MRI: Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope to Enhance Undergraduate and Graduate Research and Teaching in Biology, Chemistry and Earth and Space Sciences

Columbus State University, Columbus GA

Investigators

Abstract

An award is made to Columbus State University, University System of Georgia, to acquire a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to support and expand a diverse group of research programs within the Department of Biology, Department of Chemistry and the Department of Earth and Space Science. Ultimately, the incorporation of SEM technology to the curriculum of Columbus State University will directly increase undergraduate and graduate participation in research and encourage students to pursue careers as professional biologists, chemists, environmental scientists and geologists. Students working directly with faculty will use SEM technology to enhance on-going research programs that involve the university's field sites, museum collections, herbarium collections and molecular and chemistry laboratories. Research that includes an SEM experience will open up new opportunities to groups that are currently underrepresented in the Natural Sciences. The SEM will facilitate outreach opportunities for recruitment as well as the recruitment of high school students to STEM fields; Columbus State University will also work with regional two-year institutions that will make the SEM a part of their science courses as appropriate. SEM technology will also be incorporated into on-going STEM summer camps that target local high schools to underscore potential careers in the natural and biomedical sciences. The expectation is that some of the participating students will pursue careers including but not limited to: ecology, taxonomy, systematics, ecological genetics, entomology, chemistry and geology. This project will directly engage Columbus State University faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students across a diverse collection of disciplines such as biology, pollination ecology, conservation genetics, entomology, plant ecology, environmental science, geology and chemistry, to name a few. This research will ultimately aid in our understanding of the Natural Sciences, including the biological and physical diversity of the planet. In many cases research conducted by Columbus State University faculty, undergraduate and graduate students can now move forward with the use of SEM technology. For example, the analysis of pollen morphology by SEM technology will allow researchers to verify results obtained by molecular tools and provide resolution where data is currently absent. In particular, the SEM will be used for species identification and verification of pollen DNA barcodes as well as in the development and use of a number of educational, curatorial and bioinformatics programs for undergraduate and graduate education at Columbus State University. In turn, this would greatly facilitate international collaborations to utilize DNA barcoding to document global biodiversity.