Core Facilities - University of Houston
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University-Wide Core Facilities

UH has committed $22 million to purchase equipment for new core facilities in five national priority research areas: Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Materials, Imaging and Scanning, Data and Sensing, and Automation and Autonomy. The investment will provide equipment for our research community to compete effectively for research awards and excel at delivering the goals and objectives of their research projects. Core facilities optimize investments in equipment and make them available to the UH research community at competitive rates.

University resources and user fees will fund the operation, upgrades, and future replacements. University-wide core facilities with state-of-the-art equipment in areas of national priority will increase UH’s competitiveness among the top public research universities.

On The Horizon

Equipment selection began in 2021. Five faculty committees were charged to consult with other faculty and study core research facilities at peer institutions around the U.S. to develop a prioritized list of major equipment together with personnel requirements for operation and maintenance.

The equipment purchase will be staged based on the readiness of available space. Spaces have been identified and will be renovated over the next few years. The proposed staging of equipment is preliminary and may change based on space readiness.

Phase 1

  • Electron Microscopy Core Facility (TEM) Advanced Materials
  • Core Facility for Autonomy Autonomy and Automation
    • Virtual and Augmented Reality Core Facility
  • Digital Humanities Core Facility Data and Sensing
  • Advanced Manufacturing Core Facility Advanced Manufacturing
    • Pilot-scale Roll-to-roll/Large-area/Flexible Manufacturing Tools
    • Additive Manufacturing Tools (upgrade existing facility)
    • Pilot Superconductor Manufacturing Core Facility (upgrade existing facility)

Phase 2

  • Core Facility for Autonomy Autonomy and Automation
    • Quadruped Robot
  • Environmental Sensing Core Facility Imaging and Scanning
  • Solid State Battery Prototype Facility Advanced Manufacturing
  • Advanced Imaging Core Facility Advanced Materials
    • 2-Photon Confocal Microscope
    • Optical Coherence Tomography System
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy System
  • Printing Core Facility Advanced Materials
    • 3D Printer
  • Elemental Analysis Core Facility (staffing only) Advanced Materials

Phase 3

  • Advanced Surface Analysis Core Facility Advanced Materials
    • UHV X-ray and UV Photoelectric Spectrometer
    • Near Atmospheric Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer
    • Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (refurbished)
    • Raman Spectrometer (with confocal, TERS, and AFM capabilities)
  • Core Facility for Autonomy Autonomy and Automation
    • UAV Flight Arena
  • CRAFT LAB Autonomy and Automation