Using a university characterization facility to educate the public about microscopes: light microscopes to SEM

Nancy Healy; Walter Henderson

doi:10.1117/12.2196552

21 October 2015 Using a university characterization facility to educate the public about microscopes: light microscopes to SEM

Nancy Healy, Walter Henderson

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9636, Scanning Microscopies 2015; 96360M (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2196552
Event: SPIE Scanning Microscopies, 2015, Monterey, California, United States

Abstract

The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN)¹is an integrated partnership of 14 universities across the US funded by NSF to support nanoscale researchers. The NNIN education office is located at the Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. At Georgia Tech we offer programs that integrate the facility and its resources to educate the public about nanotechnology. One event that has proved highly successful involves using microscopes in our characterization suite to educate a diverse audience about a variety of imaging instruments. As part of the annual Atlanta Science Festival (ATLSF)² we provided an event entitled: “What’s all the Buzz about Nanotechnology?” which was open to the public and advertised through a variety of methods by the ATLSF. During the event, we provided hands-on demos, cleanroom tours, and activities with three of our microscopes in our recently opened Imaging and Characterization Facility: 1. Keyence VHX-600 Digital Microscope; 2. Hitachi SU823 FE-SEM; and 3. Hitachi TM 3000. During the two hour event we had approximately 150 visitors including many families with school-aged children. Visitors were invited to bring a sample for scanning with the TM-3000. This paper will discuss how to do such an event, lessons learned, and visitor survey results.

Citation Download Citation

Nancy Healy and Walter Henderson "Using a university characterization facility to educate the public about microscopes: light microscopes to SEM", Proc. SPIE 9636, Scanning Microscopies 2015, 96360M (21 October 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2196552

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available