High Maintenance

Summer 2023
Tracey Rhoades

As director of operations for the Shared Equipment Authority, Timothy Gilheart ’08 keeps the lenses polished and gears greased — sort of.

The Shared Equipment Authority, established in 2001, is literally a SEA of equipment maintained by dedicated research scientists and staff, many of whom have advanced degrees, are experts in their fields and possess 20-plus years of experience. At the apex of the organization is Gilheart, the keeper of 150 specialized, sophisticated instruments distributed in 12 locations across campus and the BioScience Research Collaborative. Gilheart first came to Rice from Trinity as an undergraduate in 2001 for a summer of research, then returned as a graduate student in 2002, making him an early user of the resources he now manages.

How did your early exposure to Rice influence your decision to come back?

As [a student in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program], I designed components for improving signal-to-noise in quantum-limited electron-detection experiments in the lab of Alexander Rimberg. That experience directly impacted my decision to attend Rice as part of the applied physics program and Alex’s team. When the Rimberg Lab moved to Dartmouth in 2004, I transferred and finished my Ph.D. there in 2008.

Many larger institutions are surprised at how much Rice accomplishes in science and engineering research given its enrollment. We work relentlessly to help Rice punch above its weight class.

I returned to Rice as an instructor in the physics and astronomy department, where I co-taught physics classes. In 2011, I became the Shared Equipment Authority’s clean room manager/research scientist and managed the old facility in Abercrombie Lab, now demolished. As someone who has been an undergrad and grad student and held faculty and staff positions, I am very grateful for the many long-term collegial and mentoring relationships I have enjoyed throughout my time at Rice.

Is there such a thing as a typical day for you?

There is a lot of variation. In my basement office in the Space Sciences Building, I will triage the most urgent items before plugging in to the day’s planned tasks. Given how our core labs are geographically distributed across Rice, I am often on location with other staff members, being “eyes on” and “hands on,” providing technical leadership for timely issues.

Do peer institutions have similar offices?

Any university engaged in engineering and science research will have one or more core lab facilities, [which usually operate] independently. Our office’s distinctive quality is that we are an umbrella organization for most of Rice’s core labs. Being centrally positioned under the Office of Research, our organizational structure helps us more effectively leverage limited resources. Many larger institutions are surprised at how much Rice accomplishes in science and engineering research given its enrollment. We work relentlessly to help Rice punch above its weight class.