This Major Research Instrumentation award funds the acquisition of a new transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a new ultramicrotome to support research and training in biology, materials science and engineering at The University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM). The TEM and ultramicrotome replace aging equipment used by researchers answering fundamental questions in evolution, development, physiology, cell biology, ecology, oceanography, climate change and tropical agriculture. The new instrumentation supports NSF and other funded research in a broad range of biological specializations including: marine viral ecology; biodiversity of marine and freshwater algae; basic plant cell biology; marine invertebrate reproduction, larval settling and metamorphosis; evolution of invertebrate myelin; neural stem cell biology; role of mouse Y chromosome genes in fertilization; and others. Furthermore, the UHM Biological Electron Microscopy Facility uses the new microscope in many educational and outreach activities. The TEM is used for demonstrations for K-12 science classes of local public and private schools, as part of laboratory demonstrations and sessions for undergraduate and graduate university courses in biology and engineering, in a training program for community college faculty and students, other specialty workshops, and for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral associates conducting research with UHM faculty. The results of these 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 goal of this NSF award was to acquire instrumentation for transmission electron microscopy to support research and training in biology, materials science and engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM). We acquired a Hitachi HT7700 all-digital transmission electron microscope (TEM) for viewing samples at high resolution and high magnification and an RMC PT-XL ultramicrotome for preparing ultrathin sections of tissues for imaging in the TEM. Both instruments are housed in the Biological Electron Microscope Facility, a core resource for microscopy instrumentation, training and services for the entire UHM campus, researchers from other educational institutions locally and nationally, state and federal agencies, and local high technology and biotechnology companies. The Hitachi HT7700 TEM is the only functional TEM in the state of Hawaii. During the award period (08/01/2010 - 07/31/2013), 53 investigators (14 faculty, 11 postdocs, 22 graduate students, 5 undergraduate students and one technician) have used the TEM in his/her research. Most have been trained to use the TEM independently. The new instruments have supported NSF and other funded research in a broad range of biological disciplines including marine viral ecology, bacteriology, plant virology, coral reef biology, evolution of invertebrate myelin, coelenterate and molluscan biology, shark sensory biology, atherosclerosis and vertebrate virology. Organisms studied included viruses, bacteria, plants, invertebrates, fish and other vertebrate models. The instruments have also been utilized by materials scientists and engineers who need a TEM to study nanotechnology devices such as photovoltaic thin films and carbon nanotubes and their composites. The Biological Electron Microscope Facility participated in many education and outreach activities and the new instruments were an integral part of those activities. The TEM has been used for demonstrations for K-12 science classes of local public and private schools, as part of laboratory demonstrations and sessions for undergraduate and graduate university courses in biology and engineering at UHM and other higher educational institutions, and for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral associates conducting research with UHM faculty. Attracting youth to careers in the sciences and training the next generation of scientists, engineers and educators in advanced techniques are major goals of our facility and this institution. The UHM is a comprehensive research university and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees including program in science, mathematics, engineering and tropical agriculture. The UHM is ethnically diversity by virtue of its large enrollment of students of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. As a land-, sea- and space-grant institution, the UHM has had a long commitment to undergraduate and graduate education and training. Hawaii’s isolation, 2500 miles from the next nearest research university, means the UHM must have sufficient infrastructure locally to train its students to be competitive on a national level. The new instruments acquired under this award have improved UHM infrastructure for research and training in microscopy. Use of the TEM by researchers from local high technology companies and other research entities contributes to economic expansion and diversification, university-private partnerships and training opportunities for university students in the private sector.
