Shared Instrumentation was a project started back in 2013 with the goal of saving the environment. This idea stemmed from inefficient laboratory equipment usage. Being such a high quality research school, UCSB’s laboratories need a plethora of equipment to operate. Often times, however, different laboratories need the same equipment and will both purchase the instrument.
Shared Instrumentation offers a solution to reduce costs, time and save the environment. Using a centralized database of instruments, different laboratories can view what inventory of instruments another laboratory has. For example, say the Materials Research Lab (MRL) needs a confocal microscope. Using the Shared Instrumentation website, they can see that X-Ray Facility has a few of these microscopes. Researchers at the MRL can rent the microscopes from the X-Ray Facility at a lower price (or free!), get the instrument in less time and be more environmental friendly.
Shared Instrumentation also includes information about the instrument’s accessibility, contact information and a link to the facility’s website.
Come visit our site: www.sharedinstrumentation.ucsb.edu