Physics & Astronomy Dept. Facility & Resources

Laboratories

A UNM FIRST faculty hire in Physics & Astronomy would be in data science and thus would not require lab space. However, a hire in Physics & Astronomy would likely work with data collected from both Dr. Chakraborty’s and Dr. Lidke's labs, so they are described here. Both labs are located in the Physics and Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science (PAIS) building, described further under Shared Facilities.

The Lidke lab consists of ~ 1500 sq. ft. of space that is designed with multiple, independent microscope spaces (5X) that each have 4' of bench space, more than 40' of wet bench area, an electronics workstation, and a small central conference area with whiteboard and workstation. There is additional ample and nearby storage accessible in the spine between lab banks. Office seating surrounds the exterior walls of PAIS on the same level as the lab. The labs contain refrigerators, vortexer, desktop centrifuge, and 37 C plate warmer, a nanodrop absorption spectrometer, incubator, fume hood, refrigerator, -20 C freezer, pH meter, digital balance, chemical storage cabinet, centrifuge, and other laboratory supplies.

Dr. Chakraborty's laboratory is located in the newly constructed PAIS building at UNM. He has 720 sq. ft. of dedicated laboratory space with four 8'x6' vibration isolation optics tables. The lab is equipped with a sufficient number of power outlets, building facility services like pressurized-air, water, and N2. The laboratory also has a high-quality 3D printer (Raise3D Pro2) connected to computers with Adobe Inventor for rapid prototyping.

Both labs are wired with cat 6a ethernet cables from each microscope setup to a server rack in the spine containing Gbit switches and network-attached storage. The server racks are connected with cat 6a cable to the building ethernet and optical fiber to the PAIS server room, which has a 10 Gbps connection to the UNM Center for Advanced Research Computing (CARC). Further storage and computer capabilities are available through CARC.

Computers

In addition to desktop computing, further storage and computational capabilities are available through CARC.
They offer both free and for-cost high-throughput computing capabilities and managed storage. It is
anticipated that a new hire would purchase a dedicated computer and storage through CARC, potentially with
start-up money.

Shared Facilities

The Physics and Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science (PAIS) building is a newly constructed (2019) 137,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art research and teaching facility located on UNM main campus (adjacent to the Biology Department) in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico. PAIS is a four-story building that hosts both the Physics and Astronomy department and an Interdisciplinary Science Co-operative that currently includes computational genomics, a stable isotopes center and a nanomaterials characterization facility. PAIS is designed for collaboration with multiple small conference rooms available for scheduling and about a dozen small, informal meeting spaces interspersed throughout the building with seating, whiteboards and monitors. The IS Co-op has a dedicated collaboration room (for up to 60 people) and other small workrooms. Physics & Astronomy has a well-equipped machine shop and electronics shop, which are available to the project.

INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE COOPERATIVE (ISC)

The PAÍS Interdisciplinary Science Co-Operative (ISC) is located in the new Physics & Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science (PAÍS) building on the UNM Albuquerque Campus. Sustainability was a key focus of the 139,000-sq. ft. facility, designed and constructed according to LEED Gold standards. The ISC occupies about 15,000 sq. ft. of laboratory, computational, and collaboration space within PAÍS and includes seven specialized centers and laboratories: (i) the Center for Quantum Information and Control (CQulC); (ii) the Center for Stable Isotopes (CSI), (iii) the Center for the Advancement of Spatial Informatics Research and Education (ASPIRE); (iv) the Comparative HuMan & Primate Physiology (CHmPP) Center; (v) the Computational Genomics and Technology (CGaT); (vi) the Nanomaterials Characterization Facility (NCF) Laboratory, and (vii) the Laboratory for Magneto-Optical Spectroscopy (LMS), all of which allow for materials characterization, data synthesis, computation, and high-resolution data visualization. The ISC also manages about 2000 sq. ft. of technologically-enabled space programmed to host integrated teams of researchers and professionals from UNM and partners from industry, government, and social organizations. The entire building is designed to facilitate collaboration and can easily accommodate impromptu meetings.

Visualization Laboratory
This groundbreaking visualization environment (107 sq. ft.) brings big understanding to big data. With a 150,000,000 pixel resolution (23,040 x 6480), eighteen 4k monitors can be used as one screen or separately. It also has eight movable tables with charging stations, seating for up to 20 people, three large whiteboards, and Universal Wi-Fi access.

Visualization Lab Work Room
This workroom (149 sq. ft.) is for code training (BYOD) or bringing everyone together for a presentation around the high-fidelity laser projector. The Visualization Lab in the adjoining room also opens into this space, turning the incredible display next door from a research tool into a research training tool.

(i) Center for Quantum Information and Control (CQuIC)

The Center for Quantum Information and Control (CQuIC) has 206 sq. ft. of space consisting of four personal office spaces, one graduate/postdoc shared collaborative office, one group study and one conference room, and is positioned as an established hub for Quantum Information Science (QIS) collaboration activities that focus on theoretical and experimental research, education, and workforce development. CQuIC's researchers are theorists and experimentalists who use mathematics and computer numerics to develop foundational concepts and applications, modeling physical devices. They also perform laboratory experiments that utilize lasers and atoms to build quantum information processing platforms.

(ii) Center for Stable Isotopes (CSI)

As one of the largest stable isotope centers (607 sq. ft.) in the U.S. in terms of instrumentation and cutting-edge analytical capabilities, the Center for Stable Isotopes (CSI) collaborates with approximately 50 universities and research institutions throughout the world on their research. The CSI laboratories have four newly constructed climate-controlled rooms equipped with seven isotope ratio mass spectrometers, one quadrupole gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) system, and laboratory space for processing a variety of samples for isotope analysis. CSI has personal office spaces for faculty and staff and a graduate collaborative space. It provides educational support in the form of training programs with hands-on instruction for undergraduate and graduate students on how to collect, prepare, and analyze sample, as well as aid in the interpretation of results.

(iii) Center for the Advancement of Spatial Informatics Research and Education (ASPIRE)

The 345 sq. ft. ASPIRE Center consists of open office, computational laboratory, visualization, field equipment support spaces, in addition to three personal offices and one conference room. ASPIRE researches methods for the capture, analysis, and representation of spatial data characterizing physical and social phenomena, commonly referred to as Geographic Information Science (GIScience). ASPIRE offers geospatial data acquisition and analysis services, performed primarily by student staff, to researchers across UNM. ASPIRE maintains a diverse fleet of uninhabited airborne systems (UAS) and airborne imaging sensors, range of survey grade Global Navigation Satellite Systems, spectrometers, and dedicated, secure storage, GPU computing, and virtual computing infrastructure connected to UNM's high-performance fiber optic network to enable a range of geospatial data capture, analysis, and tool development capabilities.

(iv) Comparative HuMan & Primate Physiology (CHmPP) Center

The Center for Comparative HuMan Primate and Physiology (CHmPP) has 419 sq. ft. of space consisting of one BSL-2 laboratory, personal office spaces, one shared collaborative student workspace and a sample preparation room. The center specializes in the development and application of minimally-invasive methodologies for integrating biological samples into research in the behavioral and health sciences, and conducts a wide range of assay and sample extraction procedures enabling the analysis of blood and blood spots, urine, feces, saliva, and hair, as well as plant and skeletal material. It serves as a center for student training and provides cost-effective fee-for-service work for various collaborators in human biology, anthropology, psychology, ecology, and the biomedical sciences.

(v) Computational Genomics and Technology (CGaT)

The Computational Genomics and Technology (CGaT) Laboratory has 381 sq. ft. of space consisting of three personal office spaces, one BSL2 laboratory, and one graduate educational space. The laboratory analyzes complex genomic data sets and biological systems, including molecules, cells, and organisms. CGaT works to develop new technology and computational tools to sequence and assemble complex, repetitive regions of the genome that enable haplotype-resolved whole-genome sequencing, a critical element necessary to establish the context of disease-association studies. 

(vi) Nanomaterials Characterization Facility (NCF) Laboratory

The Nanomaterials Characterization Facility (NCF) has 482 sq. ft. of space consisting of three personal offices and laboratory space divided into five separate labs. These labs provide researchers with access to instruments capable of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam techniques and transmission electron microscopy to analyze the chemistry and structure of a variety of synthetic and natural materials. Through multiple collaborations throughout the state, the NCF can study everything from minerals found from NASA and JAXA space missions to semiconductors and other man-made materials that support our modern-day living.

(vii) Laboratory for Magneto-Optical Spectroscopy (LMS)

The Laboratory for Magneto-optical Spectroscopy has 144 sq. ft. of space consisting of one laboratory and personal offices. It is one of a few laboratories worldwide that can make broad-band steady-state and time-resolved magneto-optical measurements. This technology promises to reveal electronic and magnetic details from a wide variety of commercially relevant photoactive materials.