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October 25, 2002
Quidnunc
Wishes
Granted The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded
$226,560 to Steven Dunn, associate professor of geology; Amy Frary,
assistant professor of biological sciences; Craig Woodard, associate
professor of biological sciences; Darby Dyar, associate professor
of astronomy and geology; and Wei Chen, Mary E. Woolley Assistant
Professor of Chemistry, under the Major Research Instrumentation
Program to acquire for the College a new environmental scanning
electron microscope with a low-vacuum sample chamber and energy-dispersive
spectrometer. Scanning electron microscopes allow high resolution
studies of texture and composition of both organic and inorganic
materials. Older instruments require complicated specimen preparation
(that sometimes destroys what scientists are trying to observe).
The new instrument will allow faculty and students to examine
both hydrated and uncoated samples, which cannot be done with
the present microscope. A key factor in the receipt of the grant
was the quality of the research that the submitting faculty members
are currently doing and the ways in which they will be able to
use the new instrument. Specific studies planned include taxonomic
investigations of freshwater invertebrates, studies of the wetting
properties of latex-coated industrial materials, studies of graphite-calcite
carbon isotopic exchange during metamorphism as a proxy of the
temperature of formation of metamorphic assemblages, compositional
mapping of Fe-rich mantle phases to better understand deep earth
chemical dynamics and redox conditions, and taxonomic investigations
of agriculturally engineered crops. Mark McMenamin, professor
of geology, and Leszek Bledzki, senior research associate of biological
sciences, also contributed to the proposal.
The
NSF also awarded $82,095 to Sue Ellen Gruber, Christianna Smith
Professor of Biological Sciences; Craig Woodard; Sarah Bacon,
Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences;
Sharon Stranford, Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Biological
Sciences; and Susan Barry, associate professor of biological sciences,
under the Major Research Instrumentation Program. These funds
will be used to acquire for the College high resolution light
microscopy and image processing instruments (in particular, a
research-quality fluorescence microscope coupled to a high resolution
cooled CCD camera and computer hardware and software appropriate
for image processing). Despite the advent of electron and atomic
force microscopes, light microscopy is still the core tool for
investigating a number of diverse biological questions. The new
instruments will become part of an integrated microscopy facility
that will complement the existing electron microscopes with up-to-date
sophistication in the several modes of light microscopy. Projects
under investigation by the five participating biology faculty
members are wide ranging. One examines the immunological interactions
between a mother and fetus that influence the success of pregnancy.
A second explores the action of antimalarial drugs in microorganisms.
A third, unique in North America, aims to document the biodiversity
of neglected invertebrate groups. The remaining projects dissect
the events giving rise to programmed cell death in plants, sort
out the identity of cell surface features that may be responsible
for AIDS-related immunodeficiency in mice, and examine the role
of steroid hormones in the development of fruitflies. In all instances,
the enhanced ability to obtain and process high quality microscope
images will open up new avenues of experimentation for faculty
and students.
The
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