Imaging and Biological Characterization
Core Facilities
Core Facility Name: Optical Imaging Core (OIC)
Director/Manager: Dr. Onesmo Balemba
Contact Information: oic@uidaho.edu
Website Address: imci.uidaho.edu/image-and-data-acquisition-core/
The Optical Imaging Core (OIC) at the University of Idaho is a fee-for-service facility managed by the Department of Biological Sciences and available for on-campus and off-campus researchers. The core is dedicated to creating opportunities for high-resolution imaging and high-throughput characterization of biological processes. The shared facility houses two confocal microscopes, an analytical flow cytometer and analysis software programs.
Core Facility Name: Electron Microscopy Center
Director/Manager: Tom Williams
Contact information: 208-885-6656, tomw@uidaho.edu
Website address: none
The University of Idaho Electron Microscopy Center is a multi-user shared instrumentation facility for materials characterization and research that spans disciplines from materials engineering and chemistry to soils and geology to biology and food science. Instrument capabilities include scanning and transmission electron microscopy, x-ray microanalysis, visible light and polarized light microscopy and powder x-ray diffraction.
Core Facility Name: CER StreamLab
Director/Manager: Prof. Ralph Budwig
Contact information: rbudwig@uidaho.edu
Website address: uidaho.edu/engr/research/cer/research/stream-lab
CER StreamLab: A large-scale, tilting sediment flume to allow fundamental and applied research of processes in headwater streams and mountain rivers with a unique combination of scale, instrumentation, computer-control and ability to interface with researchers through the Internet.
Low-cost Aquatic Sensors: Design and fabrication of aquatic sensor systems for long-term field deployment. Measurements include dissolved oxygen, temperature, pressure, and electrical conductivity. Sensor systems are self-contained to take and store data for over a year and are powered by a small on-board battery.
Core Facility Name: Fish Ecology Research Lab (FERL)
Director/Manager: Chris Caudill
Contact information:208-885-7614, caudill@uidaho.edu
Website address: uidaho.edu/ferl
The UI FERL provides telemetry monitoring services, including fish tagging and monitoring using Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT), acoustic, and radio telemetry technologies. The center also provides water quality monitoring services using multimeter sondes and collection and sampling of benthic macroinvertebrate samples. The center provides necessary vehicles (trucks, autos, boats) to access field sites and required computers and software for data management and analysis support.
Core Facility Name: Kennedy Analytical Lab
Director/Manager: Jens Hegg
Contact information: jhegg@uidaho.edu, kennedy@uidaho.edu
Website address: uidaho.edu/cnr/research
The Kennedy lab maintains a full-service laboratory for analysis of hard part microchemistry across a wide variety of ecological applications. Our services include sample preparation and cutting-edge analysis using thermal ionization and laser-ablation mass spectrometry for trace element and isotopic analysis of otoliths and other hard part samples across numerous taxa. Trace element and isotopic techniques can be powerful tools to answer questions in many ecological and geochemical systems. These chemical tracers have been used to uncover details of origin, movement and life history in aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates as well as plants, as well as age and provenance studies of geological systems. Our lab has the expertise and equipment to help you conduct a robust analysis of your scientific questions. We welcome your inquiries and collaboration.
For additional shared resources see the Approved Service Centers page. Or for help finding an appropriate resource, contact our Service Center team.