Prospective Users
Who can use the ICAL facility at MSU?
Our facility offers services to internal MSU researchers, students, external academics, nonprofits, and commercial/industry clients. As a user-oriented facility, we emphasize training in the safe and effective use of our instrumentation, and offer short courses for each instrument to help develop the future STEM workforce. However, ICAL also routinely does research on submitted samples in close consultation with external users.
Where do I start?
Potential users new to ICAL should have a clear definition of their research question and the type of imaging and/or analytical data needed to answer that question. Instrumentation operated at ICAL can help characterize; material size, shape and distribution; phase identification; bulk elemental composition; micron-scale spot compositional analysis and elemental mapping for major and trace element components; analysis of surface chemistry (atomic monolayer-scale) and depth profiling; and crystal structure and crystallographic orientation. Application of numerous independent imaging and analytical methods are often used to provide complementary and confirmatory data. ICAL staff are available to engage preliminary consultations with new users to determine the best methods and procedures to address the research question. Review our Instrumentation page for a list of our primary capabilities. Reach out directly to the core facility manager to get your project started.
Fees
Please review our current fee table here.
Onsite and External Use
We encourage onsite use by novice to expert STEM researchers, including MSU students, faculty, and staff or external commercial, governmental or academic users. Onsite users can either take the training classes (see below) that will allow them to work independently on ICAL instrumentation, or ICAL staff can run the instrument for you while you participate in the data acquisition process in real-time.
All non-MSU users must sign a Testing Services Agreement (TSA), which can be initiated by the core facility manager. This agreement establishes the scope of work expected to be done at ICAL.
In addition, non-MSU users who wish to work onsite in the facility must establish a Facility Use Agreement (FUA) with the core facility manager. This agreement covers safety and liability issues when working directly in the lab.
ICAL can also run samples submitted by external users (beam time and technical assistance charges apply). Research results obtained by ICAL staff are reported to clients in a timely manner with assistance in interpreting results as needed. Please contact the facility manager to discuss shipping and sample analysis needs.
Training
Training in the safe and effective use of ICAL instrumentation is required for any user interested in working independently on their research projects. Users will be best-positioned to acquire the data needed to address their research questions as there are always decisions to be made and new lines of inquiry may emerge. To this end, ICAL short courses are designed to give new users the competence and confidence to conduct this research. Typical short course topics include: selection and preparation of samples; instrument components and functionality; operating conditions to optimize results; and, data acquisition, rendering, and representation. Users are encouraged to use their own research samples during training sessions so that meaningful results can be immediately obtained. Note that training on certain instruments such as SEM can take up to 9 hours (3 3-hour sessions), so plan your project accordingly. In some cases, additional certification may be needed (e.g., CITI X-ray and Biomedical Safety training). Please reach out to the core facility manager to determine which training you need.
Due to the diversity in training requirements across the facility, you need to contact the facility manager to determine which trainings you need. Contact the facility manger using the button below.
