This NSF MRI Award funds the acquisition of a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) system at Ohio Wesleyan University. Through its endowed undergraduate research program, Ohio Wesleyan strongly supports excellence in undergraduate scientific research and research training. Students and faculty from the Departments of Botany and Microbiology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics and Astronomy, Neuroscience, and Zoology use the STEM in research, research training, student education, and outreach to area middle and high school students. Among the research projects using the STEM system are: efforts to understand how fungi can infect and kill bee mites without harming bees, humans, or honey; explorations of how feather-degrading bacteria affect the evolution of color and behavior in birds; visualization of microscopic features for descriptions of new species of parasitic nematodes; analysis of gonopodial structure in several species of Poecilia as it relates to reproductive behavior; and a range of other topics. In addition, the STEM is used in middle- and high school outreach summer programs that collectively attract 690 students annually to Ohio Wesleyan. The outreach programs promote science to students, including those from economically depressed areas of Central Ohio, reaching many young women and students from other under-represented groups. The results of the research and teaching efforts will be broadly disseminated through abstracts and peer reviewed publications, as well as by active participation of students and faculty at professional meetings.
The purpose of this grant was to purchase a new, state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) with a cryo preparation system and energy dispersive spectrometry. In May 2011, Ohio Wesleyan (OWU) took delivery of a Zeiss EVO LS10 STEM with an Oxford INCAEnergy 350 Microanalysis Energy Dispersive Spectrometry System (EDS) and a Gatan ALTO 2100 Cryotransfer System. This instrument improved an already strong electron microscopy lab at OWU but provided new analytical capabilities to support both scholarly research programs in botany, geology, microbiology, and zoology as well as supplement laboratory classes for undergraduate students. In addition, the new STEM facilitated interdisciplinary research, such as the collaboration between Fine Arts and Microbiology in making and testing inexpensive clay filters designed to provide safe drinking water in regions of the world where treatment facilities do not exist. The STEM was also used by middle school students during the Ohio Wesleyan Junior League (OWjL) Program providing summer science enrichment activities for gifted area students. Intellectual Merit: The STEM expanded opportunities for collaborative and cross-disciplinary research of at least eight Ohio Wesleyan faculty. Some of the research projects that incorporated use of the STEM included (1) the effects that feather-degrading bacteria have the evolution of feather color and behavior in birds; (2) a description of how airborne silica is involved in feather abrasion; (3) the visualization of microscopic features on parasitic nematodes to describe new species; (4) the measurement of gonopodial structures in several species of Poecilia fish as they relate to the evolution of reproductive behavior; (5) the identification of chemical zonation in minerals from metamorphic and volcanic rocks to understand how these structures formed; and (6) the structural description of the placenta in live-bearing Poeciliopsis fish. As part of their research training and subsequent research, at least 250 undergraduate students use the STEM annually. Broader Impacts: This STEM/EDS was integral in providing undergraduates with an opportunity to put classroom theory into practice through research and research training, as outlined by the Ohio Wesleyan strategic initiative launched in 2008 to provide each undergraduate with a transformative educational experience. For instance, over 85 undergraduates used the STEM to study pollen that they collected during field work. Undergraduate students in classes such as Entomology, Developmental Biology, and Advanced Physics used the STEM as part of their regular laboratory classes. An undergraduate course designed to teach specific theory and practical use of the STEM is offered. The STEM has also been used in the new Course Connections that were recently added to the curriculum. To enhance student understanding of overarching issues, Course Connections allow students to explore a central theme or idea through related course work in several different disciplines. The STEM was used in the Silk Road Course Connection to image the various life stages of silk worms. In addition, the STEM has been used by middle and high school outreach summer programs that collectively attract 690 students annually to Ohio Wesleyan. These programs promote science to students including those from economically disadvantaged areas of Central Ohio, reaching many young women and students from other under-represented groups. For example, two young women who were high school students used the STEM to visualize microscopic fossils called conodonts that they obtained from field work. Finally, an online, searchable database has been launched from the Ohio Wesleyan STEM website that provides images taken by undergraduate students to anybody with internet access. With the STEM and ancillary equipment in place, Ohio Wesleyan can continue to offer research and teaching opportunities for students and faculty at Ohio Wesleyan for many years. The STEM allowed us to expand our offering of scientific outreach to middle and high school students. While the initial grant period has concluded, the STEM will continue to be used in these previously mentioned and research and teaching endeavors, providing Ohio Wesleyan with the opportunity to remain a center for undergraduate learning and research in electron microscopy in Central Ohio.
