the users (local or regional)
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From page 186... ...
· The discussion of user fees raised lively discussion. Most facilities only expect to raise 25 percent of their running costs through user fees.
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From page 187... ...
Departure or retirement of key individuals remains a major concern for smooth continu ing operations. · Everyone the team visited agreed that technical support staff are key to the facility success.
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From page 188... ...
Harvard guar anteed 3 years' employment even if the NSF grant were to be terminated, giving technical staff some job security. This is a way that a university can facilitate the quality of shared facilities.
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