MRI: Acquisition of a Benchtop Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope

这项主要研究仪器奖支持时装技术学院（FIT）购买一台台式分析扫描电子显微镜（SEM），以促进校园研究和改善本科STEAM（科学、技术、工程、艺术、数学）教育。扫描电镜的使用帮助科学家克服了光学显微镜固有的局限性。扫描电镜中的电子束与样品相互作用并产生用于产生图像和提供化学鉴定的信号。该仪器支持各种材料的内部定性和定量表征，并大大提高了FIT的研究和策展设施。该仪器还促进了从生物材料和纺织工程到艺术活动的内部合作。设计和生产方法在技术上变得越来越复杂。因此，创意产业要求设计专业人士具备必要的科学素养和跨学科能力，以了解新材料和基础科学，如聚合物、生物材料和纳米材料。将可持续性整合到产品设计、开发和制造中是FIT培训学生应对的另一个挑战。作为一所专门从事艺术和设计的社区学院，FIT正在跨学科地帮助学生（主要是女性）更好地为职业生涯的科学方面做好准备。将仪器整合到课程中将影响FIT学生为完成动手课程而进行的许多项目。时装技术学院（FIT）的扫描电子显微镜（SEM）的收购使互动，跨学科的研究，以及专注于材料表征的策展和工业合作成为可能。扫描电镜也将使电子束相互作用的研究，探索纳米涂层的项目。除了促进教师研究外，SEM还将加强FIT学生在材料开发和使用方面的学习经验，并支持和扩展科学和数学系内跨学科/基于问题的STEAM课程和项目。SEM将整合到现有课程中，并用于开发新课程。学生和教师将有机会在设备齐全的科学实验室工作，这些实验室支持材料研究和开发，并具有先进的材料特性。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。

This Major Research Instrumentation award supports the Fashion Institute of Technology [FIT] with the purchase of a tabletop analytical Scanning Electron Microscope [SEM] to foster on-campus research and improve undergraduate STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics] education. The use of SEM helps scientists overcome inherent limitation of optical microscopy. The electron beam in a SEM interacts with the sample and generates signals that are used to produce images and provide chemical identifications. This instrument supports in-house qualitative and quantitative characterization of various materials and enhances greatly the research and curatorial facility at FIT. This instrument also fosters internal collaborations, spanning from biomaterials and textile engineering to artistic endeavors. Design and production methods are becoming more technologically sophisticated. Creative industries therefore demand that design professionals possess the scientific literacy and interdisciplinary aptitude necessary to understand new materials and the underlying science, such as polymers, biomaterials and nanomaterials. Integrating sustainability into product design, development and manufacturing are other challenges for which FIT trains students. As a community college specializing in art and design, FIT is reaching across disciplines to better prepare students mostly women for the science aspects of their careers. Integrating the instrument in courses will impact many of the projects that FIT students undertake to fulfill their hands-on curricula. The acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope, SEM, at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) enables interactive, cross-disciplinary research, and curatorial and industrial collaborations that focus on materials characterization. The SEM will also enable the study of electron-beam interactions, to explore nanocoatings on items. In addition to promoting faculty research, the SEM will enhance the learning experience of FIT students related to the development and use of materials, and support and expand interdisciplinary/problem-based STEAM curricula and programs within the Science and Math department. The SEM will be integrated into current courses and used to develop new curricula. Students and faculty will have opportunities to work in well-equipped science laboratories that support materials research and development with advanced materials characterization.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.