Core User Facilities (CUF)
The Core User Facilities (CUF) consist of a collection of advanced manufacturing and metrology centers that help forward advanced materials, manufacturing, and research for university researchers and industry. The CUFs comprise an ecosystem of five cost-recovery centers, including the Advanced Manufacturing and Machining Facility (AMMF) at LSU; the Materials Manufacturing, Testing, and Evaluation Facility (MMTEF) at LSU; the Shared Instrumentation Facility (SIF) at LSU; the Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM) at LA Tech; the Coordinated Instrumentation Facilities (CIF) at Tulane. The CUF Members participate in and contribute to educational and outreach activities as part of the Consortium for Innovation in Manufacturing & Materials (CIMM) Program while supporting fundamental progress in manufacturing and materials research. The CUF provide a lasting and sustainable platform for integration that is accessible to researchers across the state of Louisiana and in industry.
The CUF Mission encompasses the following objectives:
- Provide access to sustainable, dedicated, state-of-the-art, experimental facilities for research and development in advanced manufacturing.
- Develop and establish sustainable advanced manufacturing training and education programs based on the CIMM-CUF material and human resources.
- Continuously incorporate new experimental facilities relevant to advanced manufacturing so as to continuously make the state-of-the-art available to its academic, industrial and government customers.
A recent CUF success (June 2020) is a grant from the Army Research Office that will bring a state-of-the-art Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (S TEM) to the LSU SIF.
Advanced Manufacturing and Machining Facility at LSU (AMMF)
An 8,000 square-foot facility with a broad range of manufacturing capabilities including additive manufacturing of plastics and metals, multi-axes micro-milling, traditional CNC, injection molding, and robotic welding.
The AMMF is a founding member of the CIMM-CUF.
Materials Manufacturing, Testing, and Evaluation Facility at LSU (MMTEF)
A 6,000 square-foot facility capable of destructive and non-destructive materials testing and evaluation, thin-film coating manufacturing, micro-/nano manufacturing and metal powder synthesis.
he MMTEF is a founding member of the CIMM-CUF.
Shared Instrumentation Facility at LSU (SIF)
A 3,000 square-foot facility supporting research in hard, soft and living materials. Capabilities include materials characterization including electron & focused ion-beam microscopy, spectroscopy, ion-machining, nano-fabrication, and optical microscopy.
The SIF is a founding member of the CIMM-CUF.
Institute for Micromanufacturing at LA Tech (IfM)
A 48,000 square-foot laboratory and a 5,000 square-foot clean room that houses equipment for materials characterization, measurements, nano-fabrication and evaluation, and optical microscopy.
The IfM is a founding member of the CIMM-CUF.
CIMM-CUF Charter
Charter of the Louisiana State-Wide Consortium for Innovation in Materials Manufacturing (CIMM) Core User Facilities (CUF)
Coordinated Instrumentation Facilities at Tulane (CIF)
A research support facility offering micro-/nano-fabrication, materials characterization, optical microscopy and other resources and services.
Inducted as a member of the CIMM-CUF in July 2020.
Core User Facilities (CUF) Staff
