RUI/MRI: Acquisition of an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope for Research and Teaching

一笔赠款已授予东卡罗莱纳大学（ECU）的指导下，博士贾森E。购买配备能量色散X射线功能的环境扫描电子显微镜（ESEM）。 超过四分之一的世纪生物学系支持设备齐全的电子显微镜实验室（EML）。该设施已成为众多不同生物学科的教师和学生的研究工具，并作为至少三个其他科学部门的教师和学生的重要资源。此外，EML还发挥了重要的教育功能，每年在基础电子显微镜技术方面培训20多名高级本科生和研究生。ESEM将用于支持至少三个独立的ECU部门的研究和教学任务：生物学，化学和地质学。我们预计至少有五个核心用户和七个核心辅助用户会不定期地使用ESEM。这一范围的收购将直接影响五个核心用户（PI）的研究计划，其中三个目前由NSF资助。这些核心研究项目包括蜘蛛形态学的系统学研究、授粉生物学和自交不亲和性的演变、沿海石灰岩含水层变化的矿物学和地球化学评估、沸石表面形态学和化学计量学的研究以及北卡罗来纳州沿海平原含水层地下水化学的调查。 除了这三个系的教师和研究生使用这种仪器外，ESEM还将正式用于一些课程。例如，生物学平均每年培训约23名学生进行电子显微镜检查。随着EDX功能的要求，作为该显微镜的一部分，ESEM也将适合于在化学和地质课程注册的本科生使用。在课程的学期入学人数将分别暴露在ESEM的额外估计19和36地质学和化学本科生。获得ESEM的可用性和易用性将增加暴露扫描电子显微镜技术和数字成像的可能性东卡罗莱纳大学的多元文化的学生团体和东北卡罗来纳州的人。培养学生在电子显微镜有一些广泛的规模效益的学生。 例如，获得数字成像技术和关于这种技术先进的设备的培训将为学生提供一套可用于生命科学和物理科学许多学科的工具方面的培训。 虽然ESEM的收购将显着影响ECU部门的教育计划，我们预计，这种设备也将影响当地的初中，学校，高中和社区学院的科学计划。 该设备将提供给教师和学生用于教学演示和基础研究。

A grant has been awarded to East Carolina University (ECU) under the direction of Dr. Jason E. Bond for the purchase of an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) equipped with energy dispersive x-ray capabilities. For over a quarter of a century the Department of Biology has supported a fully equipped electron microscope laboratory (the EML). This facility has served as a research tool for faculty and students from numerous disparate biological disciplines and as an important resource for faculty and students from at least three other science departments. Moreover, the EML has served an important educational function, training over 20 advanced undergraduate and graduate students per year in fundamental electron microscope techniques. The ESEM will be used in support of the research and teaching missions of at least three separate ECU Departments: Biology, Chemistry and Geology. At a minimum we anticipate major use of an ESEM by a group of five core users and a core of seven auxiliary users who will use the equipment on an irregular basis. The acquisition of this scope will directly impact the research programs of the five core users (PI's), three of which are currently funded by the NSF. These core research programs include studies of spider morphology for systematics, pollination biology and the evolution of self incompatibility, mineralogical and geochemical assessment of changes occurring in coastal limestone aquifers, studies of the surface morphology and stoichiometry of the surface of zeolites, and investigation of the groundwater chemistry of Coastal Plain aquifers in North Carolina. In addition to the use of this instrumentation by faculty and graduate students from these three Departments the ESEM will be used formally in a number of courses. For example, Biology has, on average, trained ~23 students per year in electron microscopy. With the addition of EDX capabilities requested as part of this microscope, the ESEM will also be suitable for use by undergraduates enrolled in chemistry and geology courses. Semester enrollments in courses will expose an additional estimated 19 and 36 Geology and Chemistry undergraduate students to the ESEM respectively.The availability and ease of use afforded by the acquisition of an ESEM will increase the likelihood of exposing scanning electron microscope technology and digital imaging to the culturally diverse student body of East Carolina University and to the people of the eastern North Carolina. Training students in electron microscopy has a number of broad scale benefits to students. For example, the acquisition of digital imaging techniques and training on such a technologically advanced piece of equipment will provide students with training in a set of tools that can be used in a broad number of disciplines in the life and physical sciences. Although acquisition of an ESEM will significantly impact the educational programs of departments at ECU, we anticipate that this equipment will also impact local middle, school, high school and community college science programs. This equipment will be made available to the faculty and students for use in both teaching demonstrations and basic research.