CDCM Shared Experimental Facilities

General Policy

 

The CDCM shared experimental facilities are intended for facilitating cutting-edge scientific research mainly in the area of material science and engineering. Users shall at all times observe all university/facilities, federal or state rules, and regulations while using the facility, including but not limited to rules and regulations designed to protect the safety of persons and property. Any user who violates the policy will forfeit his/her privilege to access the facilities and instrument.

Access to the facilities:

  • The facilities are open to all researchers including UT faculty and students, external academic agencies, and industrial partners.
  • Before using the facilities, all users are required to take safety training courses including but not limited to (specific facility may have additional requirement):
  • OH 101 Hazard Communication (General),
  • OH 201 Laboratory Safety,
  • OH 202 Hazardous Waste Management.
  • All facilities are under 24 hours surveillance for safety purposes.
  • Do not share access code to the facilities.

Instrument reservation:

  • All instruments must be reserved and enabled prior to use.
  • All users must obtain training and instruction and demonstrate sufficient proficiency for the specific instrument before he/she is eligible to make a reservation online.
  • The user should contact the facility to schedule onsite training, which typically occurs every Tuesday or Thursday.
  • The facilities use FBS system for reservation and billing. All users need an account to gain access to the system. Detailed instructions on how to make a reservation can be found online (https://mrsec.utexas.edu/facilities-reservation).
  • The self-scheduling maximum per lab is set to be 120 hours per month. You can request more hours if the limit is reached.
  • Each user is allowed to have up to 5 future appointments per instrument. You can request approval of more appointments if needed.

User fees

  • User fees are charged for all users to recover the cost of maintenance, repairs, consumables, as well as recovery of the instrument.
  • Users should have a valid 10-digit account number for each reservation.
  • The current rates are posted online (https://mrsec.utexas.edu/user-fees) and approved by the university accounting office.
  • User fees are charged on an hourly basis for the reservation time plus excess usage.
  • The user may not change/cancel the reservation within 24 hours of the scheduled time and shall expect to be billed up to the entire reserved time.
  • A one-time flat fee is charged at $40 per person ($50 For-Profit) for training.

Use the instrument

  • Users should have a reservation and enable access through FBS by clicking the “start timer” button.
  • Any attempts to disable or bypass the interlock systems are prohibited and may result in the suspension of facilities privileges.
  • Users should check the condition of the instrument before or during use. Any malfunction or damage should be reported immediately to the facility.
  • Misuse of facility repeatedly may result in one-month or longer suspension of access to the facility.
  • Facilities reserve the right to charge the repair due to improperly use of the instrument.
  • Users are expected to remove all samples and to leave the work area in as clean or cleaner condition compared to when they arrived.

Safety

  • All personnel who works in the facilities should be in compliance with federal and state laws, university regulations, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) requirements, and CDCM shared experimental facilities policies.
  • Each facility may have additional safety policies to comply with.
  • All activities conducted in facilities should not comprise safety.
  • Violation of safety policies will result in immediate suspension of access to the facilities.

Acknowledgment

The CDCM shared experimental facilities are funded by the National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) program (DMR-1720595). Users who use the facility should acknowledge using the statement below:

“The authors acknowledge the use of shared research facilities supported in part by the Texas Materials Institute, the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC (DMR-1720595), and the NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (ECCS-1542159).”