EM Facility Funding

Building and Supporting the EM Facility

Startup funds

In August of 1995, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Trinity College $221K with a 50% match by the College to purchase equipment for new transmission electron microscopy (TEM) facilities to support the natural sciences at our institution and to complement the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) already on campus. Upon award of the grant, the College located space and constructed two new TEM laboratories, one in the Life Sciences Center and one in the McCook Building. Construction of the labs (and finding funds with which to do so) was a protracted process, and several extensions were granted by NSF. The first course based on the new labs was offered in Fall 1998. Other courses and modules have followed, including intensive short-courses in both TEM and SEM.

Donations and other funding sources

Once the facility began to take shape, donations in the form of funds and instrumentation from corporate entities were sought and acquired. Major donors include the DeCamp Foundation, Pfizer, Intel, Pratt & Whitney, Philips Semiconductor, STEM Inc., PPG Industries and, most recently, Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals (Summer 2007). In addition, the Science Alliance Advisory Board targeted substantial funds to enable specific capabilities in the EM Facility.

Individuals with an interest in promoting EM at Trinity have contributed invaluable expertise, as well as non-consumables such as diamond knives.

Current value

From the NSF grant, donations, and other college contributions, the EM Facility has acquired equipment exceeding $3M in replacement value, with two TEMs and an SEM - all three outfitted with digital image acquisition capability, and x-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy capabilities installed on one of the TEMs plus the SEM - a fully-equipped sample preparation facility, and darkrooms for both life and materials sciences. Elsewhere on campus, another SEM, an AFM (atomic force microscope), and an STM (scanning tunneling microscope) represent additional value.

Support of ongoing operations

To support the EM Facility across the sciences, the Trinity College Administration approved an operating budget commencing in the second half of FY99 to maintain not only the instruments but a baseline level of supplies for core operation. In its first six months, this budget enabled an intensive summer workshop in EM for faculty and students and helped support 8 research students. That tradition continues. In Fall 2001, the Administration enabled the replacement of its 25-year-old 120-kV TEM with a newer fully analytical TEM/STEM as well as an SEM, both housed in the McCook Building. The College Administration continues to provide ongoing support for the Facility, the development of new courses and course modules, and student research. In Fall 2006, five research students utilized the EM Facility (2 on TEM and 3 on SEM). These student projects (and others) continued through Spring 2007 and into the summer. They represent explorations in Biology, Environmental Science, Engineering, and Chemistry.

Updates and upcoming

April 2005: The SEM moved from a shared laboratory setting into newly renovated, dedicated quarters in the McCook Building.

Fall 2006: A new deionized water system was purchased jointly by all of the sciences and was installed in the main EM sample-prep lab.

Summer 2007: A very generous in-kind donation was received from Boehringer-Ingelheim comprised of 4 major instruments for cryo-preparation of biological specimens.

Fall 2007: Light-element detector upgrades are on order for both of the analytical EMs, and should be installed by December.

January 2008: A new backscatter electron (BSE) detector is slated for delivery and installation on the SEM.