[labnetwork] Imaging/Characterization Cores vs. Fabrication Cores - Cost vs. Income

[Gila,Brent P]

Here at the University of Florida we merged the fabrication and 
characterization facilities 13yrs ago.  Neither side "pulls its own 
weight" and the facility as a whole is subsidized by the college and 
university.  The characterization side has a high cost of operation due 
to all the service contracts where as the fabrication side tends to 
perform a lot of repairs in house.  Our characterization side brings in 
more revenue than our fabrication side but has these higher expenses.  
So it becomes a wash.

To back up Iulian's comments, each instrument or tool (service line) is 
considered independent in a rate review so surplus revenue from one 
service line cannot be used to offset a cost from another service line.

Good topic for a happy hour at UGIM.  The fiscal side is too painful to 
discuss without a beer/wine. ;)

Best Regards,
Brent


On 5/29/2026 7:29 AM, Iulian Codreanu wrote:
> *[External Email]*
>
> Hi Mac,
>
> Here at UDel the fabrication lab and imaging/characterization lab are 
> operated separately so I cannot provide direct input but I have a 
> general comment; you are likely aware of this (and it likely does not 
> apply to you) so it is mostly for folks who are new to the field.
>
> When these labs are operated as independent service centers, federal 
> rules prevent subsidies within and across service centers. A tool is 
> not allowed to subsidize another tool within a service center and a 
> service center is prohibited from subsidizing another.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Iulian
> iulian Codreanu, Ph.D.
> Director, Nanofabrication Facility
> University of Delaware
> Harker ISE Lab, Room 163
> 221 Academy Street
> Newark, DE 19716
> 302-831-2784
> https://udnf.udel.edu/
>
> On 5/28/2026 10:58 AM, Hathaway, Malcolm R wrote:
>> Hey All,
>>
>> Happy Summer!
>>
>> A question has come up here about relative expenditures and subsidy 
>> levels between fabrication labs and imaging/characterization labs, in 
>> core centers where such functionality is combined.  Here at Harvard 
>> we have all three under one roof at CNS.
>>
>> I did a https://nanobot.chat/ 
>> <https://nanobot.chat/>search 
>> around this topic but didn't find much.  (nanobot.chat is an AI 
>> enabled search of Labnetwork, for those who may not have heard about it).
>>
>> I seem to remember this or a similar topic being addressed at a 
>> previous UGIM meeting, but my recollection is hazy...
>>
>> Thus, a few questions:
>>
>> How many core centers combine Imaging and Characterization and 
>> Fabrication (cleanroom) under one umbrella?
>>
>> For those that do combine them, do you generally find that each 
>> section is able to "pull its own weight" financially?  Does either 
>> one ever "break even"?
>>
>> Is income from the nanofab used to subsidize imaging/characterization 
>> efforts, or vice versa?
>>
>> Is each unit financially independent and, as such, survives on 
>> partial subsidies from the university that are not considered 
>> collectively?
>>
>> And lastly, what sort of expense/income breakdown (percentage-wise) 
>> have you seen between such units, if they are treated collectively as 
>> one big core center.
>>
>> Apologies if this delves too deeply into sensitive fiscal areas.
>>
>> This might be a good topic for some sub-group at the upcoming UGIM, 
>> if it is not already on the agenda.
>>
>>
>> Mac
>>
>> Mac Hathaway
>> Systems, Process, and Characterization Engineer
>> Harvard CNS
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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