State-of-the-art microscope gives 勛圖惇蹋 chemistry and physics students an upper hand in research
Students at the 勛圖惇蹋 are getting an upper hand on research projects by having access to an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).
勛圖惇蹋 is the only school in Northern New England to have the state-of-the-art AFM.
Its unique for a school like 勛圖惇蹋 to have this, says Eva Rose Balog, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics. Our students are getting hands-on training with it.
The AFM is an extremely high-speed, high-resolution, versatile instrument for decoding and manipulating materials.
It processes at the "nanoscale" level. According to Balog, the nanoscale refers to what goes on at the scale of billionths-of-a-meterabout 90,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. This is the scale of atoms and molecules, including molecules such as DNA strands and individual proteins.
Its one of the fastest microscopes in the world, which means you can do the kind of studies you couldnt do just ten years ago, even with the best instruments, Balog says.
Reliably analyzing liquids was very difficult using the labs previous microscope. Thats not the case with the AFM.
Its the difference of being able to get back into the liquid research game, says James Vesenka, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics.
The AFM allows researchers to get a new perspective on things they have already investigated by providing much more detail.
Anytime you have a new tool, even if something has been characterized before, youre going to learn something new, Balog says. The deeper you look at something, the more youre going to learn.
Wynter Paiva (Biochemistry and Medical Biology 20) says her experience using the AFM will be invaluable as she moves on in academics and her professional career.
We can image live cells and see how they interact with certain drugs, giving us insight and foresight before we introduce things to the body, Paiva says. I think the experience using the AFM and interpreting data from it will help me stand out when Im applying to medical schools.
Vesenka says this is the kind of hands-on learning that sets 勛圖惇蹋 graduates up for future success.
They get exposure to state-of-the-art research technology, which always improves their competitiveness, he says.
