"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."
Funding is requested for two custom configured, versatile Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) instruments such as the Veeco BioScope II and MultiMode, which can perform all major scanning probe and force measurement techniques along with combined AFM and biologically-relevant optical characterization, mechanical property/structural characterization, and electrochemical analysis in temperature-controlled gas and liquid media. Both instruments will be housed in the Electron Microscope Center (EMC) at MSU, a university-wide center that fosters a unique research-intensive learning environment. This multi-user facility is available to post-doctoral researchers and graduate and undergraduate students from all of the colleges, departments, and research centers at MSU. The AFM User Team (comprised of PIs who will heavily utilize the instrument and SIs and Minor Users for whom access will add dimensionality to their research) has a critical need for AFM characterizations. Many outsource imaging which raises concerns of sample integrity and time delays. Open access AFM will bring new materials characterization capabilities to the MSU campus, which are necessary for current research activities to expand and new research activities and collaborations to develop. A dedicated postdoctoral associate will ensure that the instruments are used to their fullest capacity and the body of AFM knowledge grows with time. Further, student researchers will gain the educational depth afforded by directly learning to characterize samples.
