Dear User,
Thank you for your past support of the MCF. Research efforts at Georgia Tech are scheduled to resume in phases beginning on June 18th, and our core facilities are ready to return to operation after significant adaptations to the new norms for hygiene and social distancing.
To comply with the Georgia Tech COVID-19 task force recommendations, we have made changes to our previous operating procedures. They are briefly outlined below and detailed in the attached document.
Social distancing: Lab occupancy, ingress/egress, and tool utilization will be managed by staff, software (SUMS), and physical layout to achieve social distancing by reducing user density.
o Until further notice, all tool usage should be by individuals – no pairs or larger groups.
o In lab facilities, rooms are single-occupancy unless otherwise noted.
o Unfortunately, there will be no in person training for new users until further notice. The staff is working to create video and remote options for training.
Limited access: Until further notice – but for Phase 1 of the ramp-up at a minimum – the labs will not be open 24/7.
o MCF open times are M-F 8:00 am – 10:00 pm and Sat/Sun 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. See attachment for detailed schedules.
o SUMS will automatically limit access – scheduled and operational – to some tools in order to maintain proper user density.
PPE wear: There are new MCF requirements for PPE in the IEN and IMat facilities.
o Gloves and a surgical – not cloth – mask are required in lab spaces.
o There will be increased access to cleaning and hand hygiene supplies.
We are all making our way through this uncharted territory – together.
The staff of the MCF are taking on new cleaning and monitoring duties while also working extended hours and on weekends. At the same time, we understand that returning researchers have lost 3 months of productivity and are under great pressure to make up for lost time.
We have worked hard to create – and have long enjoyed – a positive working relationship between and among the staff and the researchers in our facility. More than ever we will be depending on this culture of mutual understanding and respect to make this re-opening go smoothly.
If you have any questions, concerns, or problems then please reach out to a staff member or the facility manager.
Sincerely,
The IEN and IMat Leadership
All Georgia Tech shared-user facilities will be ramping down research activities in response to the ongoing COVID-19 threat.
To comply with the directive from our administration, the MCF will close at 5:00PM this Thursday. All characterization work needs to be complete by 3:00 pm on Thursday without exception.
Equally importantly, please make sure to recover any data that you need to work remotely before that time.
There is no announced date about when the MCF will reopen, so please check Georgia Tech news regularly.
Further details and updates about the impact on research can be found here, and we will be sending SUMS/email announcements as updates occur.
Updates on the Georgia Tech community and the Covid-19 virus can be found here along with a FAQ.
Join us for a demonstration of the New Empyrean 3rd generation X-ray diffractometer. Like no other system available, the Empyrean is designed for now, and for years to come. A fully automated series of 6 samples will be demonstrated using several different measurements types, including reflection geometry, SAXS, 2D transmission, texture, residual stress, thin film reflectivity, and grazing incidence XRD. The Optics enable the analyst a large variety of measurements without manual intervention. The predefined batch function with data collector has the programming power to switch between measurement types seamlessly. The world of materials science is constantly changing and the life of a high performance diffractometer like the Empyrean 3rd generation will deliver results that save time and effort,as well as, ensure accuracy of the experimental set up.
– Anyone interested in XRD and the innovation of the floor standing X-ray diffraction platform
If you wish to watch this demonstration at your own desk or elsewhere, you can register for it here.
Congratulations to two of our staff members, Yolande Berta and Yong Ding on winning 2nd place for their submission of an “Owl” to the Ceramograph conference!
More information about the conference can be found here!
Every month the MCF hosts an image contest showing off the capabilities of our tools!
You can submit an image to be considered here!
https://gatech.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1795600
You can also see our previous winners here!
https://mcf.gatech.edu/monthly-image-contest-results/
Congratulations to Yung Suk “Jeremy” Yoo for his image “Jellyfish” captured on the FEI Tecnai F30 and to Alexander Terwindt for his image of a Fly Eye captured on the Hitachi 8010!
The MCF Image Contest is still going strong! Please consider sending your images/spectra so we can highlight what you are doing to the Georgia Tech Community and beyond!
More information as to how to submit your images and our guidelines can be found here: https://mcf.gatech.edu/news/image-contest-guidelines/
To see past images that have been submitted, they can be found here: https://mcf.gatech.edu/monthly-image-contest-results/
Thank you!
-MCF Staff-
The Aeris is a benchtop XRD capable of quick high resolution scans on powder samples or small solid samples. Conveniently it operates without the need of chiller water to operate and doesn’t have any exotic power requirements. Malvern PANalytical graciously allowed the Aeris to be housed in the Marcus Building and let students use it free of charge and several groups took advantage of it.
A complimentary symposium created by the collaborative efforts of NCSU & Malvern PANalytical
Organized by: Professor Jacob L. Jones (NCSU) & Dr. Scott A. Speakman (Malvern PANalytical)
Agenda:
November 8, 2017 1:00pm – 5:00pm – Symposium
November 8, 2017 5:30pm – 7:00pm – Poster Session
November 9, 2017 9:00am – 4:00pm – Symposium
Non-ambient X-ray diffraction is a useful tool for determining phase stability, studying phase transformations, and following reaction pathways and kinetics. Practical examples include in-situ battery analysis for developing new cathode materials, understanding pharmaceutical stability with temperature and humidity, quantifying growth kinetics of nanocrystalline systems, and many more. New non-ambient chambers, faster instruments, and automatic data processing make non-ambient diffraction an ever-increasingly powerful technique. However, there are issues that can trip up the unwary, such as thermal gradients, unwanted reactions, systematic errors, etc. This symposium will feature lectures by leading researchers developing and using non-ambient diffraction on laboratory instruments, synchrotrons, and neutron beamlines. Lectures will focus on the research potential of non-ambient diffraction and practical advice for collecting accurate and useful data.
Attendees are encouraged to present a poster on their work related to this symposium. Speakers will judge the posters and prizes will be awarded to the top 3.
This is a free workshop and you can sign up for it here.
For those that cannot attend, David Tavakoli will be attending and will distribute notes to anyone interested.
The IEN MCF is proud to announce the delivery and installation of an Oxford Instruments Omniprobe 200 nanomanipulator for the FEI Nova Nanolab 200 FIB/SEM. This closed loop nanomanipulator has significant automation and will speed TEM lamella preparation and automate most of that process. The system is very user-friendly and will also enable nanoscale testing of various kinds, with the option to get additional packages for different kinds of testing, particularly electrical characterization. More information will be provided once the installation date is finalized, but tentative installation is set for the third week of September. A link to the information on that system is below:
http://www.oxford-instruments.com/products/nanomanipulation/nanomanipulator/omniprobe-200
