Technical advances in the design and current applications of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) are making it increasingly desirable for undergraduate Biology majors to gain experience in using it. The recent arrival of two new faculty members with expertise in SEM technology have made this a propitious time for the Department to develop two new courses, Electron Microscopy and Advanced Developmental Biology. Both of these use scanning electron microscopy as a primary technique. In addition, the SEM will be used for demonstrations in the Introductory Biology, Developmental Biology (core) and Botany courses, providing an introduction to the instrument for all students taking courses in this Department. This faculty successfully employed a SEM in the instructional program until the demise of their former instrument several years ago. The old SEM had featured prominently in student research projects. Based on their educational experience with the earlier, somewhat primitive instrument, they now have selected a modern, more adaptable instrument - - the Zeiss DSM 950. The virtues of this instrument include its ease of operation for students and its digitalized design which allows integration into existing computer facilities, providing enhanced capability for automating analyses. The Department already possessed the requisite ancillary equipment such as coating devices, critical- point drying apparatus and computer facilities. Thus funds were needed only for the SEM itself. A substantial contribution from the Hilden Trust, when added to the College matching funds, has provided a substantial overmatch to the Federal grant for this project.
