Policies

The Chemistry Department provides open access to the Magnetic Resonance Facility to all UW-Madison campus researchers. Other academic and other users are given access with the approval of the facility director. Any researcher in the Chemistry Department can use the facility with instrument access essentially bounded only by the time available. Non-departmental researchers are restricted only in that their use should not significantly interfere with Chemistry Department research. Since most users take their own data (see Service Work for more details), proper training must be completed prior to attempting to use of any of the spectrometers.

Training must always be overseen by NMR staff. Access provided via group training — e.g., of undergraduate researchers — is not permitted.

Unauthorized use of the equipment may result in access limitations, or more drastic measures in the event of equipment damage.

 Graduate Students

Chemistry 636 is required training for most graduate students to gain access to the NMR spectrometers.  By passing the one semester Chemistry 636 (Fall or Spring semester), full access to the 400, and 500 MHz spectrometers is provided.

Reduced training provides access to the automated equipment  equipment but with limited staff support, and is available for all users. NMR staff will not assist with work that goes beyond the most straightforward of experimentation:  basic 1D 1H and 13C spectra, and simple menu-driven 2D experiments.

Graduate students needing more complex experiments — e.g., variable temperature; other nuclei; high-resolution 2D; diffusion/DOSY; quantitative NMR; ligand binding; dynamics and chemical exchange — must take formal training via Chem 636. Ask NMR staff if time issues involving the class are a problem.

Access to the 360, 500 Persephone and 600 MHz spectrometers is obtained by passing the Chem 636, plus additional staff-directed training. Contact NMR staff  to gain such access.

Postdoctoral and Visiting Faculty

Postdoctoral students and visiting faculty requiring relatively quick access receive a crash course in terms of training. Contact NMR staff to schedule the training. Advanced graduate students or other postdocs in their research groups are expected to provide oversight for and answer questions from new postdocs and visiting faculty.

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduates involved in research projects and/or supporting graduate research within the Chemistry Department may obtain access to the NMR equipment. This access is restricted by the following policies:

Undergraduates completing Chem. 636 (2 credits) obtain the same access privileges as similarly trained graduate students.

Training setup specifically for undergraduates is available year-round for use of the Mercury-300 and Avance-400 (Artemis). Contact NMR staff for more information, and to schedule training.

Specific training occurs in May and early June to accommodate undergrads partaking in summer research in Chemistry Department. Contact NMR staff to schedule training.

Access to spectrometers other than the Mercury-300 or Avance-400 (Artemis) requires approval of the NMR staff.

On-Campus, Non-Chemistry Academic Users

Access is identical for every user of the facility, and no special restrictions apply for researchers from outside the department except as noted earlier: their use should not significantly interfere with Chemistry Department research.

Off-Campus Academic Users

Other academicians can use the facility upon approval of the facility director. With the total automation provided by the Bruker and Mercury-300 spectrometers, training is fairly straightforward. It is a simple task for any researcher that can visit Chemistry to collect high quality NMR data. Contact the facility director for more information.