MRI: Acquisition of a low vacuum scanning electron microscope (SEM) with EDS detector and STEM capability to advance research and undergraduate research training

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An award is made to Lake Superior State University to support the acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with an Energy Dispersive x-ray Spectrometer (SEM-EDS) and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy capability with remote operation capabilities. The SEM-EDS enables high resolution imaging and elemental analysis, supports the research of 12 LSSU faculty members and their collaborators, and facilitates external use for research, education, and engineering/industrial applications. These capabilities enhance undergraduate education and training across several scientific disciplines, create new opportunities for undergraduate research, and enable the development of new coursework in microscopy and microanalysis. A K-12 outreach program offered in collaboration with the MiSTEM Network provides hands-on education opportunities and enhances recruitment of underrepresented students promoting the development of a diverse regional STEM workforce.Research facilitated by this award will advance the understanding of freshwater ecology, the ecological impacts of atmospheric pollution, forensic science, phytoremediation of contaminated soils, organismal biology, and geoscience. The key capabilities of this instrument include topographic imaging at low nanometer resolution under either high vacuum or reduced vacuum conditions, compositional imaging using backscattered electrons, transmitted electron imaging, elemental analysis and mapping, and automated particle analysis. The superior resolution and depth of field of electron microscopy compared to light microscopy will enhance characterization of morphological features, and will enable taxonomic identification of challenging organisms such as freshwater sponges and various pathogens that affect fish and migratory waterfowl. Imaging of histological (tissue) specimens utilizing transmitted electrons will enable the detailed investigation of cell ultrastructure enhancing research in the developmental biology of fish retinas, and the investigation of fish disease. Compositional and elemental imaging capabilities will enable the forensic characterization of bullet wipe, investigation of particulate matter deposition in urban impacted Sault Sainte Marie airsheds, examination of the effect of surface particulate matter on phytoremediation studies, the compositional variation of freshwater sponge spicules, geochemical analysis of the Jacobsville Sandstone and the Ishpeming Greenstone Belt, and the paleomagnetic investigation of tectonic processes of the early earth recorded in rocks in the Pilbara region of Northwest Australia.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.