The Analytical Services Laboratory has changed its name to IMSERC to reflect a change in scope, staffing, fees and location that will occur over the next three years. These changes include adding capabilities needed in a top tier research setting and integrating the graduate level research characterization facilities with the upper division undergraduate research labs to improve the overall research capabilities and the educational experience at Northwestern University.

IMSERC Vision Statement Excerpt:
The Northwestern University Integrated Molecular Structure Education and Research Center (IMSERC) has been established to educate Northwestern students to be scientific leaders of 21st century, and support world-class research. The synthesis of small molecules fuels research of numerous core disciplines and interdisciplinary activities, including chemistry, molecular/cellular biology, drug discovery, chemical biology, translational medical research, materials, catalysis, nanotechnology and energy storage/conversion. All research at Northwestern that study and use molecules relies on the IMSERC.

The goals of the IMSERC are to:

1. Ensure that graduate and undergraduate students are the best trained candidates for positions in industry and academia.
2. Ensure that all NU research groups have direct access to state-of-the-art molecular characterization equipment to support current research. Where possible, access will be available 24x7 for user walk-up analysis.
3. Ensure that NU has the required infrastructure to pursue larger roadmap initiatives.
4. Ensure that the staff in the key areas of NMR, Mass Spectrometry and X-ray crystallography are recognized experts in order meet the other goals.

Staffing:
The IMSERC has budgeted staffing for the Director, 3 senior scientists (NMR, mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography), 3 specialist, engineer and 50% time for a program assistant (starting in 2010). A search has begun for the three senior scientists and will continue until all positions are filled.

Facilities:
The IMSERC is currently located on the ground floor of the Technological Institute on the south side of the building, but will be moving to a new showcase facility in 2011. The designers have been selected and planning will begin in spring 2008, with construction starting in summer/fall 2009. The new center will house NMR, mass spectrometry, single crystal X-ray crystallography, trace metals analysis and separations laboratories as well as a 25 seat computer laboratory that will be used as part of an advanced instrumentation class and used to allow offline data processing.

In order to meet the requirements of the IMSERC, the new facility will need to contain the following instrumentation, education and office centers:

1. NMR: 8 spectrometers with field strengths up to 900 MHz
   • 3 will have cryoprobe facilitization
2. Mass Spectrometry: 6 spectrometers
   • Sample preparation area and solvent storage
   • Reconfigurable to conversion of bench space to open space for large instruments
3. XRAY: 3 spectrometers including dual detector rotating anode
   • Crystal prep and cryogenic storage center
   • Automated sample processing
4. Trace Analysis Instruments (CHN + sub ppm metals measurements)
   • 3 instruments
   • Clean sample prep space and supplies
5. Separations
   • 9 LC Systems (one mass detector)
   • 3 GC Systems (one mass detector)
   • 3 Calorimeter
6. Optical
   • 8 spectrometers and prep space
7. Support Areas
   • Offices for 4 staff, 3 senior scientist, director, admin
   • Meeting space for 1:1 discussions
   • Computations / server
   • Repair space
8. Education (undergraduate and graduate support)
   • 25 person “smart classroom” with net access for all students
   • Synthetic lab with 12 hoods + bench space
   • Office space for 6 instructors + meeting space

Funding / Fee Structures:
A long term budget for the lab has been implemented that allows fees to be based on a nationwide survey of private institutions so that groups have access to all needed chemical analyses and cost is not the overriding concern when deciding what analyses need to be performed. Long term user fees are expected to cover ~20% of the long term operating budget and the center budget has been created to ensure that fees will not escalate with staff salaries. The main use of fees will be to cover consumables and repairs of instrumentation.