Becoming an Internal User

An internal user is a student, faculty or staff member at the University of Michigan who will be paying for Center usage on a U-M shortcode. A confirmation email will be sent to the PI for shortcode approval. Follow the steps below to become a user, or if you are unsure whether your research can be carried out in our lab, email gless@umich.edu with a brief description of your proposed experiments.  We will determine if your research can be performed with the equipment available and identify the ideal instrument.

You have the choice of becoming a user by being trained on the instruments and carrying out the experiments yourself, or having our staff perform the service for you. All users will need to create a FOM (Facility Online Manager) account at https://fom.engin.umich.edu.

1. Create a FOM account here.
2. Review our policies if you have not already done so during FOM registration.
3. Complete the required MyLINC safety training courses BLS025w: Chemical Laboratory Safety Training and Covid 19: Working Safely at U-M. You have likely already taken this training and if so can download the certificates you’ve previously been granted, then email copies of these along with an image of your Mcard, to Shelly at sacs@umich.edu
4. After required seminars have been completed, make sure to request training for each instrument you are interested in using through the FOM User Home so that we have a record of your request, then our staff will reach out to you about next steps or scheduling training.

Note that you will need to fill out a form in order for your Mcard to open the Phoenix Memorial Lab external door. After you have been trained on any instruments you need to use, you can fill out the Building Access Form (insert link) in our office and have it signed by Greg Less (gless@umich.edu) or Shelly Christian-Sherman(sacs@umich.edu), then submit it to College of Engineering Facilities management (chenierj@umich.edu).

Note: The Battery Lab is only open 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, M-F for students who do not have a research appointment within the Phoenix Memorial Building.

Becoming an External User

All users from other universities or from industry, government, or non-profit organizations are considered external users. External rates are found here.

The first step in becoming an external user is to contact Greg Less, (gless@umich.edu) to discuss your project. After an initial discussion and determination that your research is compatible with the Battery Lab capabilities, you will be provided with an estimate quotation. The quotation is only an estimate – you will only ever be charged for the actual time and materials used. If the estimate is low, you will be contacted prior to the work continuing for your authorization.

If the estimate quotation is agreeable, the next steps will be to schedule your visit, coordinate delivery of any materials and MSDS documents, and arrange for your UM-administered online safety training. If your company requires that an NDA be in place prior to your Lab time, please submit your standard company NDA to Shelly (sacs@umich.edu) for routing to UM general counsel.

Additionally, please submit full billing contact information, including a mailing address and a telephone number where you may be reached during business hours to Shelly Christian-Sherman ( sacs@umich.edu )

Payment for work done in the Battery Lab may be made in a number of ways:

• Payment is accepted via purchase order or credit card and will be billed through University of Michigan Accounts Receivable.
• Purchase orders without terms and conditions, or payment via credit card do not require signing the service agreement.
• If payment is to be made via a purchase order with terms and conditions, signing the U-M Battery Lab service agreement (INSERT LINK) is required.
• If signing the service agreement is not possible for your institution, please provide the Battery Lab with a Word version of your Terms and Conditions that can be reviewed/approved by the University of Michigan’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP).
  • Please also provide the name and contact information for the person that ORSP should work with from your company.
  • This agreement will be in lieu of the standard Battery Lab Service Agreement and will be for a specified time period of two years.  During that time frame, any PO issued with fall under this agreement.  The agreement will be reviewed/renewed as needed.

Facility Access

The Battery Lab is staffed Monday – Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

Internal Users who have completed the access form will be granted MCard access to the Phoenix Memorial Building and the laboratory spaces associated with the work you are doing during business hours. Only those internal users with department assigned research space in Phoenix Memorial will have after-hours building and lab access.

External Users will be assigned temporary MCards granting them access to the building and the laboratory spaces associated with their project. The access cards should be returned to Battery Lab staff at the end of your visit.