Gary W. Beall - US grants

This award from the Major Research Instrumentation program provides allow Texas State University (TxSU) to upgrade a high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) system recently made available through private donation. The modernization will enable sophisticated and user-friendly microbeam diffraction, high-sensitivity CCD camera imaging, and integrated elemental analysis capabilities that will introduce in a cost-effective way new capabilities for nanostructured materials characterization. This is a critically needed instrument for nanotechnology and nanoscience research TxSU. The instrument will benefit several departments, Chemistry, Engineering Technology and Physics, will benefit from this upgrade. It will enhance synergetic of the industrial, academic and international materials collaborations at the TxSU Nanomaterials Applications Center and the TxSU Institute for Environmental and Industrial Science.
The upgraded TEM will significantly address the materials analysis needs of an existing collaborative RUI project involving Tarleton State U, Angelo State U and TxSU. It will be a "hands on" instrument in TxSU's undergraduate and MS level Materials Physics and Polymer Processing & Characterization laboratory courses, and also support relevant interdisciplinary masters thesis projects. The upgraded HR-TEM will also be useful for characterizing materials/devices fabricated in the TxSU microelectronic fabrication laboratory. It will also be available to support the activities of TxSU investigators working with high school teachers in appropriate summer research projects, and for relevant TxSU Multicultural Engineers and Scientists Student Chapter outreach/workshop activities. The award will have significant impact in improving diversity in the science and engineering workforce.

This award from the Major Research Instrumentation program provides allow Texas State University (TxSU) to upgrade a high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) system recently made available through private donation. The modernization will enable sophisticated and user-friendly microbeam diffraction, high-sensitivity CCD camera imaging, and integrated elemental analysis capabilities that will introduce in a cost-effective way new capabilities for nanostructured materials characterization. This is a critically needed instrument for nanotechnology and nanoscience research TxSU. The instrument will benefit several departments, Chemistry, Engineering Technology and Physics, will benefit from this upgrade. It will enhance synergetic of the industrial, academic and international materials collaborations at the TxSU Nanomaterials Applications Center and the TxSU Institute for Environmental and Industrial Science.
The upgraded TEM will significantly address the materials analysis needs of an existing collaborative RUI project involving Tarleton State U, Angelo State U and TxSU. It will be a "hands on" instrument in TxSU's undergraduate and MS level Materials Physics and Polymer Processing & Characterization laboratory courses, and also support relevant interdisciplinary masters thesis projects. The upgraded HR-TEM will also be useful for characterizing materials/devices fabricated in the TxSU microelectronic fabrication laboratory. It will also be available to support the activities of TxSU investigators working with high school teachers in appropriate summer research projects, and for relevant TxSU Multicultural Engineers and Scientists Student Chapter outreach/workshop activities. The award will have significant impact in improving diversity in the science and engineering workforce.

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI), Benjamin R. Martin and colleagues Gary W. Beall, Michael Blander, and Debra Feakes from the Texas State University-San Marcos will acquire a single-crystal X-ray diffractometer of the so-called mini-type that will also benefit a consortium of five schools across Texas. These schools have established a collaborative research program. The instrumentation will strengthen research endeavors and spark new explorations in areas involving sulfide and selenide materials, solid state linkage isomerism and ligand substitution in transition metal cyanide complexes, conformational isomers of immobilized calix[6]arenes, polyhedral borane anions, sulfido-bridged iron compounds and magnetostructural studies of Ni(II) dimers, preparation of titanium complexes as well as a variety of topics proposed by collaborators from Lamar University, San Antonio College, Texas Lutheran University and Sam Houston State University. The collaborating institutions will place a strong emphasis on hands-on graduate and undergraduate involvement in research.

The technique of single-crystal X-ray crystallography allows accurate and precise determination of the full three dimensional structure of a molecule, including bond distances and angles, and it provides accurate information about the spatial arrangement of molecules relative to the neighboring molecules. These studies will have an impact in a number of areas ranging from synthetic chemistry to systems of biological interest and cleaning of the environment.

0923509
Theodoropoulou
Texas State U. - San Marcos

Technical Summary: The ability to both pattern and image at the nanoscale is indispensable for present-day materials science. The acquisition of a FEI NOVA NanoSEM 230, Ultra High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) capable of electron beam (e-beam) lithography provides the capability and reliability necessary for interdisciplinary research in the new Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. program at Texas State University. This instrument eliminates barriers to research productivity presented by the existing antiquated SEM capable only for larger scale imaging, and enables the platform for interdisciplinary research linking innovation and discovery between the physical, engineering, and biological sciences. This Field Emission (FE) SEM combines high- and low-voltage ultra-high resolution with an imaging resolution of 1.0 nm and a writing resolution of nominally <10 nm at 30 kV. Importantly, 20-nm patterning can be done routinely. The system features: a high stability ultra-high brightness FE electron source with high beam current capability; low pattern distortion and drift; high precision stage and pattern overlay; environmental SEM technologies; high speed electrostatic beam blanker; and gas injection systems for direct e-beam writing of nanostructures. The e-beam writing capability enables fabrication of structures applicable to multidisciplinary problems such as investigation of nanostructure based photonic or electronic biological sensors for molecular recognition, nano devices for more efficient energy conversion, and the spin physics of magnetic nanostructures. The SEM?s accessibility, ease of use, and consistency make the e-beam system ideal for integration into our educational and research programs benefitting undergraduate, graduate and post doctoral students. The core faculty involved in this project at Texas State, which anticipates achieving Hispanic Serving Institution status next year, will use the instrument to enhance outreach programs to assure the maximum opportunity for training and research by a diverse population of students.
Layman Summary: The ability to both pattern and image at the nanoscale is indispensable for present-day materials science. The acquisition of an Ultra High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) capable of electron beam lithography provides this necessary capability for interdisciplinary research in the new Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. program at Texas State University. This instrument eliminates barriers to research productivity presented by the existing antiquated SEM capable only for larger scale imaging, and provides the platform for interdisciplinary research linking innovation and discovery between the physical, engineering, and biological sciences enabling advances in nanoscale materials research for health, energy and security applications. The electron-beam writing capability enables fabrication of structures at the nanoscale (10-7m - 10-9 m) applicable to multidisciplinary problems such as investigation of nanostructure based biological sensors for molecular recognition, nano devices for more efficient energy conversion, and the spin physics of magnetic nanostructures. The SEM?s accessibility, ease of use, and consistency make the electron-beam system ideal for integration into our educational programs benefitting undergraduate, graduate and post doctoral students. The core faculty involved in this project at Texas State, which anticipates achieving Hispanic Serving Institution status next year, will use the instrument to enhance outreach programs to assure the maximum opportunity for training and research by a diverse population of students.

Non-technical:
This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant awarded to Texas State University at San Marcos (TxState) provides funding for the acquisition of an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). This high-resolution instrument enhances the research and educational capabilities at TxState, a Hispanic Serving Institution. Because AFM data is highly visual, the results are accessible to non-scientists and will thus engage students not already committed to STEM. The proposed instrument acquisition will immediately impact 58 students and postdocs upon acquisition (with hundreds of additional users over the lifespan of the instrument). The addition of this tool to TxState, where 55% of the students and postdocs are underrepresented in science and engineering, will have a long-term impact on a diverse population of students and the institution in which they are trained. In addition, this acquisition strengthens, in particular, the research activities of the NSF-funded PREM Center on Interfaces in Materials (PREM: Partnerships in Research and Education in Materials). A primary goal of the PREM Center is to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in materials research. Data from this instrument will impact energy and medical-related research projects that are intended to enrich our lives.

Technical:
Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) is a scanning probe technology that identifies surface features at the nanometer scale. AFM will be used by Texas State University at San Marcos (TxState) to advance fundamental surface science and applications in energy and biomaterials-related research topics. Specifically, this acquisition of a AFM Workshop Life Sciences AFM will impact the following materials research areas: 1) nanocomposites, 2) self-assembly of photoactive bioconjugates, 3) nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion, 4) metallo-supramolecular assembly, 5) perovskite solar cells, and 6) stimuli-responsive biomaterials.