The JEOL JEM 3200 facility is a "fee-for-use" operation, meaning that we train people to use all the equipment in the facility, and then charge a fee based on use of the the electron microscope itself. We do not normally perform any sort of "fee-for-service" work. There are occasional exceptions to this policy, so feel free to contact the director to discuss such a possibility.

Here is the current fee structure, which is based on charges for units of "instrument use" instead of a strict hourly fee schedule:

These fees apply to all academic users, although academic users outside the IUB system will be charged an additional fee to cover the indirect costs to the facility that are paid by the local academic community. Non-academic users are also invited to use the facility at triple the listed rate. Finally, if local use allows, it will be possible for outside users to schedule a large block of time (e.g., a week of cryo imaging) for a fee to be negotiated at the time of the request.

A list of rules and practices regarding time use of the 3200FS is located here. The most important rule that will be enforced now that we are collecting user fees is that time scheduled on the 3200FS will be charged to the users, even in cases where the instrument is not actually used. It is always possible to cancel a scheduled session on the instrument, but cancellation must be done by noon on the day before the scheduled time.

Our initial plan is to charge user fees only for time involving the JEOL JEM 3200FS. Thus there will be no charges for things such as liquid nitrogen, use of the Vitrobot Mk3 or manual plunge freezer, storage of frozen samples, use of various computational resources, etc.

There will also be no direct charge for time expended by the director while initiating a project, training new users with the 3200FS or any sort of consultation (project discussion, software training, etc.). It is expected that significant effort by the director will be acknowledged by such things as authorship, inclusion in grants and public presentations, etc.

For the most part, we expect that users will provide their own "consumables" such as grids with carbon-only support films, grid boxes and forceps. The facility can provide limited materials when starting a project, but the burden of an ongoing project must be borne by individual users. The director can provide examples of consumables specific to work in the facility and suggestions for where they can be obtained.

Finally, some users may discover that it will be necessary to perform post-acquisition analysis of data using the software involved during data collection. This is especially true for data recorded using STEM in combination with EDS or EELS. So-called "off-line" licenses for Gatan's DigitalMicrograph or Oxford's INCA software can be purchased for about $500 each and bulk discounts are available if there is enough interest. We have also installed these products on a PC available to all users of the facility that is located in Simon Hall 220 (immediately outside the offices of Profs. Mukhopadhyay and Zlotnick). Please contact the director concerning the purchase of additional off-line licenses and the use of the PC in SI 220.

Supported by IU Bloomington Departments of BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY and GEOLOGY and the NANOSCIENCE CENTER | COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS | COPYRIGHT 2009