The Center for Materials Analysis: An important step to expedite materials research at Nanjing University

In 1983 Nanjing University, People's Republic of China, established a Center for Materials Analysis (CMA) with the support of the Chinese Ministry of Education. CMA acquired, and now operates and maintains, a wide spectrum of materials-oriented equipment for analysis and characterization studies by a University-wide user community, including external collaborators from industry and various scientific and technical professions. The CMA mode of operation has been found to provide wider, more cost-effective access to state-of-the-art, well-maintained facilities than the dispersion of equipment in various University departments and laboratories. In addition, CMA provides an effective locus for interdisciplinary research activities.