Argonne National Laboratory

Center for Nanoscale Materials

Prepare for Your Visit

For information on visiting Argonne National Laboratory, collaborating with us, or becoming an independent outside user of our facilities, please contact the CNM User Office.

Hours of Operation

The CNM, which is mandated to offer user access only 40 hours per week, provides users with routine access to facilities and instrumentation, as well as technical assistance when needed, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, except for Laboratory holidays and maintenance shutdowns. 

The supercomputing facility (Carbon) and the joint CNM/APS hard X-ray nanoprobe facility at Sector 26 of the APS are available 24 hours, 7 days a week, except for maintenance shutdowns.

Users are expected to schedule their work in advance in consultation with their CNM scientific contact and/or tool custodians.

Access to CNM

  1. An authorized official from every user’s home institution must sign a User Agreement (UA) before user projects can begin; complete a user agreement questionnaire if necessary. UA’s spell out liability and intellectual property concerns.

  2. You must be registered to work at the CNM and have an accepted proposal.
    1. Read Preparing for Your Visit and review Working at CNM.
    2. Schedule instrument time with your CNM contact.
    3. Inform the User Administrator when your instrument time is confirmed.
    4. Ensure that all colleagues visiting Argonne have registered.
    5. Arrange for delivery of samples and materials.
    6. Make your hotel reservation.
  3. Complete the user work submittal form (UWS, this is coordinated by the User Office).
  4. Take the online core training courses for Argonne facility users; you must have an Argonne badge to sign in to the online system. Allow time to take any safety training courses upon arrival at the CNM or prior to your visit.
  5. To access Argonne National Laboratory and the CNM, bring two pieces of identification. Acceptable forms of ID for both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens can be found here. 
  6. For safety and security reasons, it is necessary to know of all facility users present in the CNM (Buildings 440 and 441). Users are required to log in and out at the kiosk in the lobby or at the rear entrance from the APS Experiment Hall.

CNM Transportation

Map of Argonne Site Showing CNM Location

A shuttle bus operates between Argonne and the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus. 

Northwestern University offers a car pool program to Argonne. 

From early spring until early fall, Argonne offers a bike-share program that facility users are welcome to join. Before using the bikes, you must take a online bike safety course and sign a liability waiver. On completion of the training and waiver, you will receive an Argonne-issued bike share helmet. This helmet MUST be worn while cycling on campus.