MRI: Acquisition of Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope System for Investigation and Characterization of Complex, Nanoscale Systems

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PI: Palanki, SrinivasProposal: 1428312Title: MRI: Acquisition of Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope System for Investigation and Characterization of Complex, Nanoscale SystemsSignificanceThe availability of a JEM 2100 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) on campus will have an immediate impact in the training of undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral associates in the use of a sophisticated instrument for materials engineering and biomedical l engineering applications and the understanding of nanoscale structures. Researchers will utilize this instrument to develop cross-disciplinary collaborations between Material Sciences and Biological Sciences and will have the opportunity to work on complex research projects that are broad in scope. This training will have the broad impact of training a cadre of engineers and scientists that will form the workforce of the future for the aerospace, marine, chemical, and biological industries in the southeast, especially in EPSCoR states such as Alabama and Mississippi. Many of the graduate students in the recently created doctoral programs will work on projects that require the use of the proposed TEM. Each area of study in this research will directly involve at least one undergraduate student. In addition local high school teachers and high school students via existing outreach programs. Expanding the pool of knowledge will allow students to see how the science they learn in school is translated to advances in society. Technical DescriptionThe University of South Alabama (USA, an EPSCoR State University) seeks funds to acquire a JEM 2100 Transmission Electron Microscope (Jeol USA, Inc.). Acquisition of the proposed system will facilitate multi-disciplinary research by investigators at the USA to characterize systems at nanometer scales. This resolution is critical for ongoing research in the Materials and Biological Sciences, as well as integrated studies into intersections of these disciplines, particularly in the areas of nanoparticles and multiscale modeling of complex systems. The College of Engineering has become a nexus of collaborative studies between investigatorsin Departments of Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Oncologic Sciences, Physics, Pharmacology, Physiology, Biology, Mathematics and Statistics, Chemistry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Computer Science. Specific areas of ongoing collaboration include materials sciences, understanding of cellular signaling mechanisms, developing smart nanoparticles, and multiscale modeling of complex systems. The knowledge gained from the studies described in this proposal will allow a large number of researchers across multiple departments in the University of South Alabama to garner a better characterization of nanoscale systems.