On September 12, 2001 Professors Oetinger & Wilt learned that they were awarded a $99,989 Major Research Instrumentation grant from the National Science Foundation for their proposal:
"Acquisition of Transmission Electron Microscopy Equipment for Invertebrate and Vertebrate Pigment Cell Studies, Undergraduate Laboratory Demonstrations, and Undergraduate Research"
In the spring of 2002 they purchased the 1st major piece of equipment--a Leica UltraCut Ultramicrotome and then, in the fall of 2002, they purchased an Hitachi H-7000 Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM)
THE UltraMicrotome:
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The "Dream Machine:" The Leica UltraCut...cutting ultrathin sections should be a joy! |
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and...
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A Leica EM KMR2 Knifemaker...can't cut good sections without good knives! |
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'Scope Arrival and Installation:
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Originally an instrument in the Research & Development Lab of Johnson & Johnson in Rochester, New York, the Hitachi H-7000 was obtained by Joel McClintock (Lexington, KY) and transported to Owensboro. Instrument components had to be off-loaded by crane-forklift and lowered into the basement for installation in our new Cellular & Molecular Biology Electron Microscopy Suite. |
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This is how "she" finally looks fully-assembled. |
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"Baby's" 1st Photo: Micrograph of a "holey grid" (a carbon film, with a random variety of holes, is coated on the mesh grid--used for practice in focusing) 5,000X |