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

RUI/MRI：购买环境扫描电子显微镜用于研究和教学

• 批准号: 0320010
• 负责人: Jason Bond
• 金额: $ 25.64万
• 依托单位: East Carolina University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-07-15 至 2006-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0320010&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; MRI; Acquisition; Environmental; Scanning

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.

在Jason E.Bond博士的指导下，东卡罗来纳大学(ECU)获得了一笔赠款，用于购买配备能量分散X射线能力的环境扫描电子显微镜(ESEM)。超过四分之一个世纪以来，生物系一直支持设备齐全的电子显微镜实验室(EML)。这个设施已经成为众多不同生物学学科的教职员工和学生的研究工具，也是至少其他三个科学系的教职员工和学生的重要资源。此外，EML还发挥了重要的教育作用，每年培训20多名高级本科生和研究生基本电子显微镜技术。环境扫描电子显微镜将用于支持至少三个独立的ECU系的研究和教学任务：生物学、化学和地质学。至少，我们预计将主要由五名核心用户和七名辅助用户组成的核心用户使用环境扫描电子显微镜，这些用户将不定期地使用设备。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用于系统学、授粉生物学和自交不亲和进化的蜘蛛形态研究，沿海石灰岩含水层变化的矿物学和地球化学评估，沸石表面形态和化学计量研究，以及北卡罗来纳州沿海平原含水层地下水化学调查。除了这三个系的教师和研究生使用这种仪器外，环境扫描电子显微镜还将在许多课程中正式使用。例如，生物学平均每年培训约23名电子显微镜学生。随着该显微镜所要求的EDX功能的增加，环境扫描电子显微镜也将适合化学和地质学课程的本科生使用。学期的课程注册将分别增加19名和36名地质和化学本科生接触环境扫描电子显微镜。获得环境扫描电子显微镜的可用性和易用性将增加向东卡罗来纳大学不同文化背景的学生群体和北卡罗来纳州东部的人们展示扫描电子显微镜技术和数字成像的可能性。对学生进行电子显微镜培训对学生有许多广泛的好处。例如，获取数字成像技术和对这种技术先进的设备进行培训，将为学生提供一套可用于生命科学和物理科学的广泛学科的工具。虽然购买环境扫描电子显微镜将对ECU各部门的教育计划产生重大影响，但我们预计该设备也将影响当地的初中、中学、高中和社区大学的科学计划。这些设备将提供给教职员工和学生，用于教学演示和基础研究。