The six-story Interdisciplinary Research Building (IRB), located in Block C4, is the central hub for primary research activities at Nazarbayev University. It provides 18,400 m2 of dedicated research space, housing 120 laboratories, major scientific instrumentation, and offices that support projects across biotechnology, physics, materials science, analytical chemistry, robotics and others. Designed to foster diverse STEM research, the IRB enables interdisciplinary collaboration within Nazarbayev University, with other Kazakhstani institutions and with international collaborators.
Analytical Chemistry
Electron Microscopy
Materials Science
Biology
Within the IRB, the Research Core Facilities (RCF) Department plays a key role as the primary unit responsible for managing the university’s major research equipment. RCF’s main mission is to support NU’s research community – faculty, staff, and students by providing access to the state-of-the-art equipment, expert guidance and a collaborative environment.
As of 2025, RCF houses 84 primary research equipment across four major domains: analytical chemistry, materials science, electron microscopy and biology. Together, these capabilities enable a wide range of scientific investigations, including chromatography and mass spectrometry for chemical analysis, thin film deposition and nanofabrication for materials research, scanning and transmission electron microscopy for nanoscale imaging, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy and molecular biology techniques for life sciences and more.
Services Offered
- Equipment Access. Reservation-based access for researchers, students and faculty.
- Hands-on training to prepare researchers and students to become independent users.
- Analytical Services. Expert staff can perform experiments and analyses for internal users and external collaborators.
- Guidance on experiment workflows, sample preparation, troubleshooting etc.
- Maintenance & Reliability. Through preventive maintenance and servicing, ensuring safe, reliable and consistent operation of all equipment.
Serving the research community and driving impact
RCF is open to all members of the Nazarbayev University community – faculty, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, RCF actively collaborates with industry partners, regional institutions and research organizations.
RCF plays a pivotal role in enabling high-impact research at NU. RCF’s research infrastructure and staff expertise contribute to publications, patents, collaborative projects and the education of the next generation of scientists and engineers in the country. For more information, visit Research Core Facilities’ website: cf.nu.edu.kz
