Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope for Natural Sciences Research and Training

中央阿肯色州大学（UCA）将建立一个扫描电子显微镜（SEM）设施，配备具有能量色散X射线（EDX）和可变真空能力的R. J. Lee PSEM-2000扫描电子显微镜、Pelco临界点干燥器、丹顿真空溅射镀膜机/蚀刻机和42英寸Plasmavision监视器，用于集体查看图像。 这些设备将被安置在加州大学校园刘易斯科学中心的一个专用实验室里。 该SEM设施将支持自然科学学院的各种研究计划，科学学生的指导，以及针对大学预科生和科学教师的公共宣传活动。SEM将由八个小学教师使用，其研究涵盖广泛的领域，包括：寒武纪生命形式的古生物学研究;多孔介质中声音传播模型的分析;研究腹足类软体动物感觉感受器的分布和特征;利用模型复制技术，了解开花植物发育解剖学中微模式的遗传控制;比较研究无脊椎动物的特征结构，以支持系统学描述和系统发育重建;分析大气中微粒物质的形成和金属在大气微粒中的催化作用;以及测定陨石的化学和物理性质。 基于SEM的活动将被整合到生物，化学和物理的10门课程中。 最后，SEM将支持K-12学生和教师的三个外展计划：开放样本提交，K-12教师有机会提交与课堂活动相关的样本;星期六与SEM，高中生有机会获得SEM的个人经验;以及高中科学工作坊，高中学生在这里接触SEM，作为多活动的一部分，科学推广日。 在UCA校园建立SEM设施将使科学教师能够从事以前需要前往更远的SEM设施或根本没有进行的研究。 声学、发育生物学、神经生物学和古生物学的项目将受到最直接的影响，但其他领域也将受益。 SEM还将通过增强课程和扩大研究机会，使本科生和研究生接触现代仪器和技术。 最后，由于SEM是一种容易接近的技术，K-12教育和公共宣传活动将提高阿肯色州人的技术素养水平。

The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) will establish a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) facility with a R.J. Lee PSEM-2000 scanning electron microscope having both Energy Dispersive Xray (EDX) and variable vacuum capabilities; a Pelco critical point dryer; a Denton Vacuum sputter coater/etcher; and a 42-inch Plasmavision monitor for group viewing of images. The equipment will be housed in a dedicated laboratory within Lewis Science Center on the UCA campus. This SEM facility will support the research programs of a diverse group of natural sciences faculty, the instruction of science students, and public outreach activities aimed at pre-college students and science teachers.The SEM will be used by eight primary faculty, whose research covers a wide range of fields, including: paleontological studies of Cambrian life forms; analysis of models of sound propagation in porous media; study of the distributions and characteristics of sensory receptors in gastropod molluscs; understanding the genetic control of micropatterns in developmental anatomy of flowering plants, using a mold-replica technique; comparative study of characteristic structures of invertebrates in support of systematics descriptions and phylogenetic reconstructions; analysis of the formation of particulate matter in the atmosphere, and the catalytic role of metals in atmospheric particulates; and, determination of the chemical and physical properties of meteorites. SEM-based activities will be integrated into 10 courses in biology, chemistry and physics. Finally, the SEM will support three outreach programs to K-12 students and teachers: open sample submissions, an opportunity for K-12 teachers to submit samples related to a class activity; Saturday With SEM, an opportunity for high school students to gain personal experience with the SEM; and, the High School Science Workshops, where high school students gain exposure to SEM as part of a multi-activity, science promotion day. Establishment of a SEM facility on the UCA campus will allow science faculty to pursue lines of research that previously required travel to more distant SEM facilities, or were not pursued at all. Projects in acoustics, developmental biology, neurobiology, and paleontology will be the most immediately impacted, but other areas will also benefit. The SEM will also expose undergraduate and graduate students to modern instrumentation and techniques, through both course enhancements and expanded research opportunities. Finally, because SEM is a readily approachable technology, the K-12 educational and public outreach activities will improve the level of technical literacy of Arkansans.