How to Become a User

The AIF staff and leadership are delighted with your interest in utilizing our instrumentation and expertise. For those wanting to discuss research challenges, please feel free to contact a staff member directly or email aif-contact@ncsu.edu with any of your questions. You can also click here to fill out our form online.

1) Go to the Mendix website at https://labs.ncsu.edu/.
2) Log in using your NCSU unity ID.
3) Click “My Agreement” icon and send agreement request to your PI via Mendix.

Once it is approved:
4) If you only have a few samples to run and want assistance, you can contact the lab manager directly to make an appointment.
5) If you will have many samples over your research career and want to learn to operate an instrument yourself:
a. Please complete the AIF Safety Training in REPORTER (reporter.ncsu.edu). Search “AIF” in the Keywords section. You’ll need to access each page for the training and pass with at least a 90 on the quiz.
*Note that it can take up to two hours for the completion to take effect in Mendix. After that time, check to make sure your training has been marked as complete in Mendix.

**For XRD training:
– Make sure you have registered as a radiation worker and have taken and passed the EH&S Radiation course (links below):
– Worker Registration https://ehs.ncsu.edu/home-page-info/radiation/radiation-worker-information/
– Go to reporter.ncsu.edu and login using your Unity ID. The link for this training is below.
– EH&S Radiation Course Deep Link: https://reporter.ncsu.edu/link/courseview?courseID=EHPS-RS200&deptName=EHPS
– If the page says no instances are available, please email Scott Lassell at salassel@ncsu.edu to request a training session.
– Send Jenny Forrester (jsforres@ncsu.edu) your Certificate of Completion (PDF) after completing the EH&S course (they will email it to you).

**For Xradia CT training:
– Make sure you have registered as a radiation worker and have taken and passed the EH&S Radiation course (links below):
– Worker Registration https://ehs.ncsu.edu/home-page-info/radiation/radiation-worker-information/
– Go to reporter.ncsu.edu and login using your Unity ID. The link for this training is below.
– EH&S Radiation Course Deep Link: https://reporter.ncsu.edu/link/courseview?courseID=EHPS-RS200&deptName=EHPS
– If the page says no instances are available, please email Scott Lassell at salassel@ncsu.edu to request a training session.
– Send Ruksana Baby (rbaby@ncsu.edu) your Certificate of Completion (PDF) after completing the EH&S course (they will email it to you).

b. Request individual instrument training via Mendix. Click the training icon and choose the instrument you would like to be trained on. Please specify the times you are available and a notification will be sent to the lab manager.
c. Review the Training Plan(s) below to familiarize yourself with the technique description.
6) For questions regarding the Mendix system, please use the support website https://www.aif.ncsu.edu/mendix-help/ or contact Anna Lumpkin.

Please email Anna Lumpkin at arlumpkin@ncsu.edu for an agreement. Let her know if you would like to access the lab(s) independently or not.

* If you would like to be trained for any instrument, please complete the AIF Safety Training in REPORTER (reporter.ncsu.edu). Click “No Account? Sign up here” and then login using the “Guest Login” button. Search “AIF” in the Keywords section. You’ll need to access each page for the training and pass with at least a 90 on the quiz.

** For XRD training:
– Make sure you have taken and passed the EH&S Radiation course and have registered as a radiation worker (links below):
– Worker Registration https://ehs.ncsu.edu/home-page-info/radiation/radiation-worker-information/
– Course Deep Link: https://reporter.ncsu.edu/link/courseview?courseID=EHPS-RS200&deptName=EHPS
– If the page says no instances are available, please email Scott Lassell at salassel@ncsu.edu to request a training session.
– Send Jenny Forrester (jsforres@ncsu.edu) your Certificate of Completion (PDF) after completing the EH&S course (they will email it to you).

** For Xradia CT training:
– Make sure you have registered as a radiation worker and have taken and passed the EH&S Radiation course (links below):
– Worker Registration https://ehs.ncsu.edu/home-page-info/radiation/radiation-worker-information/
– Go to reporter.ncsu.edu. Click “No Account? Sign up here” and then login using the “Guest Login” button after you’ve created your account. The link for this training is below.
– EH&S Radiation Course Deep Link: https://reporter.ncsu.edu/link/courseview?courseID=EHPS-RS200&deptName=EHPS
– If the page says no instances are available, please email Scott Lassell at salassel@ncsu.edu to request a training session.
– Send Ruksana Baby (rbaby@ncsu.edu) your Certificate of Completion (PDF) after completing the EH&S course (they will email it to you).

Review the Training Plan(s) below to familiarize yourself with the technique description.

Contact aif-contact@ncsu.edu for any technical questions you may have. Not sure what you need? You can contact our Operations Manager, Roberto Garcia, at rgarcia@ncsu.edu or 919-515-8628.

After Hours Access to MRC and/or EBI (internal users):
The user, PI, and lab manager must complete the AIF After Hours Access Form. The completed form should be submitted to Anna Lumpkin at arlumpkin@ncsu.edu.

Door Access to MRC and/or EBI (external users):
Send Anna Lumpkin an email (arlumpkin@ncsu.edu) to request door access. Please make sure your LUA (Lab Use Agreement) has been approved. In your request, list “External User Door Access Request” in the subject line and the names and email addresses of each person who should receive a card in the body of the email. These individuals must be listed on the LUA.
Once I email you back with the form, you’ll need to take the form and $20 to the the Wolfpack One Card office, located in Talley Student Union, from 8 am to 6pm Monday – Friday. If you need to speak to someone in the Wolfpack One office, please call 919-515-3090.

AIF After Hours Access Form

AIF Instrumental Technique Description

If you are not familiar with the various analytical tools at AIF, please click the link for individual technique description written by the AIF staff. These technique descriptions are for new users and can provide a general guideline.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Nanoindentation
X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) Focused Ion Beam (FIB) Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)