Not sure where to start salary negotiations for a US institution? The American Institute of Physics Statistical Research Center has created a Salary Calculator tool to calculate the mean salary, and it’s standard deviation, given a set of factors such as location, experience, and gender. The tool is based on a survey of 1700 faculty members […]
Computers on The Cheap
It’s a Technical Tuesday! Today we are going down the rapids of computer purchasing. This is a primer on purchasing computers on the cheap. We start with prebuilt computers (1), then cover acquiring peripherals (2,3), and finally talk about building your own computers (4,5). This is a living document about a volatile topic, so write […]
Make your own Fluorescence Microscope with Diode Lasers
Fluorescence microscopy, especially with applications such as TIRF and super-resolution, requires high powered light sources at multiple wavelengths. Here we talk about NicoLase which is “an open-source diode laser combiner, fiber launch, and software sequence controller” as a DIY way to create a multi-purpose fluorescence light source. The NicoLase set up uses Vortan Stratus laser […]
3D -Fuge: A New Hand Powered Centrifuge
Last year at around this time we covered Paperfuge, a card stock based centrifuge that could spin QBC capillary tubes samples at ~10,000 g. Using the principles laid out with Paperfuge, Gaurav Byagathvalli, Aaron Pomerantz, Soham Sinha, Janet Standeven, and M. Saad Bhamla have come up with 3D-Fuge detailed in a paper on the bioarxiv […]
OMIS: An Open Millifluidic Inquiry System
OMIS is a 3D tool for performing small-scale chemical synthesis and analysis. The system is Arduino-based and consists of an automated syringe pump run by a cheap stepper motor and reaction vessels. The design is meant to allow for fabrication” in one day”, and can pump fluids at rates between 60 and 300 μL/min. The paper, […]