There are several ways for you to use the equipment available in the MCL. Consultation and project submissions are ideal for those without a scientific background and provide the most support for your project. Equipment assistance and self-serve equipment use is available for clients who wish to have a more hands-on approach to their project.

Consultation

We are happy to consult with you for free via email or phone about the techniques and machines that will be the most useful for your desired results. Recommended techniques or characterization tools may include services that we do not provide. In that case, we will try, but do not guarantee, to find another lab that offers the technique. Send us an email or give us a call during our open hours, and we’ll be happy to consult with you.

Project submissions

If you wish to leave the analysis to us completely, you are welcome to submit samples. For simple projects that include fewer than 10 tests per month (such as 10 samples on one machine, or 5 samples on two machines), our on-site team of undergraduate technicians should be able to handle your analysis. For larger projects, please contact lab staff directly before moving forward with the project submission checklist. Larger projects may require hiring additional students dedicated to your project, and we need to be advised of the work involved in your project before we move forward.

We aim for a 2-3 week turnaround time; turnaround time depends on the project’s scope, the number of projects in our queue from other clients, and the availability of the equipment in question. We do not have refrigerated, desiccated, or non-air sample storage, so all samples should be packaged accordingly. Results returned can be anything from raw data files to a full report. Interpretation of results or creating in-depth reports will be billed at the rate of our technician’s time if that time exceeds 15 minutes.

Project submission checklist
  1. Contact us to discuss the scope and needs of your project.
  2. Fill out a Work Authorization Form. Wait until you have received an email stating that your account is complete before continuing with the next checklist item.
  3. Contact us to arrange a time for sample delivery. Please include as much detail about the machine(s) and parameters you’d like to use.  Also include any safety data sheets or sample handling information for our staff. See the Consultation section above if you need help identifying techniques/ machines that will be the most useful to you.
    1. If you are dropping samples off yourself, staff will ask you to fill out an Analysis Request form which we use to track samples and project status.
    2. If you are sending samples, use the shipping address on the Contact page. In the box, include a sample list (typed, to avoid mistakes due to handwriting) and any safety data sheets (SDS or MSDS) as appropriate with your samples. Once the package has shipped, send us a copy of the tracking number.

Lab staff will schedule machine time on your behalf and will return results when finished.

Equipment assistance

If you are interested in being an active participant without being trained, we offer technician assistance. This is ideal for short or one-time projects, or projects with few (5 or fewer) samples. This is a great way for those who have little experience with characterization techniques to become familiar with their results.

Equipment Assistance Checklist
  1. Read the rules of the lab.
  2. Fill out a Work Authorization Form. Wait until you have received an email stating that your account is complete before continuing with the next checklist item.
  3. Contact us to discuss your project needs and to arrange a time to use the requested instrument with a technician’s assistance. Do not attempt to schedule yourself, as we cannot guarantee that a technician will be available at that time. Lab staff will create the reservation for you.
  4. At the time of your reservation, go to the lab’s physical location (Meldrum Civil Engineering Building room 1325) to meet with staff.

At the end of the scheduled session, staff will send the collected results to you.

Self-serve equipment use

If you have a large number of samples (5+) or a long-term project (2+ months), you or one of your group members should be trained to use the lab equipment. This decreases lead times to schedule time with our lab staff and keeps you from having to pay for technician assistance. Once trained, the lab equipment is yours to use according to availability.

Self-serve Equipment Use Checklist
  1. Read the rules of the lab.
  2. Fill out a Work Authorization Form. Wait until you have received an email stating that your account is complete before continuing with the next checklist item.
  3. Look through our instrument list and open the instrument you’re interested in using.
  4. Watch/ read all the required videos and documents.
  5. Watch/ read any of the supplementary material that relates to your analysis needs.
  6. Contact us to schedule your first time on the instrument. During this first time, you will be accompanied by a technician. Do not attempt to schedule yourself, as we cannot guarantee that a technician will be available at that time. Lab staff will create the reservation for you.
    1. If a training video is available for the instrument in question, your first time will be an “observation.” You are expected to know how to run the instrument independently. Your accompanying technician will provide basic assistance and ensure that you are working safely. The technician usually accompanies for the first hour of the reservation, but you are welcome to continue using the machine for longer if you need. If the technician confirms that you are able to run the machine independently and safely, you will be confirmed as a trained member of the lab on that machine. From that point forward, you are welcome to schedule and use the instrument on your own during business hours.
    2. If a training video is not available for the instrument in question, the accompanying technician will provide the full training necessary for you to collect data on the instrument. Come with a note-taking device and your samples. The full, in-person training on any given machine usually takes about 1 hour per application. If you anticipate having several different needs on the machine, you may need to coordinate that with the technician scheduling your time.