TAMIU Unveils Scanning Electron Microscope Tuesday

Texas A&M International University will see the future draw closer with the dedication of a new Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. at Dr. F. M. Canseco Hall, room 212.

TAMIU provost and vice president for Academic Affairs Dr. Pablo Arenaz said the addition of the new SEM affords remarkable new study and research opportunities for TAMIU faculty and students.

“This is a tremendous addition for our science programs and truly opens new horizons for research for both faculty and students. It also elevates our science programming, providing students with opportunities usually only available at much larger universities and enhances their competencies for further graduate or doctoral study,” Dr. Arenaz explained.

The microscope, funded by Graduate Retention Enhancement at TAMIU (GREAT), a Title V PPOHA Program of the US Department of Education, is a JSM-6610LV high-performance, low-vacuum SEM for fast characterization of fine structures on both small and large samples.

“We’ll be able to create thin sections for investigation… and get down to a DNA level,” Arenaz noted.

The SEM enables observations of specimens up to 200mm in diameter. With a resolution of 3.0nm at 30kV, it delivers amazing clarity of the finest structures. In addition to routine imaging at several hundreds of times greater resolution than the optical microscope, and with a focal depth several tens of times greater, the SEM allows for detailed measurements, including 3D measurement from stereo images.

For additional information, contact Dr. Daniel Mott, associate professor, chair and associate dean at the College of Arts and Sciences at 326.2583, visit offices in the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center 312 or email dmott@tamiu.edu

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu