Track 1 Acquisition of a Desktop Scanning Electron Microscope to Support STEM Growth at Elon University

Elon University is a primarily undergraduate institution with a strong commitment to faculty and student learning, research, and scholarship. To support a wide range of science and engineering projects, researchers need a tool that can take detailed, highly zoomed-in pictures of biological and chemical materials. These microscopic images help scientists design new materials, study how toxins affect cells, and analyze forensic evidence. These high-quality images are taken using a Scanning Electron Microscope. To meet this need, the university plans to buy a specialized desktop model that is very easy for both students and teachers to use. Adding this microscope to the school's science labs will help teachers advance their research while training the next generation of scientists and engineers. Acquisition of a Desktop Scanning Electron Microscope will advance novel research programs in multiple areas, including (1) Chemistry research to fill significant gaps in the understanding of the form and morphology of engineered nanomaterials released from consumer products during real-world use conditions. (2) Engineering research related to building and testing an optical coherence tomography noninvasive imaging system capable of simultaneously obtaining real-time metrics related to biological tissue mechanics, cell behavior and growth, and cell response. This will occur in tandem with the development of multiparametric optical coherence tomography to obtain cell culture metrics simultaneously. (3) Microbiology research project to investigate the interactions of bacterial species and the effect of these interactions on the biological abilities and infectiousness of the species. The research supported by this acquisition will contribute to societally important research advances related to the environment and human health. In addition, faculty will integrate the microscope into laboratory courses as a hands-on component with combined annual enrollments of more than 100 students and as a demonstration tool in a course reaching another 200 students annually. 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.