Labs & facilities
World-class engineering happens here
University of Michigan Engineering has the experts, tools and facilities to make your project happen. Many are available to outside users for a fee. These include labs for nanofabrication, space research, hydrodynamics, radiation effects in materials and material characterization as well as a radio telescope and wind tunnels.
Get in touch with us to find out what we can do together.
Featured facilities
Facility summaries
U-M Battery Lab
In an effort to speed up the development of new battery technologies, the U-M Battery Lab is equipped with everything needed to prototype and test battery designs from coin cells to vehicle-scale units. It is available to users within and outside the university.
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
(734) 764-2794, [email protected]
Website:
U-M Battery Lab
Chemical Engineering Clean Room
This class 1000 clean room is equipped to deposit and pattern a variety of thin films on 4″ wafers and to create SU-8 molds for casting PDMS devices.
See also: Lurie Nanofabrication Facility
Key Capabilities
- E-beam evaporator (gold/chromium/oxide/titanium)
- Mask aligner
- Photoresist and SU-8 spinners
- Gold and aluminum wire bonders
- Parylene coater
- Surface profilometer
- Acid, base, solvent and photoresist fume hoods
- Oxygen/argon plasma reactive ion etcher
- Heated hydraulic press
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Brian Johnson
(734) 764-8130
[email protected]
Website:
Chemical Engineering Clean Room
Functional and In-Vivo MRI Labs
Functional and in-vivo MRI images living tissues in people and animals. The lab on North Campus is available, on a fee for service basis, to researchers at the University of Michigan.
Available to:
U-M community only
Contact:
Administrator office (734) 764-8408, [email protected]
Website:
Functional and in-vivo MRI
High Temperature Corrosion Laboratory
The High Temperature Corrosion Laboratory provides the experimental capabilities to determine how well materials hold up in power reactor environments, with a particular focus on mechanical stress and corrosion. It is equipped with six autoclaves.
Key Capabilities
- Supercritical water up to 30 MPa at 600ºC or 34 MPa at 550ºC
- Steam up to 14 MPa at 400ºC
- Single- and multiple-specimen constant extension rate experiments
- Creep experiments
- Water chemistry control
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Gary Was, (734) 763-4675, [email protected]
Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory
The Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory (MIBL) offers a wide range of possibilities for modifying the surfaces of materials and for conducting ion beam analysis of surface compositions. University research at MIBL is chiefly concerned with mimicking the damage observed in nuclear reactor components over years of operation.
Key Capabilities
- 3 MV tandem accelerator
- 1.7 MV tandem accelerator
- 400 kV ion implanter
- Multi-beam chamber for dual and triple beam irradiations
- High vacuum, temperature controlled sample chambers
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Dr. Zhijie (George) Jiao, 734-936-0166, [email protected]
Website:
Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory
Irradiated Material Testing Complex
The materials that make up nuclear reactors must withstand exposure to radiation, heat, pressure and flowing water. The Irradiated Material Testing Complex makes it possible to test the behavior of neutron irradiated samples under stress in these harsh conditions. The lab features five autoclaves and is next door to two hot cells for safely transferring radioactive materials in and out of the autoclaves and for conducting tests of highly radioactive samples.
Key Capabilities
- Multiple-specimen constant extension rate experiments
- Single-specimen crack growth rate experiments
- Water chemistry control to mimic pressurized water reactor or boiling water reactor core conditions
- Max pressure of up to 30 MPa at 600ºC for testing in supercritical water
- Mobile enclosure for testing in the hot cell
- Scanning electron microscope for timely analysis
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Stephen Raiman, [email protected]
Website:
Irradiated Material Testing Complex
J.D. Hanawat X-Ray MicroAnalysis Laboratory
The J.D. Hanawat X-Ray MicroAnalysis Laboratory (XMAL) provides state-of-the-art nanostructural characterization capabilities to members of the University of Michigan materials community and is located in the H.H. Dow building.
Key Capabilities
- Rigaku SmartLab X-Ray Diffractometer
- Rigaku Miniflex 600 Benchtop X-Ray Diffractometer
- Supermini200 Benchtop WD-XRF Spectrometer
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Sahar Farjami, (734)-647-1099, [email protected]; Xiang Gao, [email protected], (734) 764-3303
Lurie Nanofabrication Facility
The Lurie Nanofabrication Facility (LNF) offers a wide range of capabilities and professional staff expertise for the fabrication and characterization of materials, devices, and systems including silicon devices and integrated circuits; MEMS and microsystems; micro- and nanofluidic systems; III-V compound semiconductor devices; organic materials and devices; and advanced coatings, patterning and nanofabrication technologies.
The LNF is available for use by research groups from universities, government and industry, and provides expertise to help and advise researchers with their projects. The LNF includes 11,000 sq. ft. of Class 10/100/1000 cleanroom and 2,500 sq.ft. of quasi class 10,000 laboratory with a BioSafety Level 2 space.
Key Capabilities
- Optical and electron-beam lithography, direct write and printing
- Dry and wet etching, DRIE
- Bulk Si micromachining, surface micromachining
- Wafer bonding
- Thin-film deposition
- Chemical vapor deposition
- Oxidation/doping/diffusion
- Lapping/polishing, mechanical processes
- Wet processes, cleaning, electroplating
- AFM, SEM, surface profilometry
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Dr. Sandrine Martin, (734) 277-2365, [email protected]
Website:
Lurie Nanofabrication Facility (LNF)
Marine Hydrodynamics Lab
The Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory is a suite of labs and facilities that engage in classic naval architecture experiments including investigations such as calm water resistance, seakeeping and propulsion experimentation. In addition, fundamental fluid dynamics research is conducted using the most advanced techniques such as PIV, LDV, PTV and x-ray diagnostics.
Key Capabilities
- Physical modeling basin
- Gravity-capillary wind wave facility
- High-speed flow tunnel
- Skin friction flow facility
- Drop test, blast mitigation laboratory
- Student water tunnel
- Machine & welding shops
- Electronics shop
- Model shop
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Kevin Maki, (734) 764-9432, [email protected]
Website:
Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory
Mcity
The off-roadway test facility called Mcity contains urban and suburban environments to simulate a broad range of complex situations that vehicles encounter. It enables researchers to test both connected and automated vehicles.
Key Capabilities
- 1000’ north/south straight
- Various road surfaces (concrete, asphalt, brick, dirt)
- Variety of curve radii, ramps
- Two-, three- and four-lane roads
- Roundabout and “tunnels”
- Sculpted dirt and grassy areas
- Stationary and mechanized bicycles
- Variety of signage and traffic control devices
- Fixed, variable street lighting
- Cross walks, lane delineators, curb cuts, bike lanes and grade crossings
- Hydrants, sidewalks, etc.
- “Buildings” (fixed and movable)
Michigan Center for Materials Characterization
The Michigan Center for Materials Characterization [(MC)²] is a university-wide user facility for the microstructural and microchemical characterization of materials, and is located in the North Campus Research Complex.
Key Capabilities
- Transmission and scanning transmission electron microscopes, including JEOL 3100R05, JEOL 2100F, JEOL 2010F, JEOL 3011
- Scanning Electron Microscopes and Focused Ion Beam Workstations, including FEI Helios NanoLab 650, FEI Nova NanoLab 200, FEI XL30
- Atom probe tomography microscope: Cameca 4000X HR
- X-ray photoelectron spectrometer: Kratos Axis Ultra X-ray photoelectron spectrometer
- Nanoindenter: Hysitron TriboIndenter
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Bobby Kerns, (734) 647-6845, [email protected]
Observatory and Dish
The Peach Mountain Observatory features a 26-foot parabolic radio antenna, once used for astronomy but now turned to communicating with the small satellites built by the Michigan Exploration Laboratory (MXL).
Members of the Space Physics and Research Laboratory use the observatory to track winds high in the atmosphere for predicting space weather.
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
James Cutler, (734) 615-7238, [email protected]
Website:
Peach Mountain Observatory
Space Physics Research Laboratory
Faculty and engineers have built more than 30 space instruments; instrumented numerous sounding rockets, balloons and aircraft; and developed ground-based instruments in the Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL). The lab encompasses a 63,000 sq. ft physical plant and eight remote observatory sites in Michigan, Canada, Greenland, Chile and Antarctica. For more than six decades, this lab is one of a handful of university centers able to conceive, design, construct, test, operate and analyze data from space flight instruments — a truly “end-to-end” operation.
Key Capabilities
- Systems engineering and program management expertise in complex integrated systems operating in harsh environments
- Extensive experience in design of low-voltage and high-voltage power supplies, custom magnetics, embedded systems, custom and programmable circuit devices and sensor design
- Expertise in RF engineering, thermal engineering, motor and servo control and flight software
- Drafting and mechanical design, computer graphics and instrument/machine shop facilities
- Electronics assembly clean room — class 10,000
- Electronics test and microprocessor development equipment
- Surface-mount technology equipment
- Screen room for EMI/EMC testing
- Thermal-vacuum test chambers
- Vibration test facility
- Clean assembly areas
- Spaceflight operations center
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
(734) 936-7775, [email protected]
Website:
Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL)
Vacuum Chamber
The Large Vacuum Test Facility of the Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory (PEPL) at U-M is used to run experimental plasma thrusters and electrothermal engines in a space-like vacuum. The devices under development could help humans get to Mars and beyond. The vacuum chamber is the largest of its kind at any university in the nation.
Key Capabilities
- 9 x 6 x 6 meter cylindrical stainless steel-clad tank
- Moderate vacuum of 30-100 mTorr
- High vacuum of 10-7 Torr
Available to:
U-M and outside users
Contact:
Benjamin Jorns, (734) 764-8224, [email protected]
Website:
Large Vacuum Test Facility
Wind Tunnels
There are 10 wind tunnels that are available for a variety of experiments and lab courses on topics such as fluid dynamics, combustion and propulsion. These tunnels are run by the U-M Department of Aerospace Engineering.
Key Capabilities
- Subsonic low turbulence 5 ft x 7 ft wind tunnel
- Variable mach number supersonic wind tunnel
- Edward A. Stalker 2 ft x 2 ft subsonic wind tunnel
- Subsonic 2 ft x 2 ft Instructional tunnel
- Subsonic 6 inch wind tunnels for student classroom laboratories