Feng Zhou - US grants

The TILL iMIC Andromeda is a sophisticated and multipurpose confocal microscope specially adapted to the imaging of living samples. Through the NSF MRI award, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) acquired the iMIC Andromeda to develop a state-of-the art microscope facility benefiting the research and research training of several departments within IUP?s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM). More specifically, the acquisition of the iMIC strengthens a current research emphasis on plasticity and cell-signaling. Researchers can address basic biological and biochemical questions about the structural and functional remodeling that occurs in several physiological events, including normal development pathways, metabolic processes, the generation of biological rhythms and vacuole formation in yeast. Additionally, IUP researchers are using the iMIC in an innovative way to measure fluorescence and the absorptive spectra of novel optical materials to further the goal of enhancing telecommunications and sensor applications. Overall, the augmented imaging capabilities of this facility allow for in-depth analyses of several biological, biochemical and physics projects, as well as the initiation of additional research projects for which highly developed fluorescent microscopy is required.

The iMIC expands CNSM research capabilities and has the inimitable advantage of being used by a significant number of students and university professors in a variety of scientific disciplines. In addition to providing faculty members with opportunities to broaden their research repertoire, the iMIC enhances intra- and interuniversity collaborative research efforts between faculty and students. The iMIC also impacts the advancement of science education at IUP, including undergraduate and graduate CNSM students. Regional high school students interact with the iMIC through workshops and outreach programs designed to enhance STEM training. This promises to be a significant recruiting tool as approximately 75% of IUP students are from rural Pennsylvania and have not been exposed to state-of-the-art microscopes like the iMIC Andromeda. Importantly, graduate, undergraduate and secondary students are able to design research projects involving advanced microscopy techniques under the careful mentorship of IUP faculty?experiences that will better prepare them for careers in biology. Thus, the iMIC is expanding the range of techniques that can be offered to introduce CNSM students to the rapidly advancing field of microscopic imaging that has changed the paradigm for basic and applied sciences.

This instrument acquisition grant funds an electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) system to update an existing scanning electron microscope at Clarion University. EBSD is a powerful instrument for crystal structure analysis, especially at and near the micrometer scale. With the addition of this instrument, researchers carry out in-house basic materials characterization research, ranging from morphology observation, elemental analysis, to crystal structure characterization. The instrument impacts the research activities in areas of physics, biology, chemistry, anthropology, and geology. Located in rural western Pennsylvania, Clarion University is roughly a two-hour drive from any major cities or other academic centers. Consequently, in addition to its mission in undergraduate education, Clarion University also assumes the responsibility of spreading knowledge to surrounding communities, sharing resources with local school districts, and supporting businesses. Along this line, the microscope is used in undergraduate research, course teaching, and high school outreach activities.

Faculty members at Clarion University strive to develop research activities that are valuable and plausible at a teaching university setting. Topics related to material science fit this goal and are popular on campus. The EBSD function added to the existing scanning electron microscope makes the instrument possible to identify crystal phases and study their variations in different locations of microscopic materials. Sample research projects enabled by the enhanced capabilities of the microscope include orientation analysis of icosahedral quasicrystalline thin films and novel concentric rings found in aluminum-copper-iron alloys, crystal structure analysis of boron nitride nanosheets, identification of Native American pottery, phase identification of nanodiamond, and structure analysis of organic crystals.