Uniform Policies and Procedures for Shared Instrumentation Facilities
Mission Statement:
Our goal is to support state of the art research and teaching endeavors in Biomedical Engineering.
(1) Users will undergo instrument-specific training, before given access to the facilities. (2) The BME facilities will be available on a 24/7 basis to certified users. (3) Facilities use will be charged by the hour (up to a cap) to the PIs' account(s). The charges are meant to allow us to maintain the current state of the facilities, and continue to provide the best services to support our research and education.
Procedures:
- Each user and head of laboratory (PI) must download, print and complete the "Core user agreement".
- Training will be conducted by the appropriate Sr. Engineer/Instructor and typically last 2 hours.
- Independent use allowed for graduate students and above once training is completed.
- Undergraduates can use the shared facilities only under the supervision of appropriately trained personnel and the permission of the Lab manager. Due to safety regulations, undergraduate students are not allowed to use some of the special equipment.
- Unsupervised or unapproved use is strictly forbidden and will result in revoking of rights to the facilities and a fine.
- Assisted usage will also be available at a cost of twice the nominal hourly fee.
- Users must complete process sheets forms and log-books at each station, following the specific instructions for each instrument. Failure to comply with these procedure will results in fine.
Pricing:
There are different categories of user fees for the facilities. Fees are based on level of specification of the instrument/suite of instruments.
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- BME Faculty, $25-$40/hour depending on equipment.
- Boston University at large, $35-$50/hour.
- External University and Non-Profits, $50-$75/hour.
- Industry, $200/hour.
- Users must bring items particular to their research project, such as specific chemicals. We provide some consumables, such as solvents, and gowning (if necessary).
