MRI: Acquisition of a High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope for a Central Facility Supporting Interdisciplinary Research and Training

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这笔资金将用于购买一台高分辨率扫描电子显微镜（HR SEM）。该仪器将位于马萨诸塞大学阿姆赫斯特分校的一个新的电子显微镜设施中，该设施将同时服务于生命科学和材料科学。对于希望研究最小结构水平的科学家来说，HR SEM已经变得不可或缺。它不仅具有与透射电子显微镜相当的分辨率，而且在显微镜中制备用于成像的样品也很简单。除了能够对样品表面成像，从而揭示其地形外，该仪器还能够确定结构中存在哪些元素及其浓度。该仪器将支持马萨诸塞大学阿姆赫斯特分校以及周围学院（史密斯、霍利奥克山、阿姆赫斯特和汉普郡）的科学家们正在进行的研究。例如，地球科学家正在分析矿物的组成，从而提高对地球的了解；化学家和聚合物科学家正在研究如何制造诸如光伏电池之类的设备，通过在尽可能小的尺度上操纵组件来实现卓越的性能；生物学家正在阐明一些细菌产生的细丝是如何充当导电线的，以及植物细胞壁是如何引导细胞发育的。所有这些努力，以及其他许多努力，都将通过收购人力资源SEM而得到加强。该仪器将在许多课程中使用，从SEM的理论和实践的高级课程到更基础的课程，旨在激发观察和推理的能力。主要预期的研究成果是在出版物中使用HR SEM数据。新的中央设施将整理所有这些文件，并在其网页上提供适当的访问。预期的教育成果是概念性的（增加对SEM的理解）和实践性的（增加对该方法的专业知识）。中央设施将维持一个数据库，记录所教授的所有课程、所服务的学生，并在可能的情况下记录使用该仪器的学生以后的职业。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The funding will support the acquisition of a high-resolution scanning electron microscope (HR SEM). The instrument will be located in a new electron microscopy facility at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that will serve both life and materials sciences. For scientists wishing to investigate the smallest levels of structure, the HR SEM has become indispensable. Not only does it possess a resolution comparable to the transmission electron microscope, preparation of samples for imaging in the microscope is straightforward. In addition to being able to image the surface of the sample, thereby revealing its topography, the instrument is also able to determine which elements are present in the structure and at what concentration. The instrument will support the on-going research of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as well as at the surrounding colleges (Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst, and Hampshire). For example, geoscientists are analyzing the composition of minerals, thereby improving understanding of the Earth; chemists and polymer scientists are investigating how to build devices, such photovoltaic cells, with superior performance by being able to manipulate components at the smallest possible scale; and biologists are elucidating how tiny filaments made by some bacteria can act as electrically conducting wires and how plant cell walls help guide cell development. All of these efforts, among many others, will be enhanced by acquisition of the HR SEM. The instrument will be used in many courses, ranging from upper level courses in theory and practice of SEM to more basic courses, designed to stimulate powers of observation and reasoning. The primary expected research outcome is the use of HR SEM data in publications. The new Central Facility will collate all such papers and will provide appropriate access on its web page. The expected educational outcomes are both conceptual (increasing understanding of SEM) and practical (increasing expertise in this methodology). The Central Facility will maintain a database on all courses taught, students served, and where possible, on the subsequent careers of student users of the instrument.