Scientific experimentation and observation, forms major part of teaching and research in science & technology. Hence accurate measurements assume paramount importance in science education and research. For the training of experimental scientists of high caliber and for sustaining the continuous interest of students and researchers in an environment of rapid advancement in science & technology, universities and colleges need to be continuously provided with highly reliable and sophisticated instruments for teaching and advanced research. Further, modern instruments are becoming more and more sophisticated and hence expensive. As such liberal purchase of sophisticated instruments is not possible, which leads to the concept of centralizing the instrumentation facility and bringing the sophisticated instruments in a common pool for their better utilization. It is natural that this would also call for an activity related to the operation and maintenance of the equipment, since maximum and proper utilization of instruments depends, to a large extent, on whether they are kept in working condition and that the user is well versed with their use.

University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC) was established in University of Kashmir in 1979 in order to provide centralized instrumentation facility on sophisticated instruments to the researchers and students and facilitate the University with maintenance of instruments and fabrication of new equipment for research. While the Centre has the credit to provide largely uninterrupted instrumentation facility to the researchers and students on sophisticated instruments like SEM, AAS, IC etc., the Centre has progressed considerably, over the last few years, in its endeavor to provide better repair and maintenance facility to the university and its affiliated colleges. Further, the Centre has been organizing short term courses on the maintenance and use of instruments and has introduced a one year full time post graduate diploma course on instrumentation technology.

Since last few years, USIC has uniquely emerged as the prominent platform in north India for supporting indigenous technology innovation leading to the development of new instruments and gadgets useful for the society at large, thus facilitating flow of technology from the laboratory to the society. The Centre has the credit to file about 25 patents in favour of technology innovators through various schemes and projects thereby leading to the development of an instrumentation culture in the society.

While we welcome the researchers and the students in science for availing the instrumentation facility on sophisticated instruments at USIC for furthering their research, we will ensure our support, financial and/or technical, to any technology inventor or innovator leading to the development of a new instrument or gadget useful for the society. Further, USIC is committed to provide any assistance/service regarding purchase of a new equipment or maintenance of an existing instrument.