The Shared User Management System (SUMS) at Georgia Tech is a collaborative platform that allows various departments, interdisciplinary research institutes (IRIs), labs, and researchers to manage and access shared research equipment and facilities efficiently. SUMS is a valuable tool for streamlining research equipment management and collaboration.

Single Portal for Researchers and Departments:

• Researchers and Principal Investigators (PIs) can use SUMS to search for, gain access to, schedule time, and pay bills for any registered equipment.
• Departments and IRIs can create a framework for training, access control, scheduling, and billing for equipment and labs registered in the system.

Equipment Groups

• SUMS hosts various equipment groups across Georgia Tech. Researchers can join these groups to gain access to specific tools and resources.
• Examples of equipment groups include the Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience, the Invention Studio (a student-run design-build-play space), and IEN Cleanroom Training.

Billing Groups

• When a researcher uses a tool, the billing group (BG) manages the associated costs.
• Researchers can search for or request their billing group through SUMS.

Four Quick Steps to Get Started with SUMS

• Log into SUMS.
• Join a billing group: Researchers can search for their PI/sponsor’s BG and request entry.
• Join an equipment group: Researchers can directly join an equipment group or search for a specific tool and follow the entry procedures.
• Get access to a tool: Once BG and equipment group requirements are met, the tool training page will guide researchers on gaining access to specific tools1.

Statistics

• SUMS currently hosts 92 equipment groups, offering access to 1.9K equipment and services for 719 researchers.
• The top 10 most used pieces of equipment in the last 60 days include the BAND SAW—JET, easyXAFS300+, and Bruker_AV3 HD 800.
• Researchers can also view the top 10 scheduled equipment for the same period.