Further information
IMS 1280 Advisory Committee
- Dr Marco Fiorentini – The University of Western Australia
- Prof Christopher Hawkesworth – University of St Andrews
- Prof Brent McInnes – Curtin University
- Dr Bruce Schafer – AuScope
- Dr Martin Van Kranendonk – Geological Survey of Western Australia
- Dr Rongkun Zheng – University of Sydney
Access to the IMS 1280 ion probe is provided in line with the IMS 1280 management, access and charging policy which incorporates the AMMRF Access Policy.
1. Introduction
The CAMECA IMS 1280 is a state-of-the-art, large-geometry ion microprobe, located at the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) at The University of Western Australia (UWA).
The instrument’s purchase and operating costs are funded by co-investment from the Government of Western Australia, The University of Western Australia and the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) of the Commonwealth Government. The DIISR component was funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), under the ‘Characterisation’ and ‘Structure and Evolution of the Australian Continent’ capabilities, represented by the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility (AMMRF) and AuScope, respectively. The instrument is a flagship facility of the AMMRF.
The CAMECA IMS 1280 and the CAMECA NanoSIMS 50 located within the CMCA and the two SHRIMP II ion probes located within the John de Laeter Centre for Mass Spectrometry (JdLCMS), are the subject of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UWA and Curtin University of Technology (CUT). The MoU provides for coordination of the management and access arrangements for the ion probe facilities in Western Australia. This management, access and charging policy document is in accordance with DIISR principles, and necessarily conforms to the access and charging policy of the AMMRF.
Full details of the AMMRF access policy and charge rates can be obtained from the AMMRF website. A summary of the key elements is given below.
2. Access principles and arrangements
Access to AMMRF capabilities will be guided by the following general principles:
- All users will be treated the same regardless of their host organisation.
- Where access costs are charged for publicly funded researchers for projects of scientific merit, these will be marginal costs only.
- Prioritisation of access by users will follow standard consideration regarding merit of research, urgency or deadline issues, etc.
- Intellectual property (IP) will belong to the users except where other arrangements have been made.
All researchers accessing the facility will proceed through a common “user experience”. This experience includes the formative stage of defining the initial idea, identification of training needs, data collection and scientific interpretation and, finally, the presentation and publication of research outcomes. An important part of this pathway is the role of the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer, who is the key interface between the researcher and the facility.
The instrument will be available to all publicly funded Australian researchers on the basis of scientific merit according to, but not limited by, the following criteria.
- Technical feasibility of the research
- Scientific excellence
- Capability and track record of the research team
- Availability of resources
- Need to use the IMS 1280 to conduct the research
- Lack of availability of similar instrumentation at own institution
- Potential for collaboration
- Potential economic and/or social benefits arising from the expected outcomes of the project
3. Access charges
The access fee for instrument beam time is in accordance with the standard charge for an AMMRF Flagship instrument.
The standard instrument charge rate for publicly funded researchers is $40 per hour.
Access will also be available to international publicly funded researchers according to the same merit policy and access charges as Australian publicly funded researchers, at the discretion of the host institution (UWA).
Commercial researchers will be charged at $425 per hour. This rate is determined by the WA Ion Probe Management Committee, formed under the MoU between UWA and CUT.
Charges are incurred for beam-time during tuning and analyses. Beam-time will be allocated in 24-hour blocks, with the number of hours of usable beam time within that block depending on the availability of qualified instrument operators. The minimum beam-time available within each 24-hour block will be eight hours (i.e. 9am-5pm) and this represents the minimum charge period for each 24-hour block. Where users are sufficiently trained to operate the instrument without supervision, they may continue to work ‘after hours’ and will be charged accordingly.
In addition to these standard rates, GST and university infrastructure charges may apply. Table 1 below outlines the charging structure:
| User category | Base rate (per hour) | GSTa | UWAb infrastructure charge | Total rate (per hour) | Minimum charge (8 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UWA publicly funded | $40 | Y | N | $40 | $320 |
| Other Australian publicly funded | $40 | Y | Nc | $44 | $352 |
| International publicly funded | $109 | N | Y | $120 | $960 |
| Commercial | $425d | Y | Y | $538 | $4304 |
a GST is invoiced to external users.
b University Infrastructure charges are 15% to contracts with total value of less than $50k, and 35% to contracts of more than $50k.
c University infrastructure charges are applicable to external publicly funded researchers, however, these costs are not passed on to the user; they are absorbed by the CMCA.
d Commercial user rate includes $275 per hour for instrument time and $150 per hour operator time.
4. Management, Advisory and Operations committees
Management and access to the IMS 1280 is coordinated through three committees: the Management Committee, the Advisory Committee and the Operations Committee. The composition and function of the committees is as follows.
WA Ion Probe Management Committee
This committee exists under the MoU between UWA and CUT pertaining to the collective management of ion probe facilities at the two universities. It comprises the Directors of the CMCA and the JdLCMS, the CMCA Ion Probe Facility manager, the JdLCMS SHRIMP Facility manager, and an independent chair. This committee ensures that the AMMRF access and charging policies are implemented.
IMS 1280 Advisory Committee
This committee will review applications for publicly funded research access to the facility, providing recommendations to the IMS 1280 Operations Committee on the merit of the application and the priority that should be afforded to the research. The committee will comprise the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer and experts from the local, national and international research community. Additional expert opinion will be sought for projects outside the discipline area expertise of the permanent committee members.
IMS 1280 Operations Committee
The Operations Committee is responsible for day-to-day management of the facility including scheduling of approved projects, instrument maintenance and development time. It will determine the technical feasibility of research projects approved by the IMS 1280 Advisory Committee, seeking external advice as required.
Composition of the committees is detailed in the attachment.
- Composition of ion probe committees [PDF File, 24.5 KB] Updated: 23 Aug 2012
- Composition of ion probe committees [RTF File, 58.3 KB] Updated: 23 Aug 2012
5. Application process
There are two options to gain access to instrumentation within the AMMRF.
1 Direct contact with a specific node
2 AMMRF Travel and Access Program (TAP)
The AMMRF hosts a Travel and Access Program (TAP) in which researchers can obtain contributions to travel, accommodation and beam-time to carry out experiments at any node within the organisation. This program will be able to support a small number of seed-projects and feasibility studies each year, and is not designed to be a major source of funding for users of the facility. The majority of projects accessing the facility will arise from researchers with independent funding via direct contact with the node.
In both cases, selection for access will depend on a combination of ‘scientific merit, track record of the applicant, feasibility of the program of work, and scientific innovation of the proposal’, in accordance with the AMMRF access principles. A written case for assessment will be made online through the relevant node website (CMCA) or, in the case of TAP applications, via the AMMRF website.
All potential users of the facility are encouraged to contact the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer prior to submission of a formal project proposal to discuss their research plan.
Direct contact
- All new users will register their interest directly with IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer at the CMCA
- Applications will be made via an online form and will include two-page description of the project
- A standard set of information will be entered on the application form. This is designed to aid in the assessment, and deliver information for relevant key performance indicators.
- Assessment of the proposal will be undertaken by the IMS 1280 Advisory Committee.
- The technical feasibility will be assessed by the IMS 1280 Operations Committee.
- Once approved, scheduling of the project will be by the IMS 1280 Operations Committee in consultation with the user.
- Commercial and contract access will be at the discretion of the CMCA Director. Contact should initially be made through the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer describing the nature and extent of the analysis required.
Application process workflow
- IMS 1280 Application workflow [PDF File, 27.6 KB] Updated: 23 Aug 2012
- IMS 1280 Application workflow [RTF File, 459.0 KB] Updated: 23 Aug 2012
6. Acknowledgment
All written and verbal publications that include data obtained from the IMS 1280 must acknowledge The University of Western Australia, the State Government of Western Australia, the AMMRF and AuScope. Suggested wording will be made available on the IMS 1280 facility website.
7. Involvement of Ion Probe Facility staff in projects
As outlined in the AMMRF Access Policy, researchers accessing the IMS 1280 will fall into one of three categories defined below.
Category 1 User
Beginner or inexperienced user who requires full support to complete any experiment. For Category 1 Users, Ion Probe Facility staff must perform all aspects of the analyses.
Category 2 User
Intermediate user who is able to competently and safely perform limited operating functions of the instrument but who needs or prefers Ion Probe Facility staff to carry out instrument setup, data reduction, etc.Category 3 User
Experienced user who is able to operate the instrument with minimal supervision.
All users are encouraged to fully engage with Ion Probe Facility staff in all aspects of the analytical process – including experimental design, sample preparation, data acquisition and processing, data interpretation and manuscript preparation.
Users from the first two categories will be assigned an appropriate Ion Probe Facility staff member who will collaborate with the researcher on the set up and execution of the experiment, including operation of the IMS 1280 and data analysis. Due to the complexity of the IMS 1280 and the level of expertise provided by the Ion Probe Facility staff member, any publications arising from Category 1 and 2 users should include the Ion Probe Facility staff member collaborator as a co-author as per the UWA Code of conduct for the responsible practice of research.
This condition will be clearly stated on the Ion Probe Facility website and in the acceptance letter sent to successful applicants for beam time. Co-authorship of Ion Probe Facility staff with Category 3 users is subject to the aforementioned policy and co-authorship will be negotiated with the user on a case-by-case basis.
8. Operator training
User training in the operation of the IMS 1280 will be provided at the discretion of the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer and only to those users who have a demonstrated ongoing need to access the facility. One-off or short project users will be classified as Category 1 Users. Classification as a Category 2 or Category 3 User will be determined by the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer, following appropriate training and a demonstration of competency with the instrument. This classification may be revoked at the discretion of the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer, if, for example, the user does not operate the instrument for a significant period of time or fails to operate the instrument according to the protocols established by the IMS 1280 Flagship Engineer.