Dr. Robert Fischer; Dr. Ngee Sing Chong

bud.fischer@mtsu.edu;nchong@mtsu.edu

Dr. Robert Fischer

College of Basic and Applied Sciences;

Discipline specific equipment

MIMIC (ROTC Annex)

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The MTSU Interdisciplinary Microanalysis and Imaging Center (MIMIC) is a core facility for microscopy instrumentation. MIMIC supports four undergraduate and graduate courses and various majors for the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the CBAS. The facility provides services and training for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and focused ion beam (FIB) instrumentation to students. The total enrollment of students in the four courses of SEM, TEM, EDX, and microscopy research is 27 in the 2011-2012. MIMIC has also provided equipment and instruction time for 43 students in other university courses, workshops, summer training, and NSF-funded student research programs. The use of MIMIC facilities contributed to 20 oral and poster presentations, 4 publications, and 3 theses in 2011-2012. The needs for new equipment or accessories can be summarized as follows: (1) the lack of X-ray microanalysis system for our Hitachi TEM has made it impossible for students to determine the elemental composition of the biological or materials specimens; (2) the 6-years old X-ray detector for the Hitachi S-3400 SEM will no longer be supported by the manufacturer; (3) the particle-tracking microscopy will allow students to analyze nanoparticles in liquids, which is not possible with the existing SEM/TEM; (4) polisher and grinder are necessary for preparation of samples for electron backscattered diffraction analysis. It is important that MIMIC has modern and suitable instrumentation in the new Science Building to achieve the academic goals of the CBAS and Geology, History, Sociology and Anthropology departments.