Policies

Facility Access

If you would like to use an instrument in the facility, please fill out the facility service request form. Following filling out the form, you will likely be asked to meet with Facility Director Emery Ng regarding imaging needs and timeline.

The facility can be accessed three different ways:

Assisted Use

• For those who won’t be using the facility frequently, assisted use of an instrument with Emery Ng can be arranged with the above form.
• Instrument use and facility assistance rates are charged.
  

Training

• Training by a Facility faculty member is required for independent use of the instruments.
• Initial training sessions will take 2 hours, with 1-2 users from one lab per session.
• Instrument use and facility assistance rates are charged for trainings.
• Requests for training can be made by completing the above form; Please contact Emery with any questions regarding the above form.
• Only trained users will get access to make instrument reservations and 24/7 card access to relevant doors in Steger Hall for Nikon instruments.
• For those who need access to the Zeiss LSM 880 in Fralin Hall, you will either be trained by Emery or Sandy and will need to request to access Fralin Hall 24/7.
• For more information on rates, please see the rate information here.
  

Consultations

• To determine whether imaging and the chosen technique will suit your research needs, we offer free short imaging sessions.
• Contact Emery Ng to describe what you want, and to make a time to trial instrument(s) to see what will suit your needs!

Reservation Policies

• Reservations made cannot exceed 4 consecutive hours, unless approved by Facility Director Emery Ng 
• Once per calendar month per user, a pricing adjustment can be made by contacting Emery Ng
• Only trained users will have access to make reservations on the instruments. Steger Hall microscopes are available 24/7.
• Reservations can not be made more than 3 weeks in advance.
  

Fralin Hall Zeiss LSM 880 & FOM

• LSM880 reservations are made through FOM here. To request 24/7 access, contact Sandy Hancock (hancocksk@vt.edu) and Emery Ng (ngemery@vt.edu).
  • New users: click the "I am a new user" button and create an account. Use an up-to-date email address and phone number.
  • Once you log into FOM, you will see a list of available equipment on the right. Click the one you wish you access, then click "OK" in the pop-up box. You will then see the equipment in the left column under "Authorized Equipment."
  • To reserve time, click on the instrument of the left column "Equipment," double click the time you want to reserve, then click "Reserve" in the pop-up box.
• Additional LSM 880 reservation policies:
  
  • You can not modify your reservations within the 24 hours prior to the reservation. You will have to cancel and re-book the time.
  • To cancel: double-click your reservation then select the "Cancel this session" button.
  • To modify more than 24 hours prior: double-click your reservation then select the "Modify" button.

Acknowledging the facility:

FAIM's RRID is SRC_027348 and suggested acknowledgments can be found here.