A grant has been awarded to Dr. John T. Beneski at West Chester University to purchase a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and an Ultramicrotome. The addition of this equipment to the University's Center for Advanced Scientific Imaging (CASI) will (1) significantly increase the research opportunities for their faculty and students, particularly in the sciences; (2) enhance their ability attract new students from the widest diversity of backgrounds (3) enhance their ability to train students in state-of-the-art marketable skills; and (4) provide new opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate with scientists from the local high-tech corridor of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and environmental industries. Research opportunities will be enhanced by providing faculty and students with new tools that can be used to compliment or extend their current research program or to initiate new investigations. The new electron microscope will be used extensively by faculty and students in the Departments of Biology, Geology & Astronomy, and Chemistry to investigate a wide variety of problems including: (1) a taxonomic investigation of bryophytes; (2) nuclear localization of the retinol metabolizing enzyme 9-cis retinol dehydrogenase within cancerous and normal mammary tissue; and (3) visualization of the early events that occur at the gap junctions of insect ovarian follicle cells following viral infection. Each of these projects will involve significant participation by both undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Beneski will provide opportunities for students to work in the CASI by actively promoting independent student research projects and establishing a credit-bearing internship program. In addition to research and training, the new electron microscope will be used as a recruitment tool for attracting new science majors from both traditional and non-traditional backgrounds. To accomplish this, Dr. Beneski will initiate a series of hands-on demonstrations and tours that showcase the advanced imaging technologies of CASI to potential students that regularly visit the University as part of existing programs targeting area high schools, transfer students, and underserved groups. West Chester University's continued growth in providing state-of-the-art imaging technologies and resources not only serves the immediate and future needs of our faculty and students in the sciences, it also mirrors a growing emphasis on the sciences and technology by the State of Pennsylvania and PA State System of Higher Education. The acquisition of the requested equipment is a critical step in the continued development of Center for Advanced Scientific Imaging as a key resource for research and research training at West Chester University.
