MRI: Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope to Strengthen Research Capabilities at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution

这项主要研究仪器（MRI）奖将使东华盛顿大学（EWU）获得一台扫描电子显微镜（SEM），这是一所主要的本科生和区域性综合性机构。该仪器将允许教师和学生从事多学科（生物、化学、环境科学、地球科学和工程）的研究。除了用于研究之外，这种最先进的设备还将被整合到几个学术部门的课程中，让学生（其中许多人属于STEM中代表性不足的群体）探索微观世界。这将是华盛顿斯波坎地区（拥有三所大学和三所社区学院）学术机构中唯一的电子商务管理系统，并打算成为多用户设施的一部分。SEM还将支持K-12学生和教师的教育推广活动，包括课堂研究体验、虚拟实地考察和亲自实地考察。具有能量色散x射线能谱（EDS）的扫描电子显微镜（SEM）可对固体材料进行纳米级成像和元素分析，可广泛应用于科学，工程和研究培训活动。扫描电镜将有助于研究1)土壤中的养分和重金属运输，2)地面大气中的臭氧产生，3)植物和动物的进化和石化，以及4)区域火成岩和变质作用的时间和环境条件。除了用这些资金购买的样品制备设备外，扫描电镜将为早期职业研究者提供关键的研究仪器，促进跨学科研究，并改善东吴和附近大学和社区学院的研究基础设施。EWU教师在指导本科生研究方面有着良好的记录，其中许多本科生在STEM领域的代表性不足。大约50%的EWU学生是第一代大学生，28%的学生被认为是少数民族，44%的学生符合PELL资格。SEM将使EWU多个领域的新颖实践研究和培训活动成为可能。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 Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award will enable the acquisition of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at Eastern Washington University (EWU), a primarily undergraduate and regional, comprehensive institution. This instrumentation will allow faculty and students to pursue research in multiple disciplines (biology, chemistry, environmental science, geosciences, and engineering). In addition to its use in research, this state-of the-art equipment will be integrated into coursework in several academic departments to allow students, many of whom are in underrepresented groups in STEM, to explore the microscopic world. This will be the only SEM at an academic institution in the greater Spokane, Washington area (which hosts three universities and three community colleges) and is intended to be part of a multi-user facility. The SEM will also support educational outreach activities for K-12 students and teachers including research experiences in the classroom, virtual field trips, and in-person field trips.A scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) generates nanometer-scale imaging and elemental analysis of solid materials which can be applied to a wide range of scientific, engineering, and research-training activities. The SEM will facilitate the investigation of 1) nutrient and heavy metal transport in soil, 2) ozone production in ground-level atmosphere, 3) plant and animal evolution and fossilization, and 4) timing and environmental conditions of regional igneous and metamorphic processes. Along with sample preparation equipment acquired with these funds, the SEM will provide critical research instrumentation for early-career investigators, foster interdisciplinary research, and improve the research infrastructure at EWU and nearby universities and community colleges. EWU faculty have a strong record of supervising research by undergraduates - many of whom are underrepresented in STEM. About 50% of EWU students are first-generation college students, 28% of the students identify as a minority, and 44% are PELL eligible. The SEM will enable novel hands-on research and training activities in multiple fields across EWU.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.