Sep 30 2010
National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a three-year grant of $436,000 to the Ohio Wesleyan University for the purchase of a new scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The microscope will allow the university to conduct research activities for faculty, students, and to collaborate with other colleges.
The STEM will expand the research potential of the science program, as well as provide benefits for contending fellowships and research grants. The microscope will enable the current research projects towards diverse departments, such as how fungi kill and infect bee mites, the Earth crust’s evolution, and effects of bacteria on diverse bird species and their evolution.
The Professor of microbiology/botany, Laura Tuhela-Reuning worked with professors, namely Karen Fryer of geology-geography; Ramon Carreno of zoology; and Jed Burtt of zoology, on the NSF grant proposal. The microscope will be available in the summer or spring of 2010. The STEM will be used in new research and regular classes by the fall of this year.
In addition, the NSF grant includes the purchase of a STEM detector, a cryotransfer system, and an energy dispersive spectrometer. These instruments will aid in the expansion of the geology department at the university.