Professor Page Owen oversees the use and operation of the electron microscope facility in New London Hall.

TEM
The facility has an FEI Morgagni transmission electron microscope with an AMT digital camera system. The TEM was purchased under a National Science Foundation grant for $330,000 with Owen as the principal investigator for research on plant endomembrane flow, looking at cellulose synthesis and digestive enzyme secretion in carnivorous plants. Additional planned research includes receptors in rat brains (Ruth Grahn, Behavioral Neuroscience), inorganic materials chemistry (Stanton Ching, Chemistry), and fruit fly flight muscle structure (Philip Barnes, Biology).

SEM
A LEO (Zeiss) 435 Variable Pressure scanning electron microscope with an Oxford x-ray microanalysis system is also in the facility. The instrument can capture both digital (Zip disks required) or film (Polaroid) images.

Support Equipment
To prepare samples for the microscopes, dedicated equipment is available including:

  • Critical point dryer - liquid CO2
  • Sputter coater - gold or gold/paladium targets
  • Ultramicrotome - RMC MT-X with CCD camera for observation and instruction
  • Grid stainer - Leica automatic grid staining unit
  • Dissecting microscopes for sample preparation

The EM facility is available to faculty with ultrastructural research projects. Professor Owen regularly teaches the course BIO 325 Cell Ultrastructure where students learn how to use the instruments. Outside users interested in using the facility should contact Professor Owen (Contact information).