Information For New Users

As a major component of Boston University’s commitment to world class research, we provide streamlined account registration, equipment scheduling, usage, and support. These advantages help researchers to leverage state-of-the-art instrumentation and expertise available at Boston University. There is a two-step process for new and existing facility users to register and use the facilities:

Overview

The first step is for Principal Investigators (PI) to register with the Cores Administration. In this process, the PI can submit his/her funding information for verification or can designate an administrator to manage the registration process.  Please note that the cost center number provided is good for one year and you will need to re-register annually to use core. This step is open to all PIs that currently use or plan to use any core service under the BU umbrella.

The second step is to have all scientific staff who will be using the cores to create a profile within the Cores Equipment Scheduler. Each staff member will be associated with a particular PI by entering funding information during the creation of their profile. The creation of these profiles is open to all scientific staff.

Only a limited number of facilities have implemented the scheduling system. The cores that use the scheduling system include the BUMC Flow Cytometry Core Facility, the BUMC Core Facilities developed through the Department of Medicine (Analytical Instrumentation Core, Cellular Imaging Core, High Throughput Screening Core, Animal Research Resource Center), Center for Biomedical Imaging, IVIS imaging, Metabolic Phenotyping and the Charles River Biology Core Facility. As other cores move to the scheduling system, this list will be updated.

Whether the core facility you need is using or not using the scheduling system you are encouraged to register!

How to Get Started

A step-by-step guide

All users must have Boston University credentials and must be registered with Active Directory (AD).

Access to the BU Cores Administration, the Cores Equipment Scheduler, and the Cores computers requires Boston University Kerberos credentials (username and password). If you have a BU email account, then you have such credentials. Your account, however, must also be registered with the Active Directory domain. Please run WebNew to assure that your BU account is registered with Active Directory. If you do not have Boston University Kerberos credentials (that is you are not affiliated with BU) you may still use this system by requesting credentials. Note: WebNew will indicate that it takes 24 hours to update all Active Directory systems. Frequently, however, you will be able to proceed within 15 minutes.

Step 1. Principal Investigators must register with the BU Cores Administration.

Once you have obtained and verified that your BU credentials are registered with Active Directory, you will need to visit the BU Cores Administration. Here you will submit information about each of the funding sources that you would like to use to pay for your Cores usage. By entering the information, you will be creating Funding Profiles which effectively gives the Cores Administration permission to validate the funding sources and to charge those sources for your usage. To give PIs maximum flexibility, each Funding Profile contains information about only one funding source allowing pinpoint application of funds to specific experiments/services performed by specific personnel within any core under the BU/BUMC umbrella.

Step 2. Users of Core equipment must create a profile in the Equipment Scheduling System.

Any researcher (technician, post doc, grad student, etc.) that needs to schedule equipment time or services will need to use the Cores Equipment Scheduler (CES). This system requires each researcher to create a user profile. It is during profile creation that users will associate themselves with account numbers provided to them by their PIs. These account numbers are the same numbers (BU account number, BMC PO number, corporate PO number, etc.,) that the PI specified when creating Funding Profiles (see above). Although CES profiles can be created without specifying account numbers, users without account numbers will not be able to make reservations for cores that require payment.

Once you accomplish both steps, you are ready to schedule time using the cores!