Based on a recent Lab Manager Magazine survey, we learned that nearly 44 percent of you have applied for Federal Stimulus Plan grant money - 46 percent from academia, followed by 12.7 percent from hospital or medical centers, and 12.7 percent from pharmaceutical/biotech firms.

If you're one of those, how difficult was the application process; what are your chances; has the money begun to flow?

In a recent article in The Scientist, author Alastair J.J. Wood said, "Were it not that the purpose of the bill was to attempt a rescue of our teetering economy, this would indeed be a time to celebrate. The additional funds to the scientific enterprise are sorely needed and long overdue, but it is hard not to have some misgivings at the manifest "short termism" of the overall scientific funding process."

Two years from now, when the stimulus money will be gone, are you concerned that people and projects will be yanked abruptly?

Care to weigh in?

As consumers rely more and more on the internet to make high-end purchasing decisions, is the same true when it comes to purchasing equipment for your lab?

Have you developed effective online search or research methods to help learn more about a product or category of products?

Have you found reliable online sources for getting real user feedback on the equipment you're considering buying?

What is the most useful aspect of the internet when it comes to laboratory purchasing? We'd like to hear from you.

Any tips and insights you provide will be posted here for all to share.

The NIH is expected to receive $10 billion, including $8.5 billion for research and $1.5 billion for university research facilities. The NSF will receive $3 billion, including $2.5 billion for research, $400 million for infrastructure and $100 million for education. The DOE will receive $2 billion for scientific research, and NASA will be allotted $1 billion, including $400 million for climate change research.

Will any of this have an impact on your lab or research goals? If so, how so?

Due diligence in purchasing requires an investment in time and resources to manage risk and obtain the most value for the money. This requires some oversight of the actual buying cycle and is not a trivial task. How complicated is the process at your lab? How involved do you get? Have you found better or simpler way to make smart purchasing decisions?

I'd like to hear from you.