This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This MRI-R2 award will provide funding for a high resolution CT scanner (HRCT) for the American Museum of Natural History. The new acquisition will assist research for over 20 AMNH researchers spanning a wide range of disciplines. The new facility will support educational outreach in the greater NYC area as well supporting Columbia, Cornell and other neighboring institutions. The extensive AMNH collection will be a major focus for imaging. The scanner will be instrumental in determining organismal systematics, morphology, and life histories. It will also be used for terrestrial Earth and planetary system science. Out-sourcing CT analyses has become burdensome to the institution and does not allow training the next generation of CT analysts. The CT system will allow investigators to better decipher organismal morphological characteristics giving the ability to reconstruct lineages over geologic time. The system will allow non-invasive imaging of the unique collection available at AMNH. The Divisions of Paleontology, Invertebrate Zoology, Anthropology, Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Natural Sciences Collections will all be supported by the new system. The CT system will have tremendous educational and societal benefits. AMNH has partnerships with adjacent undergraduate colleges (many of which serve minorities and women), a viable REU program in biology and physical sciences, and a relatively new PhD program. AMNH has over 4 million visitors annually serving K-12 outreach. The research group actively publishes research results in the peer-reviewed literature and provides web outreach. The system will be housed in the AMNH Microscopy and Imaging Facility (MIF). The facility is managed by a full-time employee and supervised by the co-I. A committee of six curators chaired by the PI provides operational oversight and guidance. A service contract is requested for the initial grant period - after which the institution will continue the contract. Training will be provided to full-time technicians who will, in turn, train users.
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This project was funded by resources provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It provided $ 890,000 to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to acquire a High Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography scanner (HRCT). High-resolution CT scanners can image natural objects and reveal structures and features not observable on the surface or even with conventional X-rays. The instrument acquired with NSF support was made by the General Electric Company. It fills critical imaging needs for a multidisciplinary research community including over 20 AMNH investigators in paleontology, vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, anthropology, conservation, and earth and planetary sciences, and serves AMNH graduate students through collaborative programs with local universities and through our own graduate program (Richard Gilder Graduate School), as well as researchers, post-docs, and graduate and undergraduate students within the City University of New York system and other neighboring institutions. In addition to the funds from NSF, AMNH provided resources to renovate the existing Imaging Laboratory to accommodate the CT Scanner. The museum also provides the technical support to run the instrument and help interpret the data and has implemented training sessions in the methodology and application of 3-D visualization technology. The CT Scanner enhances research in all scientific disciplines and permit projects that were not possible without sending material to outside facilities. The instrument is housed in the AMNH Microscopy and Imaging Facility (MIF), a multi-user resource dedicated to scientific imaging and visualization, and analytical microscopy, where it greatly complements the existing resources (for more details on the facility and images produced, see www.amnh.org/our-research/microscopy-and-imaging-facility). The CT Scanner is fully operational and thus far has been used by 25 senior investigators, 35 post-docs, 35 graduate students, and 30 undergraduate students representing a diverse range of research fields. It has enhanced the education and training of the next generation of scientists by providing students with direct access to a technology that is already transforming their science and will continue to do so. It has also permitted retrieval of anatomical data that can be directly applied to studies of evolutionary patterns, thereby enhancing the clarity of the "Tree of Life." In addition, it has enabled students to become proficient in procuring and manipulating 3D digital data, involving the digital preparation of fossils, non-invasive high-resolution imaging of delicate or rare samples such as Martian meteorites and insects preserved in amber, and understanding how to maximize the benefits of digital data for communicating biological information to both the scientific community and the general public through public lectures and interactive exhibits. Furthermore, it has attracted specimen-based researchers from all over the world, giving students the opportunity not only to discuss ideas with scientists whom they might not otherwise have met, but also to develop potential collaborative research projects with them. Finally, it has provided students with a more intimate knowledge of a technology that has become increasingly essential in the anthropological, biological, and physical sciences.
