Ann Hein Lehman, Director of the EM Facility at Trinity College

About my background:

I've been involved with electron microscopy since 1973: as a core laboratory manager, researcher, clinical lab director, EM Society board member, and consultant for three of the four manufacturers of TEMs worldwide. With this broad background, I came to Trinity in June '98 to make Trinity's new EM Facility operational, and to develop and teach new laboratory courses: BIOL350 Biological Electron Microscopy and ENGR232 Engineering of Materials. Since then, I've developed additional courses and lab modules, and offered intensive workshops for students and faculty. Beginning Fall 2005, I became affiliated with the 6-year NSF-funded MRSEC (Materials Research Science and Engineering Center) at Yale and Southern Connecticut State University. I also maintain a professional affiliation with the high-resolution EMs at Yale Medical School and the department of Geology and Geophysics, enabling access to these instruments for Trinity.

About Trinity's Electron Microscopy Facility:

Electron microscopes (EMs) are valuable research tools for investigations into the fine structure and composition of materials in both the life and physical sciences. The EM Facility at Trinity was established for use by all the sciences - Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Environmental Science, and the Neuroscience program - with funding from the National Science Foundation coupled with a generous matching grant from Trinity, and from other sources. Efforts continue on an ongoing basis to supplement the instrumentation and techniques that are available and to make upgrades whenever feasible. The EM Library, comprised of both paper- and computer-based materials, is a valuable resource to Facility users. Dr. Daniel Blackburn is the facility's first director. Contact us for a tour or for more information.

About what I do:

As a an educator and mentor, I work with faculty in all the sciences to develop and teach courses as well as lab modules for new and existing courses. Since 2004, I have offered two intensive courses, BIOL220 (Transmission Electron Microscopy) in the Fall and BIOL210 (Scanning Electron Microscopy) in the Spring, that each run for half a semester. Successful completion of one or both of these courses enables students continuing access to the EM Facility for research projects. Throughout the year, I also teach lab modules for Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Biology, and Neuroscience. I mentor students and faculty on an individual basis, and help them to develop their research projects and toevaluate their results. In the Summer I offer faculty and students intensive hands-on workshops on various topics in EM, m ost recently, on Cryoultramicrotomy and Immunogold Labelling.

As a researcher, I have been involved for over 30 years with explorations in electron microscopy, resulting in published work. Most recently, in Apr '04, Trinity Engineering major Kris Wee '06 won the Best Student Poster award at the CMOC Symposium (Connecticut Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Consortium). Posters co-authored with students were presented at the Materials Research Society in Boston (Dec '04, '05, '06). Collaborations with Yale U resulted in a Jan '05 APL publication. Other publications and presentations have also been presented at local and national meetings. Two education-related papers were published in 2006: one in the special Education issue of the Materials Research Society and one in the Journal of Chemical Education. A poster was presented in Aug '07 at the American Chemical Society (ACS) and two are accepted for presentation at the Materials Research Society (MRS) in Dec '07. Most papers and presentations are co-authored with students.

As Director of Trinity's EM Facility, I seek opportunities for incorporating the use of the Facility in courses across all the sciences. I ensure that Trinity's two sophisticated transmission electron microscopes, the scanning electron microscope, and their associated analytical instrumentation are in top working order. At the same time, I oversee the budget and work to acquire supplementary instrumentation, often in the form of donations, most recently accepting an ultramicrotome outfitted with cryo capability in 2004, a state-of-the-art ion mill in 2005, and a full suite of cryo-preparation instruments in 2007. I i ncorporate new technologies, maintain ancillary instrumentation in Trinity's sample-prep labs and darkrooms, and develop protocols for using them in education and research. I also seek educational outreach and research opportunities outside Trinity, collaborating with researchers and students at Yale U School of Engineering, at UConn/Storrs Institute of Materials Science (IMS), and Southern Connecticut State University, participating in Professional Development conferences with Hartford's Learning Corridor and Glastonbury High School and others , and actively promoting microscopy and related analytical techniques at the local and national level.

This page was last updated on 10/01/07.