Acquisition of a scanning electron microscope with integrated EDS for enhancement of multi-disciplinary undergraduate research and research training

丹尼森大学地球科学系获得一台场发射扫描电子显微镜丹尼森大学地球科学系将获得一台场发射扫描电子显微镜（SEM）来测量许多材料的化学成分和结构。该仪器将加强教师的研究，在丹尼森有才华的本科生进行。该仪器将支持许多领域的研究，包括分析岩浆过程，以提高对火山历史的理解，以及开发新的电子材料和电极，这些材料和电极可能导致可持续技术和高效能源。对于像丹尼森的小型文理学院这样的本科院校来说，获得前沿技术至关重要，因为它本质上是住宿的，地理上是孤立的；它使培养有竞争力的劳动力和培养科学领袖成为可能。该项目由年轻、多元化的教师领导，他们将在未来几年利用SEM进行研究、教学和社区参与。丹尼森有几个项目来支持科学界代表性不足的少数群体。对于那些申请研究生院或在大学毕业后进入职场的学生来说，使用最先进的分析仪器的经验尤为重要。Denison的农村位置将吸引附近机构（包括当地学校、学院和地区校园）的合作者到该SEM设施，否则这些机构将无法使用此类设施。该奖项授予丹尼森大学，以支持获得场发射扫描电子显微镜（FE-SEM），具有集成能量色散光谱（EDS）和阴极发光（CL），用于元素分析和表征，以及样品制备设备。最先进的仪器将极大地加强当前的研究，并为教职员工和学生的研究，研究培训和教学开辟新的探究线在丹尼森的科学部门，包括地球科学系，化学和生物化学系和生物系。该仪器的功能是定制的，以支持科学教师外部和内部资助的研究需求：(1)高分辨率和高倍率的各种材料的表征和成像；(2)通过EDS和CL对天然和合成的晶体和其他材料进行定性、半定量和定量分析；(3)可变压力能力，适用于低至不导电以及湿样品的成像和分析。具体来说，在地球科学方面，SEM-EDS/ CL将允许对火成岩晶体的分区和火山岩和火成岩中的玻璃成分进行量化，并用于评估土壤和河流沉积物上的颗粒涂层，用于伽马能谱分析，并在同位素分析之前记录双壳类软体动物化石的成岩蚀变。在化学和生物化学方面，该仪器将支持多种功能材料开发途径，包括新型激光可写电荷转移液晶，以及用于物理表征的纳米结构光电极和催化剂的成像，以及通过EDS测定混合金属掺杂剂的元素组成。最后，在生物学方面，该仪器将允许在低真空或使用临界点干燥器处理下检查未成熟和成熟花的表面结构和解剖结构。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。

Acquisition of a field emission scanning electron microscope at Denison University Geosciences DepartmentDenison University's Geosciences Department will acquire a field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) to measure chemical composition and structure of many materials. The instrument will enhance faculty research, carried out with talented undergraduate students at Denison. The instrument will support research in many areas including analysis of magmatic processes to improve understanding of volcanic history and development of new electronic materials and electrodes that could lead to sustainable technologies and efficient energy sources. Access to leading-edge technology is critical for undergraduate institutions like Denison's small liberal arts college that is residential in nature and geographically isolated; it enables training of a competitive workforce and prepares scientific leaders. The project is led by young, diverse faculty who will use the SEM for years to come for their research, teaching, and community engagement. Denison has several programs to support underrepresented minority groups in the sciences. Experience using a state-of-the-art analytical instrument is especially important for these students who apply to graduate school or enter the workforce after their college careers. Denison's rural location will draw collaborators to this SEM facility from nearby institutions, including local schools, colleges, and regional campuses, that would not otherwise have access to such facilities. The award is made to Denison University to support the acquisition of a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), with integrated energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and cathodoluminescence (CL) for elemental analysis and characterization, along with sample preparation equipment. The state-of-the-art instrument will greatly enhance current research and open new lines of inquiry for faculty and student research, research training, and teaching across the science divisions at Denison, including the Departments of Geosciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Biology. The instrument's capabilities are customized to support the needs of science faculty externally and internally funded research: (1) high resolution and high magnification characterization and imaging of a wide variety of materials; (2) qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative analysis for crystals and other materials, both natural and synthetic, via EDS and CL; and (3) variable pressure capability for versatility in imaging and analysis of low- to non-conducting, as well as wet, samples. Specifically, in Geosciences, the SEM-EDS/ CL will allow for quantification of the zoning of igneous crystals and composition of glass in volcanic rocks and tephra, and for the evaluation of grain coatings on soil and fluvial sediment for gamma spectroscopy and documentation of diagenetic alteration in fossil bivalve mollusks prior to isotopic analysis. In Chemistry and Biochemistry, the instrument will support multiple avenues of functional materials development, including novel laser-writable charge-transfer liquid crystals, as well as the imaging of nanostructured photoelectrodes and catalysts for physical characterization and determination of the elemental composition of mixed-metal dopants by EDS. Finally, in Biology, the instrument will allow for the examination of surface structures and anatomy of immature and mature flowers under low vacuum or processed using the critical point dryer.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.