This award to Youngstown State University (YSU) is for the acquisition of a variable pressure scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with high resolution imaging detectors, an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, nanometer pattern generation system, electron backscatter diffraction, and remote control capabilities. This instrument will enhance existing novel materials research programs, promote STEM education at regional northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania institutions, facilitate and enhance multidisciplinary research, and expand academic-industrial collaborations at YSU. The proposed SEM will be used for multidisciplinary research from several science and engineering disciplines, including: Material Science, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geology, and Forensic Sciences. The instrument will be used in more than 10 research projects involving over 30 graduate students and postdocs, and more than 300 undergraduate students per year will have access to it. Proposed interdisciplinary research projects include: mono-crystalline ferromagnetic shape memory alloy micro-particles for energy and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) applications; synthesis and characterization of rear-earth oxide nanocatalysts; grain orientation and grain boundary microstructure in ceramic-metal composites; nanolayered ceramic precursors; nanofabrication and study of wide bandgap semiconductor devices; e-beam lithography of polymer microlenses and 2-D/3-D photonic crystals on multilayer polymeric systems; characterization of collagen deposition in scar tissue; design of commercially important rare earth materials; fuel cell electrolyte membranes; and, bio-chemical detection properties of carbon nanotubes.
The new SEM will support the educational and outreach goals of the university and will be fully integrated into undergraduate and graduate research programs, and into modules and dedicated courses in electron microscopy. The integration of the instrument with the YSU CyberInstrumentation Consortium (STaRBURSTT@YSU) will ensure sophisticated access to the SEM and other lab instruments for a large number of external users, most of whom are at community colleges (CC), or other primarily undergraduate institutions (PUI) - an outreach activity for which YSU is well known. The SEM will provide training and education opportunities to K-12, undergraduate and graduate students, to high school science teachers, and to CC and PUI faculty through: (1) collaborative STEM projects between YSU, Westminster College, Eastern Gateway Community College, Poland Seminary High School and LaBrae High School, Trumbull Career & Technical Center, and Mahoning Valley Historical Society; (2) Summer Materials Camp for High School Science Teachers; and (3) YSU Engineering Explorers and related programs. Thanks to its relative ease of use and impressive imaging capabilities at nanoscale resolution, the SEM will be one of the core attractors in YSU's outreach programs for K-12 & community college students and teachers, especially those at minority serving institutions that often have the desire but lack opportunities to pursue STEM careers.
