Fayetteville State University Receives Rare Electron Microprobe M
icroscopes use light to magnify items too small for the naked eye and generally expand them about 1,000 times. Now imagine a much fancier microscope, one that uses electrons instead of light and enlarges images as many as 300,000 times. Sounds great, huh? They are called electron microscopes, and while thousands are in existence, among them is a special group of electron microscopes called electron microprobes. The electron microprobe uses a field emission gun of which there is only a handful worldwide. In a joint project with the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Fayetteville State University has become home to one of those few microprobes. The revolutionary instrument is housed in the Lyons Science Building near FSU’s planetarium. Getting the microprobe was a lengthy process that began in October 2006, said Emily M. Dickens, Director of Community and Government Affairs. She said the UNC System has a federal relations list that is developed by each institution submitting projects for consideration and then those projects are ranked. The microprobe was ranked Number One for fiscal year 2008. From January to April 2007, FSU solicited and received letters of support from the Fort Bragg Garrison Commander, the Chamber of Commerce and the Fayetteville City Manager. Additionally, Dickens said she, former FSU Chancellor T.J. Bryan, former UNC-Pembroke Chancellor Allen C. Meadors and FSU professor Dr. Steven Singletary traveled to Washington to meet with former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. and Reps. Mike McIntrye, D-N.C., and Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., to garner support. Having a microprobe on campus is going to make a huge difference at Fayetteville State and UNC-Pembroke. The primary purpose of the instrument for both schools is for the faculty to use it and give students a chance to use it. It will also assist them with getting advanced skills that will help them be more marketable in various professions, said Dr. Jon Young, Provost and Vice Chancellor at Fayetteville State University.
Dr. Lee Phillips, Associate Professor of Geology at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, is also Assistant Director of Southeastern N.C. Regional Microanalytical and Imaging Center (SENCR-MIC), the official name for the microprobe facility. He has served in that capacity since the Department of Defense grant for the laboratory was funded in 2008. He said bringing research capabilities of this magnitude to southeastern North Carolina will greatly enhance the research infrastructure for both UNC-P and FSU, not to mention the opportunities for our students to learn by doing. He said both institutions will be able to train interested students on how to operate these highly technical instruments thereby, better preparing them for a technical workplace. UNC-Pembroke faculty and students will have remote access to the microprobe for course and research applications, Phillips said. Dickens managed the federal appropriations process that led to the $1.5 million grant from the Department of Defense to purchase the microprobe. She said she will leverage the existence of the microprobe in the development of new public/private partnerships and additional federal, non-competitive resources. She added that FSU and UNC-P will endeavor to create partnerships with all institutions that have an interest in this type of work. Discussions are currently underway with North Carolina A&T State University and N.C. State University. Phillips said he hopes the microprobe will become “self-sustaining” in a short amount of time. It is a “for-fee” laboratory; therefore efforts will be made to attract users. He said the schools are very excited about developing collaborations with other research scientists from around the world. The microprobe is already generating interest that could put money in both schools’ coffers. According to Young, people from England and China have inquired about research. Moreover, the microprobe is the first of several instruments that will be available for use by both schools. Young said work is being done to try and get another, complementary instrument to go along with the microprobe. Some of the instruments will be (housed) at UNC-P.
Pg 15