Under regular circumstances, the Department of Chemistry’s Instrumentation Facility (DCIF) is a 24/7 operation that services nearly 100 individual research labs from not only the MIT community, but external universities and corporations alike, at a rate of approximately 300 users a month. In 2018, the DCIF benefited immensely from the generous support of alumni and friends who contributed to a fundraising drive to replace and renew outdated equipment in the facility. When the Covid-19 pandemic forced all on-campus activity to come to a screeching halt last March, the stewards and staff…
