Facilities
River Campus researchers have access to a wide array of state-of-the-art equipment, facilitating research ranging from analysis of geological samples to fabrication of specialized optics to brain imaging to advanced statistical analysis of international conflict and trade.
The C.E.K. Mees Observatory, devoted to research, teaching, and public instruction, is located 40 miles south of Rochester in the Bristol Hills at an elevation of 701 m (2260 ft). The Observatory houses a 61 cm Boller and Chivens Cassegrain reflector, dedicated May 8, 1965. In March 2000 the telescope was upgraded to computer control by DFM Engineering.
The CENTC Elemental Analysis Facility offers a microanalysis system was purchased through a supplemental research grant under the auspices of the Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis (NSF CHE-0650456), a National Science Foundation Phase II Center for Chemical Innovation. Through catalysis, CENTC researchers aimed to lower the energy costs to transforming chemicals, to use inexpensive, abundant and nontoxic starting materials, and generate less waste.
The URMC Center for Advanced Light Microscopy and Nanoscopy (CALMN) provides state-of-the-art microscopy imaging and image analysis capabilities to further biomedical and bio-optical research.
The University of Rochester established the Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC) to provide researchers across the University with hardware, software, training, and support necessary to use computational science and computing technology in research activities in all areas of academic scholarship. CIRC supports users across the Medical Center and River Campus from over 110 departments and centers, including disciplines from medicine, engineering, and the biological and physical sciences.
The Fabrication Shop can be found in Rettner 106-109 where students can build project prototypes, a multipurpose learning studio, group study areas, and exhibit space for students to display their projects. The shop provides training for and access to machine and wood shop tools, including lathes, bandsaws, grinders and formers. Fabrication Shop is available for use by credentialed users at approved times.
The Goergen Institute is home to several New York State Center of Excellence in Data Science distinguished researchers, and is a hub for interdisciplinary data science research. GIDS research is broken up into three categories:
GIDS also houses and oversees the Center of Excellence in Data Science (CoE), funded by the New York State Department of Economic Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation (NYSTAR).
The Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation (HSCCI) facilitates access to high-performance computational resources for biomedical research.
The High Content Imaging Core User Facility houses a state-of-the art and/or Dragonfly Spinning Disc Confocal for high speed live sample imaging. Training and access is provided to students and researchers alike, as well as expert advice for developing experimental protocols and sample preparation for use on this instrument. Internal and external users allowed.
The Integrated Nanosystems Center consists of a nearly 1,000-square-foot metrology (measurement) facility and a 2,000-square-foot, cleanroom fabrication facility located in Goergen Hall. Specialized tooling is divided into three distinct categories:
- Deposition and Etch
- Lithography
- Metrology
The center's array of electron microscopes, sputtering tools, etchers, advanced X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), and other equipment is tailored to assist key University of Rochester and regional research interests, including development of biosensors, fuel cells, nanoscale filter membranes and light emitters. Applications range from GPS systems to detection of lethal biological warfare agents, and from portable dialysis devices to more efficient energy use.
Equipment sets, access procedures and user fees – both for University of Rochester and external users can be found on the UR Nano’s website.
The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) is a unique national resource for research and education in science and technology. LLE has a five-fold mission to:
- Conduct laser-fusion implosion experiments in support of the National Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program;
- Develop new laser and materials technologies;
- Provide education in electro-optics, high-power lasers, high-energy-density physics, plasma physics, and nuclear fusion technology;
- Conduct research and development in advanced technology related to high-energy-density physics; and
- Operate the National Laser Users' Facility (NLUF). LLE houses the Omega 60 and Omega EP systems.
LLE is also home to several facilities, including:
The Laser Facility in the Department of Chemistry houses laser systems for absorption, fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopies, nonlinear four-wave mixing, electro-optic sampling, time-resolved electron diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature-jump studies, photoacoustic calorimetry, and the initiation of photochemistry.
The Mass Spectrometer Facility and Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer Facility in the Department of Chemistry has an array of equipment available for University of Rochester students and faculty almost 24 hours a day. Outside researchers can also request access.
The POA Library is the center hub for our students, who conduct both individual and collaborative research in the space, which is specifically designed for scientific learning. The POA is also home to:
The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics), a designated institute under the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Manufacturing USA program, AIM Photonics offers start-ups, designers and developers, and academic researchers access to a supporting infrastructure of services across the entire silicon photonics development cycle: design, simulation, fabrication, packaging, validation, and a path to volume manufacturing.
The TAP facility, located in AIM Photonics Testing, Assembly and Packaging (TAP) facility is the nation’s first accessible 300 mm state-of-the-art facility for integrated silicon photonics test, assembly, and packaging. TAP, located Lake Avenue in Rochester and part of the Eastman Business Park, has world class development and production process capabilities in key areas such as wafer scale, chip scale and I/O attach, also include advanced test and metrology capabilities for each of these key functional areas.
Corporate partners include Boeing, IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Lockheed Martin, Infinera, Corning and Synopsys. In addition to support from New York state, AIM Photonics is supported by the states of California and Massachusetts, along with leading national and regional industry consortia and economic development agencies.
The River Campus Libraries, containing over five million items including over 3.3 million volumes, consists of the Rush Rhees Library, the Chester F. Carlson Science and Engineering Library (connected by a bridge to Goergen Hall), the Physics-Optics-Astronomy Library, and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics Library. The libraries support 45 doctoral programs and associated research programs.
Rush Rhees Library—The heart of River Campus, and home to the:
- Art and Music Library
- Barbara J. Burger iZone
- Janis and James S. Gleason Library
- Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation
- Rossell Hope Robbins Library and Koller-Collins Center for English Studies
- University Archives
Chester F. Carlson Science and Engineering Library—Located in the Computer Studies Building, home to science and engineering collections on River Campus, Carlson Library offers expertise and support for students and faculty in STEM disciplines and for data needs across campus. At Carlson, you can connect with subject or data experts, search our collections, or find a space. Carlson is also home to Mary Ann Mavrinac Studio X, a hub for extended reality, and the VISTA Collaboratory, a data visualization lab.
The Robert E. Hopkins Center for Optical Design and Engineering features an advanced optical user facility for teaching and research. The centers include a computer lab and a wide array of equipment for precise optical metrology and fabrication.
Ronald Rettner Hall for Media Arts and Innovation fosters the exploration of technical skills in engineering and media production. Its shops, labs, and studios support a range of student designed projects from a variety of majors on campus.
Rettner Hall contains an audio studio (currently restricted to audio and music engineering students), a digital media lab with high-end computers, 3-D printers, and lending library to convert digital design software into actual models, a fabrication shop and fabrication studio with project space, and a video studio with state-of-the art teaching and learning space devoted to supporting video production.
The electron microscopy facility for the University of Rochester is located in the Institute of Optics' Wilmot Building. The facility serves the entire academic campus as well as some Medical Center activities.
The Stable Isotopes in the Environment, Analytical Laboratory (SIREAL) is a shared resource for the entire University as well as non-affiliated clients. The lab was established originally for analysis of geological materials but has diverse capabilities that are of general interest to the University research community.
SIREAL offers users training in the preparation of samples for analysis as well as training for the use of the instrumentation (under certain circumstances).
Studio X is located on the first floor of the Carlson Science and Engineering Library. Studio X is a specialized space and program designed to facilitate work with extended reality (XR). As such, our spaces are restricted to XR projects and research that engages with these technologies in some capacity.
The Surface Analysis facility has several different pieces of x-ray equipment for for surface analysis, as well as ones that can be used for quantitative and semi-quantitative elemental and chemical analysis. Electronic structure analysis inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES), electron energy loss spectroscopy, and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) are also available.
The University of Rochester Center for Advanced Brain Imaging & Neurophysiology (UR CABIN) is a multimodal imaging facility that supports human and preclinical imaging research. Providing researchers with different methods of study CABIN supports a wide range of scientific discoveries – from basic to clinical neuroscience.
VISTA is a 1,000-square-foot data visualization lab located in Carlson Library, and is essentially a massive scale, integrated, high performance supercomputing system. The display in the new lab consists of an array of 24 monitors, is 20 feet wide and 8 feet tall, and has a resolution (50 megapixels) approaching that of IMAX theaters.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering supports and houses the X-Ray Analysis Laboratory. The instrumentation was funded from National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research and the University of Rochester with equipment help from Bausch & Lomb.
Located in Hutchison Hall, the X-Ray Crystallographic Facility is available for use for any researcher, whether they are a part of the University of Rochester community or not. Departments and external researchers will be charged a set fee for use of the facility’s equipment and services.