{"id":1156,"date":"2026-08-19T15:30:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T19:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/?page_id=1156"},"modified":"2026-08-24T14:28:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T18:28:19","slug":"become-a-user","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/become-a-user\/","title":{"rendered":"Become a User"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"1156\" class=\"elementor elementor-1156\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b7782d3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b7782d3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0394590 elementor-widget elementor-widget-eael-breadcrumbs\" data-id=\"0394590\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"eael-breadcrumbs.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"eael-breadcrumbs\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"eael-breadcrumbs__content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\">Home<\/a> <span class=\"eael-breadcrumb-separator\">\/<\/span> <span class = \"eael-current\">Page<\/span><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-272b2bc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"272b2bc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Become A User<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7bcf381 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7bcf381\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Complete guide from first contract to independent instrument time<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c3036f1 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c3036f1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e14b090 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e14b090\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to get started<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46dd8e3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"46dd8e3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31467cb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"31467cb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4>Step 1<\/h4><p>Contact facility director to discuss your project and possible instruments and methods.<\/p><h4>\u00a0<\/h4><h4>Step 2<\/h4><p>Create Temple <a href=\"https:\/\/instrumentschedule.com\/fom\/welcome?lid=0099\"><strong>FOM<\/strong> <\/a>Account. The NIC uses the Facility Online Manager (FOM) system to manage instruments and billing. Users must have an active FOM account to schedule time on instruments.<\/p><p>Use the<a href=\"https:\/\/tuprd.sharepoint.com\/:b:\/r\/sites\/NICElectronMicroscopyFacility-00_BecomeaUser\/Shared%20Documents\/FOM-NIC%20QuickStart%20Guide.pdf?d=wcb0025a7752f4b3a876bbe89e2bf3ca4&amp;csf=1&amp;web=1&amp;e=y4Lg3o\"> <strong>FOM Quick Start Guide<\/strong><\/a> to register. You will need an active FOAPAL account to initiate work at the NIC. For projects requiring multiple FOAPALs, add a month and year to the \u201cresearch description name\u201d (e.g., 2026-09 Au Nano Particles Study) to avoid confusion.<\/p><ul><li>There, choose a particular instrument to be trained on<\/li><li>Download, fill out, and sign by the Principal Investigator the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tuprd.sharepoint.com\/:b:\/r\/sites\/NICElectronMicroscopyFacility-00_BecomeaUser\/Shared%20Documents\/SEM%20Access%20Request%20Form.pdf?d=w202d17dfe06b4863815511bdeb607d9f&amp;csf=1&amp;web=1&amp;e=YCvQWR\">SEM<\/a><\/strong> or <a href=\"https:\/\/tuprd.sharepoint.com\/:b:\/r\/sites\/NICElectronMicroscopyFacility-00_BecomeaUser\/Shared%20Documents\/TEM%20Access%20Request%20Form.pdf?d=wd1bdf2ad9f3249dcafceadef7a68e65d&amp;csf=1&amp;web=1&amp;e=l4bLLp\"><strong>TEM<\/strong><\/a> Access Request Form (ARF).\u00a0<\/li><li>Bring it to your first training session.<\/li><\/ul><h4>\u00a0<\/h4><h4>Step 3<\/h4><p>Submit an <strong>Access Request Form (ARF)<\/strong> to the facility director in electronic format over email. Once you have a valid FOM account and submitted ARF, the NIC manager will contact you to discuss all details of your first training.<\/p><h4>\u00a0<\/h4><h4>Step 4<\/h4><p>Getting trained to operate NIC instruments independently. For more frequent analysis of larger numbers of samples, you may prefer to learn to operate NIC instruments.<\/p><p>Training sessions will cover instrument operation and safety procedures as well as techniques for obtaining useful information. Each instrument requires a different number of training sessions dependent on your research requirements.<\/p><p>Training sessions are scheduled by appointment and include charges for instrument and staff time, so be sure to refer to current NIC Instrument Rates. The total time required to demonstrate competence on an instrument is determined by the supervising NIC Laboratory Manager. Instructions for signing up for training are available in the <a href=\"https:\/\/tuprd.sharepoint.com\/:b:\/r\/sites\/NICElectronMicroscopyFacility-00_BecomeaUser\/Shared%20Documents\/FOM-NIC%20QuickStart%20Guide.pdf?d=wcb0025a7752f4b3a876bbe89e2bf3ca4&amp;csf=1&amp;web=1&amp;e=gCRFw0\"><strong>FOM Quick Start Guide.<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p>Training is best suited for users who anticipate spending many hours mastering a particular analytical technique. In many cases it is more time and cost effective to have samples analyzed by an NIC Laboratory Manager.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6109ecd e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6109ecd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f71cb8b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"f71cb8b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ee4f086 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ee4f086\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Choose your training track<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-13ab74d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"13ab74d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Inside FOM, select the \u201cTo be trained\u201d option under the instrument you need. You can add more than one.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-13149f8 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"13149f8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1bf14ac e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1bf14ac\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eb39258 spec-table elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"eb39258\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>TEM imaging<\/td>\n<td>Conventional bright-field; high-resolution imaging to 0.20 nm lattice resolution<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Diffraction<\/td>\n<td>Selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), recorded digitally<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>STEM<\/td>\n<td>Scanning transmission imaging up to \u00d72,000,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>EDS<\/td>\n<td>EDAX Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Specimen range<\/td>\n<td>Biological, polymeric, soft-matter, nanomaterial and inorganic specimens<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Beam-sensitive work<\/td>\n<td>Operation at 40, 60 or 80 kV for radiation-sensitive materials<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a8896fd e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a8896fd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6b93448 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6b93448\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4>Not sure if you need gold coating?<\/h4><p>If your sample is not electrically conductive, or is sensitive to electron beam damage, we recommend covering it with a nanometre-thick gold film before imaging.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a3ae34a spec-table elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a3ae34a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>User Fee Structure<\/h3><table><tbody><tr><td>Unsupervised use \u00b9 (trained user)<\/td><td>$45 \/ hr<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Supervised \/ assisted use<\/td><td>$114 \/ hr<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Training (flat rate per person)<\/td><td>$138<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6-month subscription \u00b2 (per group or PI)<\/td><td>$2,000<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6-month subscription \u00b2 (third and following users)<\/td><td>$1,000 \/ user<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12-month subscription \u00b2 (per group or PI)<\/td><td>$3,000<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12-month subscription \u00b2 (third and following users)<\/td><td>$1,500 \/ user<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b1dbde7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b1dbde7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24235cd e-grid e-con-full e-con e-child\" data-id=\"24235cd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fdcfc60 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"fdcfc60\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b0858d7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b0858d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h5>Before you start<\/h5><ul><li>Active FOAPAL Account<\/li><li>Your PI&#8217;s signature on ARF<\/li><li>Short description of your samples<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2aac3e8 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2aac3e8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d255cf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9d255cf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h5>Access Request Forms<\/h5><p>Download, complete, and have your PI sign the form for the instrument you need.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/tuprd.sharepoint.com\/:b:\/r\/sites\/NICElectronMicroscopyFacility-00_BecomeaUser\/Shared%20Documents\/SEM%20Access%20Request%20Form.pdf?d=w202d17dfe06b4863815511bdeb607d9f&amp;csf=1&amp;web=1&amp;e=YCvQWR\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>SEM Access Request Form<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/tuprd.sharepoint.com\/:b:\/r\/sites\/NICElectronMicroscopyFacility-00_BecomeaUser\/Shared%20Documents\/SEM%20Access%20Request%20Form.pdf?d=w202d17dfe06b4863815511bdeb607d9f&amp;csf=1&amp;web=1&amp;e=YCvQWR\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>TEM\u00a0Access Request Form<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-79fd2e2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"79fd2e2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ba4114 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6ba4114\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h5>Questions?<\/h5><p>Contact our facility personal <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/people\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \/ Page Become A User Complete guide from first contract to independent instrument time How to get started Step 1 Contact facility director to discuss your project and possible [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37984,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1156","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1156"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1219,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1156\/revisions\/1219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/nic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}