Assistance and Collaboration
Extended help and collaborations at NCEM
Most NCEM users are accomplished microscopists and only require some technical assistance to make full use of the facility.
Potential users who are not trained microscopists and who have projects that would benefit from the unique instrumentation and expertise available at NCEM can obtain various levels of assistance, ranging from operator assistance on selected instruments to a full collaboration with one of the staff scientists at the facility.
Operator assistance
Well-defined projects requiring only technical assistance, for example to record high resolution images or energy-filtered diffraction patterns can be supported by NCEM technical staff. Such help is available for the CM200, CM300, Tecnai, Libra, In-Situ microscope, TEAM 0.5, Specimen Preparation, and Computer labs. Operator assistance should be requested at the time a proposal is submitted.
Collaborative postdoctoral assistance
Scientists needing extensive assistance with both instrument operation and data analysis may request the help of an NCEM collaborative postdoctoral scientist or associate. Due to the small number of NCEM staff, assistance of this nature can be extended to only a few projects, which are selected based on scientific significance and their match with facility capabilities and the expertise of current collaborative scientists. Requests for collaborative postdoctoral assistance should be justified in the proposal for review by the NCEM Proposal Review Committee.
Collaborations
NCEM's scientific staff lead research programs on advanced microcharacterization of materials, developing new characterization techniques in tandem with new materials microstructures. NCEM encourages full-scale scientific collaborations with its scientific staff. Please see the staff page for brief descriptions of their areas of interest and expertise. For more details, you can search the NCEM bibliography by name or topic. Collaborations may be explored with NCEM management, U. Dahmen, or by direct contact with a staff scientist.
Proprietary work:
Companies seeking to utilize NCEM for proprietary work may submit a proposal if the requested instrumentation or expertise is not available in the private sector. Proposals for proprietary work will be reviewed by NCEM's External Proposal Review Committee and be evaluated based on the same criteria as non-proprietary proposals. If approved, there will be an instrument user fee for self-operators and an additional charge if technical assistance is requested.