University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
http://www.umn.edu/

Go to chemistry home page.

12/10/2010

Grant for CyberMULE enhances access to ultrafast spectrometer

Professors William Tolman and Aaron Massari have been awarded a $470,000 National Science Foundation grant that will provide scientists from throughout the country access to an ultrafast spectrometer.

The project, called the Cyber-Enabled Multi-User Laser Experiment (CyberMULE), encompasses a cyber-enabled instrument that marries modern laser technology with interactive Internet communications. The CyberMULE is a tunable, ultrafast, visible, near-infrared, mid-infrared, pump-probe spectrometer that can be accessed from anywhere in the country through the Internet. Users will have the ability to experiment with their samples and receive data from their remote locations.

This project is designed to primarily serve undergraduate institutions. It is hoped that the CyberMULE will broaden participation for ethnically underrepresented, geographically isolated, or physically disabled users at institutions that do not have access to cyber-enabled experimentation.

The CyberMULE will be located at the University of Minnesota and staffed by experts in ultrafast measurements.

"The Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota prides itself on providing students and researchers, both on and off campus, with access to cutting-edge instrumentation," said Massari. "This new laser facility will bring incredibly sophisticated measurements to the fingertips of nearly any scientist in the nation with an Internet connection and a photochemical question to answer. The design pushes the envelope of 'cyber-enabled experimentation' and will likely serve as a national model for using technology to increase access to user facilities."

More information and updates as the project gets underway can be found on the CyberMULE website.

The Department of Chemistry is part of the College of Science & Engineering.