MRI: Acquisition of an FEI Quanta 250 ESEM with EDS for research and training in the HSU College of Natural Resources and Sciences

洪堡州立大学自然资源与科学学院核心设施是最近建立的学生和教职员工研究共享实验室。该合同将允许在该设施中增加一台具有背向散射电子(BSE)成像和能量色散X射线光谱分析(EDS)的现代环境扫描电子显微镜(ESEM)和辅助样品制备设备，从而极大地扩大可以进行的研究的范围。计划中的生物科学研究活动包括调查两栖动物的嗅觉上皮，植物向重力作用，苔藓动物系统发育，蜜蜂生殖器，真菌系统学，淡水蠕虫的神经生物学和生态毒理学，世界最高树S的气孔特征，与线虫精子蛋白击倒有关的发育缺陷，以及细菌与拉森火山国家公园酸性湖泊矿物颗粒的相互作用。在地球科学方面，研究将包括高温、高压矿物学和岩石学实验分析，活动断裂带形成的微结构和岩石结构，矿物的风化特性和土壤的形成，以及植物化石的微观结构。在物理科学中，对测试物质表面性质的研究将允许精确地测试引力反平方定律。洪堡州立大学目前没有ESEM或EDS能力，位于加利福尼亚州北部的一个农村地区，远离其他大学和类似的工具。环境扫描电子显微镜的增加将允许研究人员和对新鲜(水合)生物标本的检查以及先进的元素、纹理和材料分析感兴趣的学生进行尖端研究。新的CNRS核心设施代表着华中大学校园创建真正的跨学科、共享的科学设施的第一个重大努力。环境扫描电子显微镜将作为该设施的一个重要补充，将来自学院各系的研究人员聚集在一起。该仪器将增强学生在电子显微镜课程以及矿物学、岩石学和构造地质学课程中的经验。由于新仪器可以远程操作，它还将促进目前不可能开展的与当地社区的外联活动。特别是将在徐州自然历史博物馆设立一个永久的微观自然历史展览，并在每年的活动中进行现场远程操作。在夏季为中学科学教师提供培训机构之后，教师将在秋季有机会远程操作仪器，检查他们的学生收集的标本，这为整个加州北部农村的高中提供了一个独特的机会。

The College of Natural Resources and Sciences Core Facility at Humboldt State University is a recently established shared-use laboratory for student and faculty research. This award will allow the addition of a modern environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) with back-scattered electron (BSE) imaging and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS) and supporting sample preparation equipment to the facility, greatly increasing the range of studies that can be undertaken. Planned research activities in the biological sciences include investigations of the olfactory epithelium of amphibians, plant gravitropism, bryozoan phylogeny, bee genitalia, fungal systematics, the neurobiology and ecotoxicology of freshwater worms, the stomatal features of the world?s tallest trees, developmental defects associated with sperm protein knockdown in C. elegans, and bacterial interactions with mineral particles in acid lakes at Lassen Volcanic National Park. In the earth sciences, studies will include analyses of high-temperature, high-pressure mineralogy and petrology experiments, the microstructures and rock textures formed in active fault zones, the weathering properties of minerals and formation of soils, and the microstructure of fossil plants. In the physical sciences, studies on the surface properties of test masses will allow precise testing of the gravitational inverse-square law. Humboldt State currently has no ESEM or EDS capabilities, and is located in a rural area of northern California, far from other universities and comparable instrumentation. The addition of an ESEM will allow researchers and students interested in examination of fresh (hydrated) biological specimens, and advanced elemental, textural, and material analysis to conduct cutting-edge research.The new CNRS Core Facility represents the first major endeavor on the HSU campus to create a true interdisciplinary, shared-use facility in the sciences. The ESEM will serve as a keystone addition to the facility by bringing together researchers from departments across the college. The instrument will enhance the experience of students in the Electron Microscopy course, as well as in mineralogy, petrology, and structural geology courses. Because the new instrument can be operated remotely, it will also facilitate outreach activities to the local community that are not currently possible. In particular, a permanent exhibit on microscopic natural history will be established at the HSU Natural History Museum, and live remote operations will be conducted there at yearly events. Training institutes for secondary science teachers over the summer will be followed in the fall by the opportunity for the teachers to remotely operate the instrument to examine specimens that their students have collected, providing a unique opportunity to high schools throughout rural northern California.