MRI: Acquisition of an Atomic Force Microscope for Multidisciplinary Research and Undergraduate Education

MRI：购买原子力显微镜用于多学科研究和本科教育

• 批准号: 1827971
• 负责人: Jennifer Heath
• 金额: $ 18.07万
• 依托单位: Linfield College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-10-01 至 2021-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1827971&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Atomic; Force; Microscope

This Major Research Instrumentation grant funds the acquisition of an atomic force microscope, which supports multidisciplinary research and undergraduate education at Linfield College as well as at nearby colleges/universities. This microscope provides detailed images of sample surfaces at nanometer scale as well as specialized capabilities that can map electrical, magnetic, and elastic properties of the surfaces. As such, this instrument enables new research on topics of high societal impact, including novel electronic materials, biosensors, energy conversion, drug delivery, and health of the marine environment. Since the institutions using the microscope are primarily undergraduate serving, the projects undertaken have been carefully chosen to engage this population in meaningful research that can realistically deliver results. This microscope is also central to the undergraduate experience at Linfield by allowing high quality training, ranging from course laboratories to summer research to senior capstone projects, for a large number of undergraduate students. In addition, because the microscope delivers compelling images that engage students in the excitement of scientific research, the instrument is also used to broaden participation of underrepresented students in the sciences. It is integrated in Linfield's pre-orientation science camp for entering first-year and transfer students, a scholarship program for undergraduates with high financial need, and outreach efforts that seek to build excitement about the sciences among high school students.This atomic force microscope greatly expands experimental capabilities at Linfield College and in the region, enabling a wide range of research projects including: investigating electronic properties of two-dimensional materials and devices; developing graphene-based biosensors; creating electronically active silica xerogel and aerogel materials for use in sensors; synthesizing functional thermo-responsive polymeric micelles for drug delivery applications; probing the roles of cytoskeletal motors in phagocytosis in retinal pigment epithelium cells; imaging interactions between microbes and their host sponges; and understanding surface passivation effects on optical emission from quantum dots. The microscope is essential to these projects, yielding high resolution spatial characterization of the topographic and electronic properties of materials and devices, identification and study of biological structures, and force spectroscopy of cellular features.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这笔重大研究仪器拨款用于购买原子力显微镜，用于支持林菲尔德学院和附近学院/大学的多学科研究和本科教育。该显微镜提供纳米尺度的样品表面的详细图像，以及可以绘制表面的电、磁和弹性属性的专门功能。因此，该仪器能够对具有高度社会影响的主题进行新的研究，包括新型电子材料、生物传感器、能量转换、药物输送和海洋环境健康。由于使用显微镜的机构主要是本科生服务，所进行的项目经过精心挑选，以使这些人参与到能够切实产生结果的有意义的研究中。这种显微镜也是林菲尔德大学本科生经历的核心，它允许为大量本科生提供高质量的培训，从课程实验室到暑期研究再到高级顶峰项目。此外，由于显微镜能提供令人信服的图像，让学生对科学研究充满热情，该仪器还被用来扩大未被充分代表的学生在科学领域的参与。这种原子力显微镜极大地扩展了林菲尔德学院和该地区的实验能力，使广泛的研究项目成为可能，包括：研究二维材料和设备的电子性质；开发石墨烯生物传感器；制造用于传感器的电子活性二氧化硅干凝胶和气凝胶材料；合成用于药物输送的功能性热响应聚合物胶束；探索细胞骨架马达在视网膜色素上皮细胞吞噬中的作用；成像微生物与其宿主海绵之间的相互作用；以及了解表面钝化对量子点光学发射的影响。显微镜对于这些项目是必不可少的，能够产生材料和设备的地形和电子性质的高分辨率空间表征，生物结构的鉴定和研究，以及细胞特征的力光谱。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。