Applying to Visit

The following includes application instructions and forms for each category of IRM Visitors. If you have any questions about which category best fits your needs, or otherwise require assistance with your application, please feel free to contact us to discuss your research.

The Visitor Application Form is now online (links below) and supplementary Project Descriptions should still be e-mailed to [email protected].

Visiting Researchers

For visits of up to 10 days and with access to all IRM instrumentation. Potential visitors should submit a short application including:

  • Application and Equipment Request Form -- outlines vital statistics and a concise summary of the proposed project.
  • Project Description -- up to 3 pages (including text, additional figures and tables as necessary) outlining research goals and plans.
     

U.S. Student Visiting Researchers

The U.S. Student Visit application should be jointly prepared by the student and their advisor, and will consist of:

  • Application and Equipment Request Form -- Outlines vital statistics of the proposed project.
  • Project Description -- Written by the student. This should be a short (1 page) description of the problem you would like to address with magnetic measurements and (if known) a proposed experimental plan. An additional pge of supporting figures and tables may also be included.
  • Letter of Support -- Written by the student's advisor. This letter should endores the student's proposed research and describe any financial support that will be provided by the student's home institution. (Financial support encouraged but not required.)
     

U-Channel Visiting Researchers

Potential visitors who are interested primarily in using the u-channel magnetometer system should submit a short (no longer than 3 pages) application including:

  • Application and Equipment Request Form -- Outlines vital statistics and a concise summary of the proposed project.
  • Project Description -- up to 3 pages, including text, additional figures and tables as necessary.
    • A brief outline of research goals.
    • Type and number of samples to be measured (u-channel cores or discrete samples).
    • Type of measurements to be made
    • Estimated number of days required.
  • Application for fee waiver (optional) -- lists your sources of support and reasons for requesting a fee waiver.
     

Magnetic Microscopy Visiting Researchers

Observations of micromagnetic structures in individual grains or measuring magnetic moments at high spatial resolutions are useful for understanding the origin of natural magnetic memory and its stability over geologic timescales. With the installation of an Asylum Magnetic Force Microscope (MFM) and Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM) we can  offer magnetic mircroscopy visits. MFM offers spatial resolutions of a few tens of nanometers for (sub)domain imaging over a field of view of ~100 microns. The QDM is a magnetic mapping method and its resolution is not spatial, but in its sensitvity to the fields induced during the measurements. It offers a field of view of 2 mm per image, with limited resolution optical imaging, but with the sensitivity to capture magnetic field data from magnetic particles to the single domain level. Please contact Maxwell Brown at [email protected] prior to designing and submitting a research project, so we can advise of the feasibility of the research project.

These visits offer specific access to, and expertise on, using one or other of these instruments. Owing to the time consuming nature of the measurements, the focus of the visit is solely magnetic microscopy on a limited number of samples. Access to other instrumentation at the IRM is limited during these visits. Visits are up to 10 days.

Potential visitors should submit a short application including:

  • Application and Equipment Request Form -- covers basic applicant and project information.
  • Project Description - up to 3 pages (including text, additional figures and tables as necessary) outlining research goals and plans.

Applicants should contact us before applying to discuss project details, feasibility and sample preparation.

 

Remote Access Measurement Researchers

To give the magnetic community greater access to IRM instrumentation, this program allows researchers to submit proposals designed around IRM staff conducting measurements on their behalf. The aim of this program is to provide support to researchers with limited resources, limited (or no funding) or an inability to travel. Preference will be given to graduate students coming towards the conclusion of their studies and early career post-docs.

As part of the application to the Remote Access Measurement program, applicants should provide a rationale for how the program would benefit their research and help promote their careers.

Applicants should submit:

  • Application and Equipment Request Form -- covers basic applicant and project information.
  • Project Description - up to 3 pages (including text, additional figures and tables as necessary) outlining research goals and plans.
  • A rationale for how the fellowship would benefit their research and help promote their careers (1 page maximum).

 

Guest Researchers 

If you require access to only two or three instruments, for periods up to 3 days, please contact us about scheduling an informal visit. These visits are accommodated throughout the year as scheduling permits. Please contact Facility Manager Maxwell Brown ([email protected]) for more information and to arrange a visit. It is best to send a short (1 paragraph) description of your research interests, equipment needs, and preferred dates.

Application Deadlines

Applications for Visiting Researchers, U.S. Student Visits and u-channel Visits are accepted April 30 and October 30. These deadlines are for visits to be scheduled the following July-December and January-June, respectively.

We recognize that some lake- and ocean-core projects are time sensitive because of the potential for rapid, post-coring, sediment diagenesis. Therefore, time-sensitive applications will be entertained year round and allowed as scheduling permits.

Guest Researchers may contact us at any time to discuss a mutually agreeable visit date.

Suggested Acknowledgement

In order to help us track publications that result from research performed at the IRM we kindly ask that the nature of the visit to the IRM is acknowledged in any resulting publication. You may include a statement similar to or edit this suggested acknowledgement statement as appropriate:

"Part of this work was performed [insert if and as appropriate: as a Visiting Researcher/US Student Visiting Researcher / U-Channel Visiting Researcher / Magnetic Microscopy Visiting Researcher / Remote Access Measurement Researcher] at the Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) at the University of Minnesota. The IRM is a US National Multi-user Facility supported through the Instrumentation and Facilities program of the National Science Foundation, Earth Sciences Division, award NSF-EAR 2153786, and by funding from the University of Minnesota."