Maintenance and repair are by far the greatest problems in the effective utilization of modern scientific instrumentation. This is particularly critical at community colleges and smaller colleges and universities where the requisite expertise and adequate funds for repair and maintenance may not be available. To provide assistance in dealing with these problems, Iowa State University is offering a repair and maintenance service for scientific instrumentation to colleges and universities within Iowa and adjacent states--a total of nearly fifty institutions. The service is provided by trained electronics personnel working from a mobile van outfitted as an electronics shop. The project is patterned after, and was developed following consultation with, a similar project at Georgia Tech that has received Foundation support in the past and has been notably successful. Significant university support is also dedicated to support of the project which, after the term of this award, is expected to become self-supporting.
