Biology 314 - Topics in Advanced Microscopy Techniques for Research: Scanning Electron Microscopy

Topics course.Instrument specific topics course designed for research students (special studies, honors, SURF, etc.) requiring access to microscope equipment in the Center for Microscopy and Imaging (CMI). Students will discuss the need of the Microscope system of their choice for their research project by preparing and presenting short presentations and a poster. Emphasized are group and individual training sessions required to learn how to operate a microscope independently (see topics). Evaluation will be through engagement in assigned activities. 400 level work cannot overlap with this course work. Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor. Enrollment limited to 6 per topic. Graded S/U only: The SEM is used to examine small surface features of both biological and nonbiological materials. By using a beam of electrons, a resolution of 3-10nm can be achieved. Besides high-resolution surface topography, compositional information about a sample can be collected when the system is equipped with an X-ray detector. Training includes a lecture, demonstrations, discussions, and hands-on microscope instruction. Participants will meet for a total of 6 weeks during the semester.

Instructor Permission.