Facility Operation and Management

The Facility Operation and Management Focused Interest Group (FOM-FIG) is a community of MSA members with a common interest in the direction and management of microscopy and analytical facilities. Our goal is to provide a setting for the distribution and discussion of FOM-relevant information chosen by the membership. The venues include a luncheon/business meeting during the annual M&M meeting, a FOM website, membership-wide emails and FOM-FIG sponsored symposia at the annual M&M meeting.

Welcome to new office holders:

Chris Brantner — Leader
Amelia Dempere — Leader-Elect
John Shields — Secretary/Treasurer

Mark Your Calendars
Microscopy & Microanalysis 2017, August 6-10, 2017 — St. Louis, Missouri

Annual dues are $10 and can be paid at membership renewal or when you join the society. At other times, membership can be made through the MSA Business Office at Association Management.

Operating procedures

• FEI CM200 Standard Operating Procedures
• JEOL 4000EX Standard Operating Procedures
• Zeiss EM10 Standard Operating Procedures

On-line training modules

• JEOL 6400 SEM
• Hitachi S4700 FESEM
• Hitachi FB2000A FIB
• X-Ray Microanalysis
• Leica Ultracut UCT
• Specimen preparation
• Veeco Dimension 300 AFM
• Fluorescence Optic Microscopes, Axiovert 200M with ApoTome and Olympus BX51

Techniques

• Very low dose tomography

FOM-FIG Leadership Past, Present and Future

Microscopy & Microanalysis 1997
Cleveland, Ohio
August 10 - 14, 1997

Shared Resources Symposium: Access to Critical Instrumentation
Platform Session Organizers: Lee Peachey & James N. Turner
Poster Session Organizersa: JoAn Hudson, Greg Erdos, Ken Downing & Larry Allard

Microscopy & Microanalysis 1998
Atlanta, Georgia
July 12 - 16, 1998

Special Poster Sessions
02. Shared Resources and User Facilities: Access to Instrumentation

Microscopy & Microanalysis 1999
Portland, Oregon
August 1 - 5, 1999

Shared Resources and User Facilities: Access to Instrumentation

Microscopy & Microanalysis 2000
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
August 13 - 17, 2000

First Casual Meeting RE Core Facility Operation & Maintenance:
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) full-service contracts vs. independent providers vs. insurance/self insurance approaches to maintenance of electronic and electromechanical equipment.

Microscopy & Microanalysis 2001
Long Beach CA
August 5 - 9, 2001

Joint Physical and Biological Sciences Tutorials
85. Running a Multi-purpose Microscopy Laboratory
Speaker: Clive Nockolds
Multipurpose microscopy laboratories can be found in a variety of places, such as industry, hospitals, government research organizations and universities. Although the requirements of these different institutions can be quite varied, there are clearly many common elements in the set up and maintenance of an effective microscopy laboratory. These common issues will be addressed in this tutorial. In many cases, there is pressure to bring a range of diverse instruments into one laboratory and the advantages and disadvantages of centralized facilities will be discussed. In setting up and maintaining a laboratory, the main questions are concerned with establishing the right mix of equipment for the client base and in having sufficient staff to ensure the most effective use of that equipment. Once the laboratory is up and running, there is an ongoing question of keeping the equipment in good running order, as well as keeping the equipment up to date. Other operational matters to be considered are: whether the clients should be trained to do their own work and whether they should be educated to a level where they can understand the results; how the images and data generated in the facility should be managed; and how the laboratory should be funded.

Additional Scientific Events
Core Facility Management: Maintaining Major Equipment in the Core Microscopy Facility
Organizer: Debbie Sherman

1. Training Users: Courses? Workshops? What works for whom?
   Facilitator: John J. Bozzola, Southern Illinois University
2. Calibration of Electron Microscopes: How to do this, how often, pit-falls and problems.
   Facilitator(s):
   SEM: Michael Postek, National Institute of Standards and Technology
   TEM: John P. McCaffrey, National Research Council of Canada
3. Scientific Ethics: What are our responsibilities as facility managers?
   Facilitator: Michael Kalichman, University of California, San Diego

Microscopy and Microanalysis 2002
Quebec City, Canada
August 4 - 8, 2002

Core Facility Management
Organizer: Debbie Sherman
Maintaining Major Equipment in the Core Microscopy Facility: OEM Service
Invited Speakers/Panelists: Pat McGinley (JEOL), Mike Kearney (FEI), Greg Rigby (Hitachi)

Note: An excerpt of this session was published in Microscopy Today.

M&M 2002: Core Facility Management Session: Maintaining Major Equipment in the Core Microscopy Facility, Sherman, D., Microsc. Today, Vol 11, Num 4, 2003, pp 40-45.

Copyright © 2003 Microscopy Society of America. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press.

Microscopy and Microanalysis 2003
San Antonio, Texas
August 3 - 7, 2003

Ask the Experts
Session Chair: D. Sherman, Purdue University
Platform Session
777 Core Facility Management Round Table
How to Promote a Facility in Order to Increase Use, Acquire New Equipment and, As a Result, Increase Revenue Facilitator: Elaine Humphrey

Note: A transcript of this session was published in the March/April 2004 issue of Microscopy Today.

How to Promote a Facility in Order to Increase Use, Acquire New Equipment and, as a Result, Increase Revenue, Humphrey, E., Microsc. Today, Vol. 12, Num. 2, 2004, pp. 32-36.

Copyright © 2004 Microscopy Society of America. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press.

Microscopy and Microanalysis 2004
Savannah, Georgia
August 1 - 5, 2004

Advances in Instrumentation and Techniques
C97 Core Facility Management
Funding Opportunities for Acquiring Major Equipment from Federal Granting Agencies
Part I: NIH — Marjorie Tingle
Part II: NSF — Angela Klaus
Part III: IMR — Charles Bouldin
Part IV: Q&A

Note: Transcripts from this session were published in Microscopy Today as follows: Part I — January 2005; Part II — March 2005; Parts III and IV — July 2005.

Funding Opportunities for Acquiring Major Equipment from Federal Granting Agencies M&M 2004 Core Facility Management — Part I: NIH, Sherman, D., Microsc. Today, Vol 13, Num 1, 2005, pp. 42-44.

Funding Opportunities for Acquiring Major Equipment from Federal Granting Agencies M&M 2004 Core Facility Management — Part II: NSF, Sherman, D., Microsc. Today, Vol 13, Num 2, 2005, pp. 42-45.

Funding Opportunities for Acquiring Major Equipment from Federal Granting Agencies M&M 2004 Core Facility Management — Part III: IMR, Sherman, D., Microsc. Today, Vol 13, Num 4, 2005, pp. 50-52.

Funding Opportunities for Acquiring Major Equipment from Federal Granting Agencies M&M 2004 Core Facility Management — Part IV: Questions and Answers, Sherman, D. Moderator, Microsc. Today, Vol 13, Num 4, 2005, pp. 52-57.

Copyright © 2005 Microscopy Society of America. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press.

Microscopy and Microanalysis 2005
Honolulu, Hawaii
July 31 - August 4, 2005

Focused Interest Groups
44. Core Facility Management
Organizer: Debbie Sherman
This session focused on specific topics of current interest to managers of multi-user and service facilities in industrial and educational settings. It served as the main program for the Focused Interest Group on Facility Operations. Topics were obtained through requests to the MSA Listserver and FIG membership. Facilitators introduced each topic. The majority of the session was reserved for open discussion and exchange of information among attendees.

Presentations:

1. Design and Construction of an Underground TEM Lab at Brigham Young University. JK Farrer, RR Vanfleet, RC Davis, FC Anderson, TW Leishman; Brigham Young University
2. The Bessey Microscopy Facility: A Biotechnology and Life Sciences Center at Iowa State University. TM Pepper, RL Denadel, CJ Van Allen, HT Horner; Iowa State University
3. Selection and Customization of Open Source Solutions for Lab Management. L K Ballast; Cerium Laboratories; D Powers; Gadoz
4. Creating a Safe Working Environment in a Metallurgical Laboratory. RE Schaefer, MJ Danko, MA Hineman; Engineering Systems

Microscopy and Microanalysis 2006
Chicago, Illinois
July 30 - August 3, 2006

Pre-meeting FIG Workshop: New Approaches to Marketing, Managing and Money for Maintaining a Core Facility
July 29, 2006, 1-5 PM
MSA Facility Operations & Management Focused Interest Group
Organizer, Debbie Sherman, Purdue University
This workshop will be presented by the business professionals who will look at core facilities as small businesses. They will provide pointers on developing a business plan, marketing a facility, and formulating a strategy for maintaining major equipment over the long term.

New Approaches to Marketing, Managing, and Money for Maintaining a Core Facility (4M's)

1. How to make a business plan for short- and long-term facility maintenance and growth. Donald Blewett, Associate Director, Burton Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Purdue University
2. Marketing a facility to increase and maintain a user base (and maintain the support of the upper administration). Dr. George Adams, Research Development manager, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University
3. Developing a financial plan for the long-term "care and feeding" of major equipment. Charlene Sullivan, Professor, Krannert School of Management, Purdue University

Note: Transcripts from this session were published in Microscopy Today.

New Approaches to Managing, Marketing, and Money for Maintaining a Core Facility, Sherman, D.,Organizer, Part 1a: Strategic plan for an EM Facility, Humphrey, E., Part Ib: How to Make a Business Plan for Facility Maintenance and Growth, Microsc. Today, Vol 15, Num 1, 2007, pp. 38-43.

Copyright © 2007 Microscopy Society of America. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press.

Prepared with information provided by Ann Lehman, FOM-FIG Secretary 2004-2007

Microscopy & Microanalysis 2011
Nashville, TN August 7-11, 2011

Major Instrumentation Funding Opportunities and Strategies for Success.
August 10, from 1:30 to 3:30 PM

MSA Facility Operation and Management Focused Interest Group

Organizers: Owen Mills, Michigan Technological University and Chris Gilpin, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

This symposium, with presentations by representatives from major national granting agencies, will cover:

1. Major research instrumentation funding opportunities
2. Grant application guidelines: follow the rules!
3. Strategies for success: increasing funding prospects
4. Do's and don'ts in proposal preparation
5. Lessons from successful and unsuccessful proposals

The afternoon session included presentations by agency representatives and applicants' experiences, followed by a round-table discussion with all participants.