MRI: Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope to Enhance Undergraduate and Graduate Research and Teaching in Biology, Chemistry and Earth and Space Sciences

授予哥伦布州立大学佐治亚州大学系统获得一台扫描电子显微镜(SEM)，以支持和扩大生物系、化学系和地球和空间科学系内的各种研究计划。最终，将扫描电子显微镜技术纳入哥伦布州立大学的课程将直接增加本科生和研究生对研究的参与，并鼓励学生从事专业生物学家、化学家、环境科学家和地质学家的职业生涯。直接与教师合作的学生将使用扫描电子显微镜技术来加强正在进行的研究项目，这些项目涉及该大学的实地考察、博物馆收藏、植物标本收藏以及分子和化学实验室。包括扫描电子显微镜经验的研究将为目前在自然科学中代表性不足的群体打开新的机会。扫描电子显微镜将为招生以及招收高中生到STEM领域提供外展机会；哥伦布州立大学还将与地区两年制机构合作，酌情将扫描电子显微镜作为其科学课程的一部分。扫描电子显微镜技术还将被纳入正在进行的STEM夏令营，这些夏令营针对当地高中，以强调自然和生物医学科学的潜在职业。预计一些参与的学生将从事包括但不限于：生态学、分类学、分类学、生态遗传学、昆虫学、化学和地质学的职业。该项目将直接吸引哥伦布州立大学的教职员工、研究生和本科生参与，这些学科包括生物学、授粉生态学、保护遗传学、昆虫学、植物生态学、环境科学、地质学和化学等。这项研究最终将有助于我们理解自然科学，包括地球的生物和物理多样性。在许多情况下，哥伦布州立大学的教职员工、本科生和研究生现在可以使用扫描电子显微镜技术进行研究。例如，通过扫描电子显微镜技术对花粉形态的分析将使研究人员能够验证通过分子工具获得的结果，并在目前缺乏数据的情况下提供解决方案。特别是，扫描电子显微镜将用于花粉DNA条形码的物种鉴定和验证，以及哥伦布州立大学本科生和研究生教育的一些教育、策展和生物信息学项目的开发和使用。反过来，这将极大地促进国际合作，利用DNA条形码记录全球生物多样性。

An award is made to Columbus State University, University System of Georgia, to acquire a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to support and expand a diverse group of research programs within the Department of Biology, Department of Chemistry and the Department of Earth and Space Science. Ultimately, the incorporation of SEM technology to the curriculum of Columbus State University will directly increase undergraduate and graduate participation in research and encourage students to pursue careers as professional biologists, chemists, environmental scientists and geologists. Students working directly with faculty will use SEM technology to enhance on-going research programs that involve the university's field sites, museum collections, herbarium collections and molecular and chemistry laboratories. Research that includes an SEM experience will open up new opportunities to groups that are currently underrepresented in the Natural Sciences. The SEM will facilitate outreach opportunities for recruitment as well as the recruitment of high school students to STEM fields; Columbus State University will also work with regional two-year institutions that will make the SEM a part of their science courses as appropriate. SEM technology will also be incorporated into on-going STEM summer camps that target local high schools to underscore potential careers in the natural and biomedical sciences. The expectation is that some of the participating students will pursue careers including but not limited to: ecology, taxonomy, systematics, ecological genetics, entomology, chemistry and geology. This project will directly engage Columbus State University faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students across a diverse collection of disciplines such as biology, pollination ecology, conservation genetics, entomology, plant ecology, environmental science, geology and chemistry, to name a few. This research will ultimately aid in our understanding of the Natural Sciences, including the biological and physical diversity of the planet. In many cases research conducted by Columbus State University faculty, undergraduate and graduate students can now move forward with the use of SEM technology. For example, the analysis of pollen morphology by SEM technology will allow researchers to verify results obtained by molecular tools and provide resolution where data is currently absent. In particular, the SEM will be used for species identification and verification of pollen DNA barcodes as well as in the development and use of a number of educational, curatorial and bioinformatics programs for undergraduate and graduate education at Columbus State University. In turn, this would greatly facilitate international collaborations to utilize DNA barcoding to document global biodiversity.