This Major Research Instrumentation award to North Dakota State University funds acquisition of an imaging system to examine relatively small items up to 12 inches and 25 pounds using digital radiography and computed X-ray microtomography (microCT). In addition to producing high-resolution conventional two-dimensional/flat radiographs, the system uses microCT to form multiple cross-sectional digital images of an object along a single axis. These images can be reassembled and manipulated graphically to create a three-dimensional virtual model, permitting inspection of external and internal structures without damage to the original object. There are many possibilities for subsequent analysis of the virtual model, e.g. visualization of computer-generated ?slices?, arbitrary sectional views in any desired plane, pseudo-color representations of different phases, and pore analysis. Accurate internal measurements can be made that are obtainable in no other way without destroying the sample. MicroCT provides a unique nondestructive way to visualize complex structures from the macro to micro scales. Overall system resolution now is better than 1 µm, permitting detailed understanding of characteristics of structure, composition, phase morphology, and particle distribution. Also included for specimen prep¬a¬ra¬tion is a lyophilizer or freeze-drying apparatus to remove water by sublimation and desorption, thus preserving perishable samples for imaging. Instrumentation will be housed in the NDSU Electron Microscopy Center, making it universally available for analysis to researchers in fields from Biology and Anthropology to Engineering and Chemistry as well as for teaching/training across disciplines.
Through microCT, investigators will have access to nondestructive analysis that is simply impossible at NDSU now. This active, well-funded research team, which is ethnically and gender-diverse, encourages participation by members of groups that traditionally have not been not well-represented in the scientific community (e.g., women, Native Americans). In addition to research use, microCT will be an integral part of courses on nanotechnology, nanomaterials, characterization, and materials-design physics; that training will broaden career opportunities for NDSU graduates and help attract talented new faculty members. The instrumentation is expected to see immediate use as a teaching tool for inspection in Bison Microventure, an ongoing multidisciplinary course that over the past three years has provided hands-on experience integrating biology, chemistry, and engineering for undergraduate and graduate students representing eight majors from five colleges. With its versatility and ready visualization, microCT will be an attractive option for undergraduate Biotechnology students and K-20 students participating in NDSU outreach programs like the North Dakota Governor's School, NATURE program (Nurturing American Tribal Undergraduate Research and Education), state Science Olympiad, and local education collaborations. Other anticipated users include institutions throughout the North Dakota University System and industry partners across the upper Midwestern region, as no other microCT units are available within the state.
