An award is made to the Division of Biological and Physical Sciences at Delta State University (DSU), in Cleveland, Mississippi. The award allows the purchase of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive x-ray system (EDX) attachment. Acquiring an SEM will facilitate diverse scientific research investigations pertaining to biology, chemistry, and environmental science at DSU and will be utilized by professors and students. Assorted projects include taxonomic studies such as studying structural details of fossil pollen and spores from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Quaternary formations throughout the United States, bacillary bands of parasitic nematodes, surface patterns of trichinelloid nematode eggs, leaf stomata and trichomes of native, invasive and naturalized species that infer information on climate change with regards to the local bottomland hardwood forests that are diminishing, and examining structural differences that are correlated to bulk chemical properties and textures of sheep wool when compared to synthetic yarns. Other projects are based on environmental inferences such as examining surface features of yeast to understand gene function in eukaryotic cells when subjected to differences in pH and temperature, analyzing caveolae both in cultured cells and in muscle tissue samples that pertain to obesity, and elemental mapping of heavy metals and absorbed contaminants that occur in local brownfields associated with agricultural and industrial sites so they can be restored for economic development. Travel costs to utilize an SEM will no longer be an issue and many laboratory experiences will be enhanced.
Obtaining an SEM will help recruit and retain faculty at DSU with expertise in specialized scientific areas. Faculty will utilize pictures they acquire from the SEM in presentations that they give at scientific meetings such as the Geological Society of America, Botanical Society of America, Southeastern Biology, and so forth. Students also will be able to utilize this instrument for various capstone projects that are associated with the undergraduate science degrees. Additionally, this instrument will be part of regular classroom curriculums in Anatomy and Physiology, Parasitology, Plant Anatomy, Environmental Chemistry, Cell Biology, and Problems in Biology. Students, therefore, will obtain valuable hands-on skills that will increase their admittance into graduate programs, medical schools, and other academic pursuits as well as become marketable in obtaining employment in scientific fields. In addition, faculty and staff from neighboring institutions such as Mississippi Delta Community College, Coahoma Community College, Mississippi Valley University and the USDA-Agricultural Research Station will be able to utilize this instrument. As a result, the entire Mississippi Delta will benefit from this acquisition and scientific literacy of this community will be greatly enhanced.
