Collaborative-Based Experiments

In short, collaborative projects involve scientists from RARAF working closely with external investigators who have expertise in other disciplines that can potentially benefit from microbeam technology. Our collaborative projects have typically been the motivators for extensions to our current resources, and we welcome such collaborations. Such collaborations typically drive our technological R&D, and likewise the technology should significantly advance the scientific frontiers of the collaborative research. RARAF guidelines defining a collaborative project are:

1. Interactions that strongly synergize with the existing core research programs or generate new ones that significantly enhance the capabilities of RARAF;

2. Collaborative efforts will typically result in a major upgrade to RARAF facilities and will subsequently be provided to service-based users;

3. One or more RARAF personnel are closely involved in the project design from start to finish and will be co-authors on joint publications and co-investigators in grant applications;

4. No fee will normally be charged for beam time, but the collaborator may be expected to provide support for extra equipment required for the work.

Initiating Collaborative-Based Research

Collaboration requests should be initiated through direct discussions between the principle investigators. Appropriate contacts are David Brenner, RARAF Director (212-305-5660, djb3@columbia.edu), or Gerhard Randers-Pehrson, RARAF chief physicist (914-591-9244, gr6@columbia.edu), though initial contact with any member of the RARAF team is welcome. After discussions, we will ask you to document your request, which will be reviewed by the RARAF staff, and also by the RARAF External Advisory Committee.

Resources for Collaborative-Based Research

The microbeam resources available at RARAF are described above. For collaborative research, we emphasize that our microbeams and related imaging technologies are constantly being upgraded, and these developmental facilities are often appropriate for collaborative research. A few examples of our developmental facilities are our ultra high-LET charged-particle microbeam, our neutron microbeam development, and our EMCCD camera ultra-low light imaging development. In addition, we are always very receptive to suggestions for new microbeam technology / imaging developments for innovative biological experiments.