Pilot Initiative Update - Summer 2025

Previewed in our last newsletter, CharFac has implemented its first round of instrument-time initiatives for qualifying faculty research programs. Awarded amounts are 10% of a faculty-member's paid usage as averaged over the latest three years (with a floor award of $1000), and target (i) exploratory research that is not yet funded, or (ii) projects whose funding has ended but could benefit from additional data collection. These instrument-time awards are intended for trained users or to spawn or buttress collaborative projects with CharFac staff scientists. A second initiative will be launched in the coming months, to serve non- or light-user faculty. In all cases the goal is to catalyze higher usage of CharFac so as to improve grant proposals and submitted manuscripts, and/or spur all-new research ideas. Engaging the staff further grows CharFac's "methods IP", whether related to new applications (materials types or constructs, or perhaps in the life sciences) or advanced analytical techniques/modalities. Other information is available here.