MRI: Acquisition of a Field Emission Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope to Enhance Research and Teaching at Oklahoma State University

这项重大研究仪器(MRI)计划赠款的资金将用于为俄克拉荷马州立大学显微镜实验室购买可变压力样品池、场发射枪扫描电子显微镜(FE-SEM)。PI将购买一台FEI Quanta600，配备一个极其明亮的电子源(FEG)，能够对在高真空下进行导电涂层和成像的样品进行纳米级显微镜观察，同时也能够在大气压下对水合样品(例如生物材料)进行成像。FE-SEM将配备能谱仪(EDS)和电子背散射衍射系统(EBSD)，以实现半定量成分分析和晶体择优取向的表征。FE-SEM将支持跨越地质和材料科学的研究，包括：1)调查微生物-矿物相互作用和微生物“纳米线”对天然材料电学性质的影响；2)研究牙冠用胶体凝胶在三维“打印”过程中发生的胶体组装过程；3)研究制造的单晶纳米线，努力开发用于光子学的调整纳米线直径的技术。FE-EM将通过电子显微镜实验室为俄亥俄州立大学250多名教职员工、学生、博士后研究员和工作人员提供服务。PIS将通过课程让本科生和研究生学习显微镜方面的先进技术，这些课程将服务于不同文化背景的群体，涵盖广泛的学科，包括化学、物理、地质、化学、电气和机械工程、细胞生物学、微生物学、病毒学、生理学、动植物病理学、植物学、林业、园艺以及食品和营养科学。PI将接待兰斯顿大学的教职员工和学生，这是一家与俄亥俄州立大学显微镜实验室关系密切的少数族裔机构，并将该仪器提供给该州的几家技术公司。皮埃斯特拉·阿特克瓦纳，一位非裔美国女性地球科学家，有接触代表不足的学生的记录。PI计划通过“丑虫”(昆虫成像)竞赛和斯蒂尔沃特儿童博物馆，向K-12教师、俄克拉荷马州的美国原住民高中生和儿童开展外展计划。

Funds from this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program grant will support acquisition of a variable pressure sample cell, field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) for the Oklahoma State University Microscopy Laboratory. The PIs will purchase an FEI Quanta 600, equipped with an extremely bright electron source (FEG) that is capable of nano-scale microscopy of samples that have been conductively coated and imaged under high vacuum but also has the capability to image hydrated samples (e.g., biological materials) at atmospheric pressure. The FE-SEM will be equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and an electron backscattered diffraction system (EBSD) to enable semi quantitative compositional analysis and characterization of crystallographic preferred orientation, respectively. The FE-SEM will upport research spanning the geological and materials sciences including: 1) investigations of microbe-mineral interactions and microbial "nanowire" effects on the electrical properties of natural materials; 2) investigations of colloidal assembly processes occurring during 3-D "printing" of colloidal gels used for dental crowns; and 3) studies of manufactured single crystal nanowires in an effort to develop techniques for tuning nanowire diameters with applications in photonics. The FE-EM will serve a user base of over 250 faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows and staff at OSU though the Electron Microscopy Lab. The PIs will engage undergraduate and graduate students in advanced techniques in microscopy through courses that willl serve a culturally diverse group over a broad spectrum of disciplines including chemistry, physics, geology, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering, cell biology, microbiology, virology, physiology, plant and animal pathology, botany, forestry, horticulture and food and nutritional sciences. The PIs will host faculty and students at Langston University, a minority institution with strong ties to OSU's Microscopy Laboratory and make the instrument available to several technology companies in the State. Co-PI Estella Atekwana in an African American female geoscientist with a track record of outreach to underrepresented students. The PIs plan outreach programs to K-12 teachers, Native American high school students in Oklahoma, and children through an "Ugly Bug" (insect imaging) contest and the Stillwater Children's Museum.