Research Support Services

INTRODUCTION

Research and scholarly activities at NAU encompass an impressive array of activities over a diverse range of topics. We in the Division of Research are committed to supporting the pursuit of discovery, innovation, scholarship, and creativity by NAU faculty, students and staff.  The following listing of Research Support Services will help you find the resources you need to successfully conduct research and scholarly activities at NAU.

FINDING AND MANAGING RESEARCH FUNDING

Professional assistance with proposal preparation and submission can be invaluable in securing the funding you need to conduct your research. Once you have funding, you may need help with managing those funds. The services listed here can lead you to the help you need with securing and managing internal and external funding.

INTERNAL RESEARCH FUNDING PROGRAMS

The NAU Office of the Vice President for Research annually runs the following limited funding programs to promote research and other scholarly activity on the part of faculty and students. 

The Technology Research and Initiative Fund (TRIF) is a state-funded, outcomes-based grants program supporting faculty research which focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, partnerships with business, and technology transfer.

The Faculty Grants Program (FGP) seeks to support the research, creative endeavors, and other scholarly activities of NAU faculty. In particular, the program supports scholarly and creative activity that originates from the faculty member’s own professional goals and interests within his or her discipline, department, or college mission and priorities.

The Hooper Undergraduate Research Award (HURA) program is open to undergraduate students involved in scholarly activities working alone or in teams under the supervision of faculty members.

The Hooper Student Fund holds an annual competition for undergraduate or graduate students, individually or in teams, proposing sustainability projects that involve research, education or advocacy aimed toward solutions.  These projects should clearly promote sustainability goals that benefit northern Arizona.

The Student Travel Awards Program supports undergraduate and graduate student travel for a variety of activities, including presentation of papers at conferences and academic competitions.

www.research.nau.edu/funding.html   

Contact:  Lesley Cephas
523-8288
Lesley.Cephas@nau.edu

EXTERNAL FUNDING SOURCES

The Office of the Vice President for Research provides access to funding search resources such as InfoEd International’s SPIN Plus database and the Illinois Researcher Information System (IRIS). These resources are accessible from any campus computer with Internet access or from an off-campus computer via the NAU modem pool.

www.research.nau.edu/ogcs/FundingSearchInfo.html   

OFFICE OF GRANT AND CONTRACT SERVICES

The Office of Grant and Contract Services (OGCS) provides technical assistance in preparation of research proposals, subcontracts, and letters of intent, and assists with preparation of budgets for proposals. It acts as a liaison with funding agencies and negotiates grant and contract awards with sponsoring agencies. OGCS is the official signatory for research proposals and awards.

Visit OCGS website

Contact:  Wilma "Winnie" Ennenga
523-4880
Wilma.Ennenga@nau.edu

SPONSORED PROJECTS SERVICES

Sponsored Projects Services provides fiscal control, preparation of financial reports, and monitoring of accounting records for all grants, contracts, and restricted funds. The experienced staff at Sponsored Projects will help with budgeting questions of all types as they relate to sponsored research, including cost transfers, contracting, invoicing, and other matters.

Visit SPS website

Contact:  Kevin Johnson
523-4535
Kevin.Johnson@nau.edu  

RESEARCH SUPPORT SERVICES AND FACILITIES

Several facilities at NAU are specifically designed to help researchers and scholars complete and publish their work. These links will help you find help with all aspects of publication and research imaging, with greenhouse space and project maintenance, copyright and intellectual property issues, procuring and caring for research animals, fabrication of custom research equipment, computer networking and statistical packages, and GIS applications and plotting.

The personnel staffing these facilities are great to work with, and are in themselves a wonderful resource. You’ll find that they generally go out of their way to help with problem-solving and they want to help create a truly great end-product.

• Bilby Research Center
• Research Greenhouse
• Animals in Research: The Research Annex
• Laboratory for Advanced Instrumentation
• Social Research Lab
• Information Technology Services
• Geospatial Research and Information Laboratory
  
  

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BILBY RESEARCH CENTER

The Bilby Research Center, established in 1981, offers a wide range of services for researchers, including professional editing, website design, photography, illustration, and videography.

Editing services—generally provided free of charge for scholarly works—include preparation of all types of manuscripts, such as journal articles, symposium proceedings, and full-length books. Website design services are offered for researchers and labs on campus to showcase your research program, lab, or services. Our designer can build your website using NAU’s Content Management System, or he can design custom websites that comply with NAU’s style guide, and can make these websites so that clients can easily update them on their own. State-of-the-art professional imaging services include technical illustrations, custom photography, videography, and other digital techniques. Special training and problem solving are also provided. A full-color brochure is available on request.

Visit website.

Dan Boone, Imaging Lab Director
523-7266
Daniel.Boone@nau.edu

Eve Paludan, Editor
523-6994        
Eve.Paludan@nau.edu        

Patrick McDonald, Web Designer
523-7455
Patrick.McDonald@nau.edu

Marcelle Coder, Project Director
523-9188
Marcelle.Coder@nau.edu

RESEARCH GREENHOUSE

The Research Greenhouse complex consists of eight 1,000 sq ft buildings and associated labs, storage space, and work areas. Researchers are able to work with plants in a controlled, pesticide-free environment, managed by an experienced professional, Brad Blake. Brad’s primary goal is to help faculty members and graduate students with their research, but he often has other interesting projects going on as well. For example, Brad organized volunteers and procured motorized tree spades to rescue 47 trees from the Wommack Arboretum in the foothills of the San Francisco Peaks. Brad’s friend, the late Dr. Donald Wommack, had developed the arboretum in 1968. These wonderful trees are now located on the NAU campus and make up part of the NAU Arboretum, which Brad directs. He is also involved in growing ponderosa pine seedlings for Trees for the Rim and Trees for Mt. Lemmon, non-profit groups working on restoration of private lands impacted by wildfire.

Websites:
NAU Research Greenhouse
NAU Arboretum

Brad Blake
523-9100, fax 523-1075
Bradford.Blake@nau.edu

ANIMALS IN RESEARCH: THE RESEARCH ANNEX

Comparative Medicine (the Research Annex) helps support animal use approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The Research Annex maintains records on compliance and provides routine daily care and veterinary care for all animals housed there. The annex is the sole procurer of animals for research at NAU, ensuring that animals are obtained legally and that the number of animals does not exceed that approved by the IACUC. The Research Annex also provides training for animal handling, care, and other animal-related techniques. Contact them for general questions and forms, to arrange species-specific animal care and use training, or to investigate other issues related to animals in research.

Visit website:
 
Chrystal Redding                  
523-1330 or 523-6714                       
Chrystal.Redding@nau.edu   

LABORATORY FOR ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION

With more than 2,000 projects completed in 15 years, the Laboratory for Advanced Instrumentation is the place to bring your ideas for research, lab, or field-oriented equipment fabrication. The lab provides design consultation and fabrication using a variety of materials and machining services, including: milling, grinding, welding, lathe work, and cutting of all types of materials. Materials include wood, plastics, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and brass. In addition, we repair equipment and tools that are worn or broken. The lab can save researchers considerable time, energy, and money with a low hourly rate and on-campus support.

Visit website:

Greg Florian
523-7167
Gregory.Florian@nau.edu

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Some of the services offered by ITS are particularly important for NAU’s researchers. With regard to statistical packages, ITS resells SPSS (for Windows and Macintosh) and SAS licenses at educational prices (the licenses are good for one year). Students and faculty can also run SPSS on an occasional basis off our servers.

ITS also offers consultation with faculty on projects or ideas related to information technology; they should be consulted whenever a new networked area (like a lab) is established, or when research proposals include any complex network or computer specifications.

Visit website.

ITS Solution Center 523-1511 or statewide 888-520-7215

Wendy Garrison
ITS Solution Center
Wendy.Garrison@nau.edu

GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH AND INFORMATION LABORATORY

The Geospatial Research and Information Laboratory (GRAIL) provides NAU researchers, as well as NAU partners, with technological support to conduct Geographical Information Systems (GIS) related research.  The GRAIL promotes emerging technologies and acts as a focal point for the interface between research and education.

Goals:

• Support GIS-related research and spatial data management.
• Serve regional to global spatial data to NAU & partners.
• Provide training for science and non-science programs for NAU academic departments.
• Train undergraduate and graduate students working on research projects.
• Provide technical support to satellite facilities maintained in academic units on campus.
• Promote integrative activities associated with spatial technologies, including database design and management, data mining and modeling projects, on-line research forum development, visualization design and related emerging technologies.

Visit website.

Neil Cobb, GRAIL Coordinator
523-5528
Neil.Cobb@nau.edu

Core Facilities and Laboratories

Researchers often find themselves in need of analytical services that can be costly and time-consuming; sending samples away for analysis can add considerable time to a research schedule. However, many such services are offered right here on campus where investigators can talk directly with the analyst. Student projects are frequently accommodated in these labs, allowing students to receiving training in specialized techniques. Laboratory personnel are very knowledgeable and can help find a service provider if a particular service is not provided by any NAU facility.

• Imaging and Histology Core Facility
• Environmental Analysis Laboratory
• Colorado Plateau Stable Isotope Laboratory
• Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry Laboratory
• Laboratory of Paleoecology
• Holocene Environmental Change Laboratory
• Soil and Sediment Lab
• Amino Acid Geochronology Laboratory
• Environmental Genetics and Genomics Resource Center
• Electron Microprobe Laboratory

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IMAGING AND HISTOLOGY CORE FACILITY

“Imaging the sciences through knowledge based technology”

For almost 40 years the Imaging and Histology Core Facility (formerly the Electron Microscope Facility) has supported NAU faculty, students, the Northern Arizona Community, and our distant partners in their educational and research endeavors.  It is the only research facility of its kind in Northern Arizona.  Services are provided by trained technical staff or personnel may be trained.  The traditional transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (including EDX) services have been expanded to include a new full service Histology Core, confocal fluorescence, brightfield, and differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy with digital imaging. 

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Loretta Mayer, Director
699-6321
Loretta.Mayer@nau.edu

Marilee Sellers, Manager
523-6725, fax 523-0516
Marilee.Sellers@nau.edu

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS LABORATORY

The NAU Environmental Analysis Laboratory provides chemical analysis support, and maintains a wide range of inorganic and organic analytical capabilities such as graphite-furnace and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, gas and liquid chromatography, and automated colorimetric analyses. Sample preparation capabilities include microwave and Kjeldahl digestion apparatus and other extraction and concentration techniques. The lab also provides training for faculty, students, and affiliated personnel.

Past projects the lab has been involved with include the analysis of conifer foliage for nutrient, mineral, and secondary plant chemical content for the School of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service; an EPA-funded Oak Creek water chemistry monitoring project with the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry; and biogeochemical cycling of arsenic in the Verde Valley and soil nutrient analyses for the Ecological Restoration Institute.  Current projects include water chemistry of springs in national parks of the desert southwest for the National Park Service and the Department of Geology; inorganic nitrogen analysis of soil extracts for the US Geological Survey in Canyonlands, Utah; nutrient analysis of soils for the Department of Energy and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; chemical analyses of springs on the Hart Prairie Preserve for the Nature Conservancy; pine-resin and terpene analysis of trees infested with bark beetles for the School of Forestry; and sugar analysis of honeydew exuded from tamarix leafhoppers along the Colorado River riparian corridor.

Visit website.

Richard (Rick) Doucett
523-7265
Richard.Doucett@nau.edu

COLORADO PLATEAU STABLE ISOTOPE LAB

Some of the more exciting recent advances in ecology, environmental sciences, geology, and even forensics have relied on stable isotopes. The Colorado Plateau Stable Isotope Laboratory (CPSIL) is a university-wide facility designed to serve undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty at NAU who require carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, or hydrogen stable-isotope analyses for their research. The CPSIL has also sponsored a competitive grants program for graduate students requiring stable isotope analysis and a hands-on course in applications of stable isotope techniques. The lab is equipped with four state-of-the art isotope-ratio mass spectrometers and nine sample introduction systems. Equipment at the CPSIL can analyze solids, liquids, and gases for isotopic composition, and can separate mixtures for compound-specific analysis as well.

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Richard Doucett, Manager
523-0967
Richard.Doucett@nau.edu

Bruce Hungate, Director
523-0925
Bruce.Hungate@nau.edu

INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETRY LABORATORY

NAU houses a state-of-the-art ICPMS with multiple collector capability. ICPMS is a technique used for major, minor, and trace analysis of a large variety of samples. Sample types can include water, soil, rocks and minerals, plant and animal tissues, and solids of many kinds. The ICPMS technique can measure concentrations ranging from major (%) constituents to ultratrace (pictogram per gram) levels. It is also possible to measure the isotope ratios of many elements for “fingerprinting” applications. Examples of recent applications include determination of uranium in water from the Navajo Reservation, potassium in microsamples of plant tissue and saps, molybdenum in plant tissues, lead source fingerprinting in soil, sediments, bone, and pottery, and plutonium isotope compositions in soils near the Chernobyl reactor. New applications typically require some methods development. Instrument time charges are determined case by case.

Mike Ketterer, Director
523-7055
Michael.Ketterer@nau.edu

LABORATORY OF PALEOECOLOGY

The Laboratory of Paleoecology is dedicated to the analysis of pollen, charcoal, and plant macrofossils from Quaternary sediments, packrat middens, archaeological samples, and honey. The facility has a state-of-the-art pollen processing laboratory, with 5µ filtered air and positive pressure to minimize ambient pollen contamination. For pollen identification and counting there are five research-grade light microscopes with a modern pollen reference collection of about 2500 specimens. For work with seeds and other macroscopic plant parts, the lab has three binocular microscopes and a reference collection of about 1200 specimens. Data are manipulated in the computer lab. The facility has all of the field equipment necessary for collection of sediment cores from lakes and wetlands, including coring platforms and coring equipment. Cores are archived for future use in the walk-in cooler.

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Scott Anderson, Director
523-5821
Scott.Anderson@nau.edu

Susan Smith, Manager
523-7276
Susan.Smith@nau.edu

HOLOCENE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE LABORATORY

Research in the Holocene Environmental Change Laboratory is oriented toward detecting the magnitude of human impact on watersheds. Current research includes analysis of sediment cores recovered from reservoirs in northern Arizona to assess the history and regional extent of metals contamination, primarily lead and mercury, in Arizona watersheds, and assessing biological productivity in lakes and reservoirs through water quality monitoring and modeling. Future activities are likely to include terrestrial monitoring at the watershed scale and air monitoring.

The laboratory is currently equipped with field instruments for water quality monitoring and has access to field equipment and analytical support for physical and inorganic chemical analysis of water and sediment samples.

Paul Gremillion, Director
523-5382
Paul.Gremillion@nau.edu

SEDIMENTARY RECORDS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE LABORATORY

The Sedimentary Records of Environmental Change Laboratory analyzes physical, biological and isotopic properties of sediment, especially from lakes and wetlands, to interpret past environmental and climate changes.  The laboratory specializes in analyzing sedimentary biogenic-silica content (wet-alkaline extraction), particle-size distribution (Coulter LS230 laser diffraction) and magnetic susceptibility (Bartington MS2 system).  Laboratory personnel have expertise in purifying diatoms for oxygen-isotope analyses, taxonomic identifications of freshwater ostracodes and preparing samples for radiocarbon dating.  The laboratory is a shared-use facility, linked to the Amino Acid Geochronology Laboratory and affiliated with the Colorado Plateau Analytical Laboratory.

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Caleb Schiff, Manager
523-0638
Caleb.Schiff@nau.edu   

Darrell Kaufman, Director
523-7192
Darrell.Kaufman@nau.edu

AMINO ACID GEOCHRONOLOGY LABORATORY

The Amino Acid Geochronology Laboratory is dedicated to estimating the ages of Quaternary (< 2 million years old) deposits by analyzing the extent of racemization of amino acids preserved within carbonate fossils. We typically analyze snails and mollusks, but also have the ability to analyze sub-milligram sized samples (e.g. ostracodes and foraminifera). The lab offers both conventional ion-exchange and reverse-phase ion exchange liquid chromatographs for separating and detecting amino acids. The lab is supported in part as a shared facility by the National Science Foundation, and offers reduced prices to collaborating researchers. The lab also offers experience with North American ostracode taxonomy and environmental interpretations, as well as biogenic silica determinations.

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Jordon Bright, Manager
523-7834
Jordon.Bright@nau.edu

Darrell Kaufman, Director
523-7192
Darrell.Kaufman@nau.edu

ENVIRONMENTAL GENETICS AND GENOMICS
(EnGGen) RESOURCE CENTER

This resource center is one of the newest facilities available to NAU researchers. Genomic and genetic analyses are crucial to all biological disciplines, but have often been out of reach for many due to the technically demanding procedures and expensive instruments required. This center broadens access to all interested researchers at NAU and related agencies or non-profit organizations. Its primary focus is on environmental applications of genetic technology, but any study that requires molecular marker development is welcome. The facility is capable of large-capacity DNA sequencing and fragment marker assays. It has the equipment needed for most tissue preparation procedures and DNA marker development. Several computers with DNA analysis software are also available to users of the facility. Training and consultation are offered through the center.  Contract work is also offered for DNA sequencing and genetic fingerprinting studies.  

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Gery Allan
523-8934
Gery.Allan@nau.edu

ELECTRON MICROPROBE LABORATORY

Electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) is a non-destructive method for determining the chemical composition of tiny amounts of solid materials. It uses a high-energy focused beam of electrons to generate X-rays characteristic of the elements within a sample as small as 3 micrometers across. It uses an electron beam current from 10 to 200 nanoamps, roughly 1000 times greater than that in a scanning-electron microscope (SEM). Analysis locations are selected using a transmitted-light optical microscope, which allows positioning accurate to about 1 micrometer, a feature not available on an SEM. The resulting data yield quantitative chemical information in a textural context. Variations in chemical composition within a material, such as a mineral grain or metal, can be readily determined. Although principally used for geological investigations, the microprobe is available to all in the university community as well as outside researchers. Projects have included research in metamorphic and igneous petrology, and studies of archaeological materials such as pottery paste, temper, and glazes, stone tools, and glass.

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James Wittke
523-9565
James.Wittke@nau.edu

COLLECTIONS, MUSEUMS, ARCHIVES, AND DATABASES

The importance of comparative collections and archives in research is difficult to overstate, especially in an educational institution. In studies of biodiversity, climate change, and resource management, it is critical to understand the range of organisms, and to be able to identify them with certainty. NAU is privileged to house a number of outstanding research and museum collections in natural history, anthropology, and biology, especially from the Colorado Plateau. These collections represent an incredible resource to researchers on campus; some are internationally, nationally, or regionally unique or important.

In addition, Cline Library’s Special Collections has an extensive collection of historic documents and photos pertaining to the Colorado Plateau; much of the collection is digitized and available in electronic format.

DEAVER HERBARIUM

The Deaver Herbarium is a public facility housed in the Biological Sciences Department. Its primary resource is a collection of dried plants from the southern Colorado Plateau and adjacent deserts. Currently, the Deaver Herbarium houses a collection of over 82,000 dried specimens of ferns, conifers, and flowering plants.

Other resources in the Deaver Herbarium are its library and staff, which includes eight professional (PhD/MS) botanists, and numerous graduate and undergraduate students. The research staff collects plants in northern Arizona, on the Colorado Plateau including the reservation lands, and in the mountains of the southwestern United States, western Mexico, and the Andes of South America. Recent works include a Vascular Flora of the San Francisco Peaks, a Flora of Canyon de Chelly, and the Portulacaceae and Rhamnaceae for the Vascular Plants of Arizona Project.

Services offered include plant or photo identification, database access, specimen processing, and data collection. Some fees may apply.

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Tina Ayers, Director
523-7242
Tina.Ayers@nau.edu

LABORATORY OF QUATERNARY PALEONTOLOGY:
FOSSIL AND MODERN ANIMALS

The Laboratory of Quaternary Paleontology (LQP) houses two collections: one is a National Park Service repository of 19,000 specimens from 21 national parks of western USA, and the other is the LQP teaching and research comparative collection, a combination of over 17,000 modern and fossil specimens of gastropods, bivalves, amphibians, reptiles, and mammal skeletons. The LQP also houses what may be the world’s most complete collection ­and certainly one of the very few existing­ of the stomach contents (dung) of extinct Pleistocene mega-fauna. This collection is the basis for one of the lab’s current projects, an atlas of fossil and modern dung, being compiled by Dr. Jim Mead and Sandy Swift. The collection of lizard, snake, turtle, and frog skeletons is one of the largest and most complete in North America; the mollusk collection is one of the best and most comprehensive in the Southwest. Taken together, the LQP houses the largest collection of modern and fossil vertebrate and invertebrate remains from the Colorado Plateau and greater Southwest region.
 
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Jim Mead, Director
523-7184
Jim.I.Mead@nau.edu

Sandy Swift
523-1718
Sandra.Swift@nau.edu

LABORATORY OF PALEOECOLOGY:
MODERN POLLEN REFERENCE COLLECTION:

The modern pollen reference collection at the Laboratory of Paleoecology is one of only five significant collections in the West, and the only one on the Colorado Plateau. It contains modern pollen samples collected from national parks, primarily in California and the Southwest, as well as from the Colorado Plateau, the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and Mexico, and montane California. The specimens provide the basis for two exciting projects, the Atlas of Colorado Plateau Pollen Types and the Atlas of Sonoran Desert Pollen Types, reference books that Dr. Scott Anderson and Susan Smith are compiling that will include digital photos of pollen types.

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Scott Anderson, Director
523-5821
Scott.Anderson@nau.edu

Susan Smith, Manager
523-7276
Susan.Smith@nau.edu

NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS: BECBase

BECBase was created in 2003 to provide a relational database for NAU’s important natural history collections. This custom Oracle database with Web interface is tailored to the needs of NAU researchers and curators. The database provides labeling applications, loan tracking capabilities, security functions, and basic inventory and cataloging functions. In addition, the database is relational, providing a way to access data from specific time periods or locations across the collections.

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Marcelle Coder
523-9188
Marcelle.Coder@nau.edu

COLORADO PLATEAU MUSEUM OF ARTHROPOD BIODIVERSITY

The Colorado Plateau Museum of Arthropod Biodiversity (CPMAB) is one of the museums operated by the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University. The museum houses an arthropod collection of over 250,000 specimens, primarily from the western United States and Mexico. Our geographic areas of focus are the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions. A major goal of the museum is to make the collection more relevant to ecologists, especially those working on projects related to issues of conservation and biodiversity.
We offer entomological consultation for NAU students, staff, and faculty.  We also provide free extension service for the public regarding identification of insect and spider pests as well as "bugs" that people are just curious in knowing about.
http://bugs.nau.edu

Neil Cobb, Director
523-5528
Neil.Cobb@nau.edu

USGS/NAU MACROBOTANICAL LABORATORY:
FOSSIL AND MODERN BOTANICAL MATERIALS

Paleoecological, stratigraphic, archaeological, and modern ecological studies often require identification of small plant parts. The collection of the macrobotanical laboratory consists of fossil and recent plant specimens that are typically between 0.5 and 20 mm in size (seeds, leaves, flowers, twigs). The laboratory also contains the most complete collection of fossil packrat middens from the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Desert, and serves as a repository for fossil packrat middens and other types of fossil plant deposits, with fossil plant assemblages extracted from approximately 700 fossil packrat middens collected by numerous researchers over the last 30 years. The plant macrofossils from the middens are identified through comparison with reference specimens from more than 3000 modern plant collections also housed in the repository. These collections are used to support ongoing research projects by NAU faculty and students as well as USGS scientists.

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Ken Cole, Director
556-7466 ext. 230
Ken.Cole@nau.edu

CLINE LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

The Cline Library is honored to serve as the home for a rich array of archival material that documents the history and development of the Colorado Plateau, including several million items such as letters, diaries, and ledgers, photographs, oral history interviews, films, and maps. Collection strengths include the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, Native American history and culture (the Four Corners area), land use and the environment, and economic development. The library offers traditional and Web-based reference services, including the Colorado Plateau Digital Archives, currently containing more than 30,000 manuscript and photograph files. We can assist with curriculum development and with exhibitions and presentations. Special Collections also houses the University Archives, documenting more than 100 years of higher education in northern Arizona, and the archival collections of the Arizona Historical Society, Northern Division.

The library’s resource specialist teams provide support for a wide range of academic programs and activities. Teams are discipline based, and can be contacted through the library’s Web site.

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SAFETY, INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT,
AND COMPLIANCE

Research support at NAU also includes specialized offices and staff to ensure that research is conducted safely and within the legal guidelines of the federal, state, and local governments. NAU also oversees the use of human subjects and animals in research help with safety training and chemical spill clean-up, removal of hazardous waste, procuring and monitoring use of radioisotopes, among other things

Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property

All Intellectual Property disclosures are submitted to the Office of the Vice President for Research. We then work with a technology transfer service provider who evaluates the disclosures for licensing and patent potential.

Intellectual property questions should be directed to the Office of the Vice President for Research at (928) 523-4236.

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INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
(Use of Human Subjects)

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research oversees all research conducted by faculty, staff, and students that involves humans as the subjects of a study. This includes research, research-related activities, and training projects with a research component.

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Barbara Frakes
523-4999
Barbara.Frakes@nau.edu

INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL CARE & USE COMMITTEE
(Use of Animals in Research)

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee helps all researchers at the university comply with federal regulations that govern the use of animals in research or education, including the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Policy Manual and public statements, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NRC), and OSHA and EPA regulations. The committee sets additional policies and operating procedures to address welfare concerns specific to the research programs on campus.

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Steve Hempleman, Chair
523-7220
Steven.Helpleman@nau.edu

OFFICE OF REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

The Office of Regulatory Compliance (ORC) was formed in 2006 to coordinate oversight of all chemical, biological, radiation, hazardous waste, ergonomic, numerous OSHA based regulations and environmental safety programs at NAU. The ORC provides leadership in working with the campus community to ensure a safe and healthful working and learning environment.

The ORC will work with any departments, researchers, laboratories, staff, and students to ensure that activity or work with chemicals, radioisotopes, biological agents, physical hazards and potential hazards is conducted in the safest way possible.  In addition, they help ensure that this work is done in compliance with federal, state and local safety regulations.

The ORC provides regularly scheduled group training for compliance with federal and other regulations, and will also come to your lab or office to provide additional training and consultation. The Industrial Hygiene Component of ORC includes ergonomic evaluations, hearing conservation, respiratory protection, flood remediation, indoor air quality and many other areas too numerous to list.

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Biological Safety, Accidents & Incidents
Barbara Fox Nellis 523-7268
Barbara.Nellis@nau.edu

Radiation Safety, Chemical Safety
John McGregor 523-7258
John.McGregor@nau.edu

Environmental Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Ergonomics
James Biddle 523-6109
James.Biddle@nau.edu

Hazardous Waste
LT Green 523-1146
LT.Green@nau.edu

Program Coordinator, Training Manuals, and Loss Prevention
Sarah Ells 523-3961
Sarah.Ells@nau.edu