User Rules and Billing Policy
The Optical Spectroscopy facility is now a University Core Facility. To ensure smooth operation of the facility and compliance with University regulations, we have established the following set of user rules.
1) Users must undergo mandatory training in order to obtain instrument access. Separate training is required for each instrument. Training sessions must be arranged individually with Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen. Anyone is eligible to reserve and use these instruments after the training requirements have been met.
2) Instrument time must be reserved in advance, using the new on-line reservation system, please go here. Users can schedule time only after passing mandatory training (see above). There are two different reservation pages, one for the Hitachi F-7000 Fluorescence Spectrophotometer and one for all of the other instruments (Hitachi U4100 UV-Vis-NIR, J-815 CD circular dichroism spectrometer, polarimeter, and scintillation counter). For the latter instruments, reservations may be made at any time prior starting a measurement.
3) For the fluorimeter, an accessory (Standard Cell, Nano Volume Cell, Cryo Cell, Microplate Reader, Polarizer, or TIRF) must be designated from the list provided on the reservation page when making the reservation. The default accessory of the fluorimeter is the Standard Cell. If any of the other accessories are needed, the fluorimeter must be reserved at least 24 hours in advance. In addition, one hour must be left open between users to allow Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen to switch the accessories. This accessory switching time will not be billed. In addition, the accessory will be switched back to the Standard Cell in the hour following the measurement (or at 8 AM the following day if the measurement ends after 6 PM). No advance notice is needed to use the fluorimeter with the Standard Cell, provided that the Standard Cell is already in place (which is the default state of the instrument).
4) Cancellation of a reservation requires 24 hours advance notice. If a cancellation is needed less than 24 hours before the scheduled start time, the user must contact either Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen. It is imperative that users accurately estimate the time required for their experiments when reserving instrument time. If a user needs more time than anticipated, it is the responsibility of the user to respect the next reservation on the instrument. If a user habitually reserves instrument time that goes unused, the PI may be billed for the unused time.
5) Each research group will be required to obtain a user account and password. The instrument usage for each group will be determined by tracking the logon/logout times. Since the polarimeter and scintillation counter lack computer interfaces, usage times will be based on a paper log book. All other instruments will require the user to log into their group account. Account access will be set up after appropriate training by Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen
6) In addition to logging onto the instrument computer, users must also sign into the paper log book associated with each instrument and document the start time, stop time, condition of the instrument and accessories, and any problems that arise during use.
7) The billing rate for all instruments is $10/hour for University of Utah users and $15/hour for off-campus users. This rate is set by university policy and is non-negotiable. For billing purposes, usage will be totaled on a monthly basis.
8) Failure to comply with the above rules may result in loss of individual user privileges.
Staff Contact Information:
Jim Muller: 2618 TBBC, tel. 1-5415, jmuller@chem.utah.edu
Hsiaonung Chen: 2618 TBBC, tel. 1-5415, hsiao.chen@utah.edu
Contact Information
Jim Muller
315 S. 1400 E. Rm. 2611 TBBC
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
jmuller@chem.utah.edu
Office: (801) 581-5415