The Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences’ five-story, LEED-certified building, built in 2012, houses over $5 million worth of analytical equipment. The 4,695 square-meter facility meets all federal, state, and local government laws and regulations regarding airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal practices, and the handling and storage of toxic/hazardous materials. CINS’s advanced instruments focus on structural, microscopic, spectroscopic, and chemical composition analysis of nanotechnology-related materials. The Center runs several instrumentation laboratories, including two spectroscopy laboratories, an x-ray diffraction laboratory, an atomic force microscopy laboratory, and an electron microscopy facility, as well as research laboratories (wet, synthesis, and chemistry and biology characterization).
Basic Use Information
CINS facilities, tools, and instrumentation, as well as the expertise of our researchers, are shared assets to benefit the community. We welcome outside collaborators, including researchers from companies, other universities, and national research institutes, to take advantage of many of CINS’s resources. The rules, fees, and forms for instrument use can be found on the Instrumentation Policies page. Approved users can reserve an instrument session on the reservation page.
Note: Our available, in-service instruments occasionally change, and not all instruments are available for public use. The lists of instruments are not comprehensive or guaranteed, and you should contact Dr. Fumiya Watanabe (fxwatanabe@ualr.edu) to discuss using a specific instrument.
Academic Users
Students, faculty, and staff from both UA Little Rock and external universities are encouraged to utilize CINS instruments. Depending on the user and the project, certain forms and fees may be required. To discuss your project’s needs, please contact the Director of Instrumentation, Dr. Fumiya Watanabe, at fxwatanabe@ualr.edu.
Industry Customers
Many industry customers use our fee-based instrumentation services to characterize and troubleshoot their products. Our materials experts are happy to assist with sample analysis and provide consultations; minimal fees are typically required for all industrial services. To discuss how we can benefit your company, please contact the Director of Instrumentation, Dr. Fumiya Watanabe, at fxwatanabe@ualr.edu.
Reserve an Instrument
After you have been trained and certified by the CINS Director of Instrumentation, you may reserve a time to use an instrument here.