The SIF resumes limited operations after a 7 week closure

The Stable Isotope Facility (SIF) will be closing, effective July 26, 2026.

June 3, 2026
An Update on the Plant Sciences Stable Isotope Facility

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students, and Supporters,
After a lengthy review process and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to sunset the Stable Isotope Facility (SIF) in its current form, effective July 26, 2026.

The Department of Plant Sciences continues to face hard decisions surrounding funding allocation given the campus-wide request to reduce budgets. Over the past several years SIF has been operating with a significant and growing deficit and, despite extensive efforts over the last several months to find a solution that would allow the facility to continue to provide services to the research community, we have not found a model that is financially sustainable.

I want to thank SIF’s staff for their excellent work and dedication these past 25 years, and everyone who has played a role in supporting this facility.

We are committed to doing our best to support the researchers who rely on the facility during this transition, and will be in touch with individual clients about details of specific plans for handling existing orders over the next several weeks.

Sincerely,
Daniel Potter
Professor and Chair, Department of Plant Sciences
University of California, Davis

Original Letter

Returning SIF Samples (Facility closes July 26, 2026)

Dear Valued Client, 

After a lengthy review process and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to sunset the Stable Isotope Facility (SIF) in its current form, effective July 26, 2026.

The Department of Plant Sciences continues to face hard decisions surrounding funding allocation given the campus-wide request to reduce budgets. Over the past several years, SIF has been operating with a significant and growing deficit and, despite extensive efforts over the last several months to find a solution that would allow the facility to continue to provide services to the research community, we have not found a model that is financially sustainable.

We regret to inform you that SIF staff will be unable to process your submitted samples before the facility's closure date. As a result, we would like to offer the option of returning your samples. If you would like your samples returned, please submit the request via return form on the SIF website.   If you do not wish to have the samples returned, please notify us, and we will arrange for their appropriate disposal in accordance with established protocols.

We sincerely appreciate your support of the Stable Isotope Facility and the opportunity to have served your research needs.

Sincerely,
Daniel Potter
Professor and Chair, Department of Plant Sciences
University of California, Davis

The SIF resumes limited operations after a 7 week closure

  • by Lauri Brandeberry

May 11, 2020

The SIF faculty and staff have been busy implementing procedures for returning to operations, addressing safety and conduct protocols with respect to COVID-19. Thanks to the hard work of our team, our Phase 1 return to work plan has been approved. What does this mean for our SIF clients?

  • The SIF will ramp up instruments beginning this week.
  • No client samples will be analyzed until the instruments are operational within our QA/QC specifications.
  • The SIF lab spaces will be minimally staffed to optimize physical distancing. The lab is closed to visitors.
  • Any work that can be done from home will continue to be teleworked by the SIF staff. Email is still the best way to contact us.
  • Staff-intensive services, including nitrate and carbonate sample preparation, will not be conducted until the UC Davis campus fully re-opens (tentative reopening date is June 1, 2020 pending local directives).

The SIF will begin accepting shipments following this protocol:

  • Completed Analysis Order Form and Sample Lists must be emailed to [email protected] before packaging samples.
  • Do not ship samples until you have a confirmation from a SIF staff or faculty.
  • Perishable shipments must be shipped in an insulated cooler, with sufficient coolant and cushioning, and shipped expedited on a Monday or Tuesday to minimize delays with receipt and refrigeration.
  • Ship samples with tracking (e.x. FedEx, UPS, or standard post with tracking) because sample delivery may still experience delays. The UC Davis Campus is still closed, so SIF staff have to pick up standard post from Mail Services.
  • UC Davis researchers can make an appointment to drop-off samples by emailing [email protected].

We thank you for your continued patience and flexibility with the turnaround time. We empathize that many of you will experience hardships with project and funding deadlines during this interim period, but we must handle requests as equitably as possible.
• Our priority is to schedule the samples that were in-house prior to the shutdown.
• We expect throughput and demand to be dynamic in the coming weeks and months. Please plan for variance in our turnaround times.
• The Analysis Order Form has a new “deadline” section at the bottom of the form. Reasonable requests will be considered when the samples are scheduled for analysis, but we cannot make any guarantees during this unsettled time.

Operational status may change at any time. We will email an announcement if there are any further changes.

All of the SIF thank you for your continued support!