ACCESS POLICY
Use of equipment in the NIC@QB3 for research purposes is available to members of laboratories of UCSF and QB3. There is no charge for use of the microscopes or for training on them.
The NIC@QB3 facilites may be used, for a fee, by non-academics. Such use requires execution of an agreement with UCSF. Please contact Kurt Thorn for more information.
Trained users may schedule time on the microscopes using the NIC@QB3 calendar.
If you would like to use the equipment in the NIC@QB3, please contact Kurt Thorn to arrange the necessary training.

SCHEDULING POLICY
1. No user may sign up for more than 12 hours a week during the
period from 8am – 8pm, Monday to Friday.
2. Users may sign up for as much time as they like between 8pm and 8am.
3. Users may sign up for any open time in the next 24 hours without counting against their allotted 12 hours a week.
4. If for some reason you need more time than possible under this system, please let me know. I’m perfectly happy to make exceptions for good reasons.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT POLICY
It is important that any papers incorporating data acquired or analyzed in the Nikon Imaging Center acknowledge the use of the NIC.  This helps us justify our existence to the companies that provide equipment to the NIC, and will also help us justify the importance of the center to granting agencies when we apply for grants in the future.  Please include an acknowledgement statement something like: “Data for this study were acquired at the Nikon Imaging Center at UCSF”
Occasionally, involvement by the NIC staff may rise to a level where it merits co-authorship on the resulting paper.  Ordinary training and assistance with the microscope does not merit co-authorship.  However, in cases where the NIC staff becomes substantially involved with experimental design, data acquisition, or data analysis, both the end user and the NIC staff should consider whether this merits co-authorship.  In cases where the project probably would not have been successful or would not have been possible without the involvement of the NIC staff, the staff member should probably be invited to be a coauthor.
We would also like to collect a list of publications that result from use of the NIC.  This will allow us to demonstrate to the vendors that have supplied equipment to the NIC that the imaging center is producing useful scientific results.  When you publish a paper incorporating data acquired at the NIC, please send either a reprint of the paper or the complete citation of the paper to Kurt Thorn.

These policies are only a subset of the policies governing use of the NIC. Prior to using the NIC facilities, please read the NIC User's Guide.