Acquisition of a SEM-EDS-CL microanalytical system for research, teaching, and outreach in Geology at Colby College, a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI)

这笔拨款用于购置一台新的最先进的扫描电子显微镜（SEM），用于对地球物质（如火山灰、陨石和断层岩石）进行高分辨率成像和分析。这台新仪器将用于支持和丰富科尔比学院地质系正在进行的研究，它将为地质学和其他STEM领域的本科生提供宝贵的培训机会。这种新的SEM系统也非常适合课堂使用，并将整合到科尔比地质课程的各个层次，从入门地质学到高级顶点经验。科尔比大学生物系和物理系的教师也将把扫描电镜纳入他们的教学和研究计划，从而增加新仪器的整体影响。整个校园的不同学生群体都将使用SEM，包括科尔比大学沉浸式暑期项目的一年级新生，该项目面向来自代表性不足或弱势群体、对科学感兴趣的学生。地质学院还将通过参与社区外展计划，与缅因州中部大部分农村、服务不足的人口分享研究成果。该奖项授予科尔比学院是为了获得一台配备低真空二次（SE）探测器、高灵敏度背散射电子（BSE）探测器、能量色散光谱仪（EDS）和彩色阴极发光（color-CL）探测器的变压扫描电子显微镜。新的扫描电镜系统将支持科尔比学院的各种研究计划，包括：1)了解断层带中削弱岩石的物理和化学机制，并帮助控制产生地震的断层滑动事件；2)阐明我们太阳系的早期演化，这些演化记录在以陨石形式落向地球的小行星碎片中；3)限制过去火山喷发对气候的影响，评估大气粉尘沉积对海洋生态系统生产力的影响。SEM系统将提高科尔比学院地质系教师的研究能力，并将在未来10年内使60名地质学专业的本科生从事研究工作。访问SEM将允许学生用户开发尖端技能，这将有助于未来在广泛的STEM领域的职业生涯。其他STEM领域的教师也将把扫描电镜纳入他们的教学和研究计划，从而增加新仪器的整体影响。SEM将帮助地质学院招募和留住来自弱势群体或弱势背景的学生，通过他们正在进行的Colby成就计划在科学领域的工作，这是一个为期6周的沉浸式暑期项目，面向来自弱势群体的一年级学生，他们对STEM专业感兴趣。该奖项得到了EPSCoR办公室的共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This grant funds the acquisition of a new state-of-the-art scanning-electron-microscope (SEM) for high-resolution imaging and analysis of Earth materials, such as volcanic dust, meteorites, and fault rocks. This new instrument will be used to support and enrich ongoing research in the Geology department at Colby College, and it will provide valuable training opportunities for undergraduate students in Geology and other STEM fields. This new SEM system also is ideal for classroom use and will be integrated into all levels of Colby’s geology curriculum, from introductory geology to senior capstone experiences. Colby faculty in the Biology and Physics Departments also will incorporate the SEM into their teaching and research programs, thus increasing the overall impact of the new instrument. The SEM will be used by a diverse group of students across campus, including incoming first-year students in Colby’s immersive summer program for students from underrepresented or disadvantaged groups who are interested in science. Geology faculty also will share research results with the mostly rural, underserved population of central Maine through their participation in community outreach programs. This award to Colby College is for the acquisition of a variable-pressure scanning electron microscope equipped with a low-vacuum secondary (SE) detector, a high-sensitivity back-scatter-electron (BSE) detector, an energy-dispersive-spectrometer (EDS), and a color-cathodoluminescence (color-CL) detector. The new SEM system will support a variety of research initiatives at Colby College, including: 1) understanding the physical and chemical mechanisms that weaken rocks in fault zones and help control earthquake-generating fault slip events; 2) elucidating the early evolution of our solar system as recorded in fragments of asteroids that fall to Earth as meteorites; and 3) constraining the effects past volcanic eruptions on climate and assessing the impacts of atmospheric dust deposition on the productivity of marine ecosystems. The SEM system will increase the research capabilities of faculty in the Geology Department at Colby College, and will enable ~60 undergraduate Geology majors to engage in research over the next decade. Access to the SEM will allow student users to develop cutting-edge skills that will be useful for future careers in a wide range of STEM fields. Faculty in other STEM fields also will incorporate the SEM into their teaching and research programs, thus increasing the overall impact of the new instrument. The SEM will help Geology faculty recruit and retain students from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds through their ongoing work the Colby Achievement Program in the Sciences—a 6-week immersive summer program for incoming first-year students from underrepresented groups who are interested in STEM majors. This award received co-funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) office.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.