MRI: Acquisition of a Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope for Cal State Northridge Scanning Microscopy Lab

MRI：为加州州立大学北岭扫描显微镜实验室购买场发射枪扫描电子显微镜

• 批准号: 2117954
• 负责人: Elena Miranda
• 金额: $ 80.02万
• 依托单位: The University Corporation, Northridge
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-15 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2117954&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Field; Emission; Gun

The purpose of the project is to acquire a high-performance scanning electron microscope (SEM) with superior imaging and analytical capability for use by geology, chemistry, physics, and biology faculty and students at California State University Northridge (CSUN), one of the largest campuses in the 23 campus California State University (CSU) system. CSUN is a federally designated Hispanic-serving public university granting Master of Science (M.S.) degrees. The acquisition of the new SEM will distinguish CSUN within the 23-campus, non-Ph.D.-granting CSU system and will have transformative effects on faculty and student research at institutional, regional, and state levels. At the institutional level, research programs of nearly a dozen CSUN science faculty and their students will be transformed by the analytical capability of the new SEM that are made possible by the field emission source of the electrons used for imaging, and the add-on detectors that allow for structural and chemical characterization of samples. At the state level, this caliber of field emission SEM (FE-SEM) would be unique within the CSU system, representing an elevation in the research infrastructure of M.S.-granting institutions. The Co-PIs have concrete plans to run the FE-SEM lab as a multi-user facility that supports both virtual and physical access for other CSU students and faculty. At the regional level, the Microscopy Lab has partnered with the CSU Chancellor’s Office Research Department to formalize its status as a center and to create and grow a CSU-wide community of faculty and student users of the new microscopy facility through a series of system-wide webinars showcasing the instrument and potential research and student training uses. The FE-SEM will enhance the full participation of underrepresented people through the involvement of diverse faculty (two out of three Co-PIs are from underrepresented groups in the geosciences) and students at a M.S.-granting, Hispanic-serving institution (HSI). As part of this project, CSUN will acquire a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) that offers nano-scale resolution and state-of-the-art analytical capabilities, including: 1) high speed electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), 2) energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, and 3) cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging. These capabilities are essential for leading-edge research for a team at California State University Northridge (CSUN) comprising 3 geoscientist Co-PIs and 8 other faculty colleagues from geology, chemistry, biology, and physics. Most importantly, the acquisition of the FE-SEM will revolutionize the research training of undergraduate and M.S. students who would typically need to travel to a Ph.D.-granting institution where they are granted sporadic access to instrumentation with these capabilities. The FE-SEM will be housed in the Department of Geological Sciences at CSUN, where it will be supported by the Department’s dedicated instrument technician and maintained by service contract with funding gifted annually by a private donor. The FE-SEM will enhance the research infrastructure at a M.S.-granting HSI, which is an important step in creating access to research training for students who are unable to attend or afford an education at better-instrumented Ph.D.-granting institutions. Given that terminal geoscience M.S. degree recipients consistently outnumber Ph.D. recipients nationwide, this is critical training for a significant part of the future STEM workforce. The FE-SEM will improve the research training of students through 1) mentored research projects, 2) coursework, 3) an innovative post-M.S. degree training program, and 4) a microscopy lecture series. The latter two items specifically promote the development of a competitive workforce and partnerships between academia and industry, respectively.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.

该项目的目的是获得具有卓越的成像和分析能力的高性能扫描电子显微镜（SEM），可在加利福尼亚州立大学诺斯里奇（CSUN）（CSUN）中使用地质，化学，物理学和生物学教师，这是23个校园加利福尼亚州立大学（CSU）最大的校园之一。 CSUN是一所联邦政府指定的西班牙裔公立大学，授予科学硕士（M.S.）学位。新SEM的获取将区分23校园内的CSUN，非授予CSU系统，并将对机构，地区和州一级的教职研究对教师和学生研究产生变革性影响。在机构层面，将近十几个CSUN科学教师的研究计划和他们的学生通过新SEM的分析能力来改变，这些分析能力是由用于成像的电子设备的现场发射来源以及允许样品结构和化学表征的附加探测器所实现的。在州一级，这种现场发射SEM（FE-SEM）的才能在CSU系统中是独一无二的，代表了M.S. Granting机构的研究基础设施的高度。 Co-Pis有具体的计划，将FE-SEM实验室作为多用户设施运行，该设施支持其他CSU学生和教职员工的虚拟和物理访问。在区域层面，显微镜实验室已与CSU总理办公室研究部合作，正式化了其中心地位，并通过一系列全系统范围的网络启动师来创建和发展新的Microscopy设施的CSU范围社区，并展示了仪器和潜在的研究和学生培训用途。 FE-SEM将通过不同的教师参与来增强代表性不足的人的全部参与（三分之二的共同案例中有两个来自地球科学中代表性不足的群体），而在M.S.授予西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）的学生中，学生的人数不足。作为该项目的一部分，CSUN将获得现场排放扫描电子显微镜（FE-SEM），该电子显微镜（FE-SEM）提供纳米级分辨率和最先进的分析能力，包括：1）高速电子反向散射衍射（EBSD），2），2）能量分散谱分析（EDS）分析和3）倾斜度（EDS）分析（EDS）分析（EDS）。这些功能对于加利福尼亚州立大学诺斯里奇（CSUN）的团队的领先研究至关重要，该研究完成了3个地质学家共同理学和其他8位来自地质，化学，生物学和物理学的其他教职员工。最重要的是，收购FE-SEM将彻底改变本科和硕士学位的研究培训。通常需要参加博士学位授予乐器的学生，在那里他们获得了零星的仪器访问这些能力。 FE-SEM将安置在CSUN的地质科学系中，该部门将由该部门专用的仪器技术人员提供支持，并通过服务合同维护，并由私人捐助者每年有资金。 FE-SEM将在M.S.授予HSI的研究基础设施中增强研究基础设施，这是为无法参加或负担不起受教育的学生在受过良好吸引力的博士学位授予机构中获得研究培训的重要一步。鉴于终端地球科学硕士学位接受者始终超过博士学位在全国范围内，这是对未来STEM劳动力的重要部分的重要培训。 FE-SEM将通过1）指导的研究项目改善学生的研究培训，2）课程，3）创新的M.S。学位培训计划和4）显微镜讲座系列。后两个项目分别特别促进了竞争劳动力和学术界和行业之间的合作伙伴关系的发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，认为通过评估被认为是宝贵的支持。