Orientation and Tours
New faculty and candidate faculty sponsors are encouraged to arrange an orientation tour to see if capabilities match faculty focus areas.
MCFF also welcomes researchers from industry and other academic institutions. Please complete the tour request form below and our director will follow up with you.
Faculty can also request proposal preparation assistance, including budgeting, when research directly involves MCFF.
Preparation
Users are encouraged to budget for equipment enhancements that will further their research, as well as use time. Discuss your ideas with the director.
Here are language samples you may wish to use in your proposal, adapting to suit the requirements of the granting agency.
Materials Characterization Fabrication Facility
Overview
The Materials Characterization and Fabrication Core Facility (MCFF) powers research and innovation at Michigan Tech by providing world-class tools for imaging, analysis, environmental testing, and micro/nanofabrication. With ten specialized core labs MCFF delivers the data, expertise, and hands-on training researchers need to move ideas forward fast. From advanced materials to environmental systems, MCFF is the hub where discovery meets precision
Growth Commitment Statement
MCFF is committed to the continued growth of faculty research and to the performance and reputation of Michigan Tech as a global technological university.
To achieve this, we provide:
Current Services
- Superior training through course work, group, and one-on-one training by skilled lab personnel to ensure efficient equipment use that minimizes wasted funds and time
- A safe and friendly working environment
- Non-profit operation, with use fees covering facility maintenance and operations
- A core inventory of sample preparation and mounting supplies covered by use fees
- A lean use-fee structure that minimizes costs to researchers for equipment
use - Maintenance of instrumentation and sample preparation equipment to ensure minimal down time
- Best standards and practices adopted to help researchers achieve reproducible results and journal quality images.
Future Directions
- Continue core systems expansion to meet requirements of current and future users
- Promote the facility to help attract research faculty who are leaders in their field
Capabilities
See each instrumentation page for statements on capabilities and location.
- Aquatic Analysis Core Lab (AQUA)
- Confocal Imaging Core Lab
- Electron Microscopy Core Lab
- Laboratory for Environmental Analysis Core Lab (LEAF)
- Mass Spectrometry Core Lab
- Microfabrication Core Lab
- Scanning Probe and Optical Microscopy Core Lab
- Surface Analysis Core Lab
- X-ray Analysis Core Lab
- Nano Indentation Core Lab
Personnel
Please contactus for faculty and staff expertise in support of research and outreach.
Budget
Equipment university use rates and operator labor fees are provided for on campus researchers and commercial clients.
Citations
Citing MCFF in Publications
Please acknowledge the Materials Characterization Fabrication Facility (MCFF) in all resulting publications, including articles, posters, and news releases.
Publications citing MCFF use are essential to help us prepare proposals for replacement instruments and other equipment. Please supply the director with reprints of any publication that contains data recorded from MCFF.
Suggested wording:
Parts of this study were completed using Michigan Technological University's Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory.
For the electron microscopy on the FEI Titan Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope:
The electron microscopy research was performed at the Materials Characterization Fabrication Facility (MCFF) at Michigan Technological University. Electron Microscopy facility is supported by NSF MRI 1429232
Staff as Co-authors
When MCFF staff have simply shown users how to use the system, co-authorship is not expected. If any staff helps you design a series of experiments, prepare specimens, and/or perform a significant amount of the experimentation with analysis, it is common courtesy to add their name(s) as co-authors on publications.