The Materials Characterization Laboratory (MAC Lab for short) is a multiuser research facility allowing access to a variety of sophisticated instruments to allow the characterization of materials. The facility is well equipped to carry out magnetic property research using a SQUID/Evercool MPMS magnetometer and two liquid helium cooled magnetometers (MPMS & PPMS), x-ray diffraction of powders and single crystals, a variety of optical spectrometers (UV/VIS/NIR, FT-IR, fluorescence) and thermal analysis (SDT & TGA), atomic force and optical microscopy, Raman vibrational spectroscopy using continuous wave (cw) lasers and transient absorption and emission spectroscopy using pulsed lasers.