Midsize Facilities The Infrastructure for Materials Research (2006) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 35-60
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From page 35... ...
· Operating modes. To remain viable, all midsize facilities make an effort to systematically recoup their operating expenses.
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Generally speaking, experi mental materials research can be grouped into different categories, although any one research project typically cuts across many activities. Borrowing nomenclature developed by the community, the committee believes that most small to midsize multiuser facilities support one or more of the following types of research: · Synthesis -- a chemical or physical process used to prepare a material of specific chemical composition and/or spatial arrangement of the component atoms.
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For instance, in 2004, DOE formed the Computational Science Center at Brookhaven National Laboratory to focus on computational biology; open to users, the center will help determine the structure and functions of proteins. According to responses to the committee's survey, the predominant activities at midsize facilities are characterization and measurement, together representing more than 60 percent of the responses, followed by fabrication or processing.
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Staff The number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff supporting the operation of midsize facilities ranges from 0 to more than 25, peaking in the range 1 to 10, as 20 15 10 Frequency 5 0 0.25 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 More Annual Operating Budget ($M)
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39 by definition followed ittee's cent) , per comm the (35 C)
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staff supporting midsize facilities. Each bar represents the number of facilities that have the indicated number of FTE staff or fewer; for instance, the leftmost bar indicates that about 15 facilities have one staff member or fewer.
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Instruments Midsize facilities provide materials research instruments that include characterization, measurement, fabrication, synthesis, and computing equipment, as indicated to the committee during its site visits and in survey responses. Typically
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Conventionally, texture is determined through the use of large-area x-ray diffraction "pole figures" that depict the relative orientation of crystalline grains in a material. In this work, researchers at the IBM Watson Research Center utilized pole figures obtained at the National Synchrotron Light Source.
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Whether this practice can be a viable long term strategy for university facilities when overall federal funding in materials research is relatively flat remains to be seen, but it illustrates the extent to which universities are struggling to assist in the purchase of advanced instrumentation. · Character of instruments.
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FIGURE 2.6 A generic "super scanning transmission electron microscope" from LEO Electron Micro scope. Courtesy of Carl Zeiss SMT AG.
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. Specialized Laboratory Environments and Services In addition to investments in costly instruments, midsize facilities have also made significant investments in specialized laboratory environments and other enabling capabilities.
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or from relatively nearby. The committee thus observed that midsize facilities appear to serve relatively small "regions." One factor contributing to a lack of long-distance users is associated travel and accommodation costs; most facilities, even those that do not charge specific user fees for instrument usage, cannot provide support for travel.
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Users spent on average about 25 percent of their research time at midsize facilities, and over half used facilities sited primarily within their host institution. Respondents unanimously agreed that midsize facilities are critical enablers for their research.
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In general, researchers preferred to travel to facilities that were close enough to keep the entire trip confined to 1 day. In fact, when seeking participants for its Materials Centers of Excellence program, the Army Research Laboratory used a geographical limitation of an approximately 400 mile radius to constrain the range of the institutions that could apply for funding as a team to form the center.2 In terms of budgeting for facility use, almost all users who responded to the survey reported that they had budgeted for user fees when developing funding requests, and all made specific mention of facility use as part of their research proposal.
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in order to provide staff to train users and keep instruments repaired" and "reinstate support for travel." One user enthusiastically suggested, "Strongly encourage universities to provide hard-money support for technical staff! " SELECTED EXAMPLES The committee presents the following examples mainly to illustrate the diversity in funding, funding sources, and level of operation of different midsize facilities.3 · The Center for Microanalysis of Materials at the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large midsize facility, operating entirely without user fees, that is supported primarily by the host institution (70 percent)
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Electron-Beam Microcharacterization Centers, and as a DOE Basic Energy Sciences user facility and collaborative research center, it is open to researchers from universities, government laboratories, and industry, nationwide as well as internationally. The CMM is located in the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory (MRL)
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The CMM does not charge user fees. Before 2000, user fees were in effect and ranged from $10 per hour for x-ray diffraction to about $100 per hour for TEM usage; such fees provided support for perhaps two-thirds of the CMM operations budget.
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Thus, the CMM acts as the largest "supplier" of scientists and engineers educated in the use of advanced instrumentation for materials research. MRL managers identify three key ingredients for a successful midsize facility: trained and competent staff, diverse and well-maintained equipment, and open and welcoming access policies.
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· The Keck Microfabrication Laboratory at Michigan State University is a small midsize facility supported by the host institution (80 percent) and user fees (20 percent)
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The SEA has an annual operating budget of $650,000, of which 62 percent is derived from the host institution and 38 percent from user fees, and represents a replacement capital investment of more than $13 million. The host institution covers the salaries of the 6 FTE technical and administrative support staff.
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TABLE 2.2.1 Rice Shared Equipment Authority Budget, 2001-2006, by Category Category Total 5-Year Cost ($) Fraction of Total Maintenance 1,160,050 0.09 Staff 1,908,048 0.14 Equipment acquisition 10,193,572 0.77 Total 13,261,670 1.00 As presented below, the Rice SEA board factored its strategic plan into three areas- management, policy, and fund-raising: Objective #1.
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bExcerpts in this section are reprinted from the Rice Shared Equipment Authority's "5 Year Strategic Plan," publicly available online at http://www.ricesea.org/plan; last accessed June 1, 2005.
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Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) , operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S.
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Courtesy of the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory. through teamwork between researchers and the scientific and technical staff of EMSL to address ambitious scientific questions.
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aThis box is based on material supplied by A Campbell, director, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, May 2005.
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is supported in part finan cially from the university president's office. The committee cannot overemphasize the importance of a clear and well-defined role for the host institution in the success of a midsize facility.
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