Lawrence Tech now sees through $769K electron microscope

Thursday, October 28, 2010 | Source: metromode

Lawrence Technological University's new environmental scanning electron microscope, the first in Metro Detroit, isn't just a cool new toy for faculty and students at the university. It's also a new tool for a number of local businesses.

The $769,000 microscope, funded by a federal grant, is being used by Lawrence Tech and Beaumont Hospitals. It will be primarily used by researchers at both institutions for such things as studying orthopedic implants. Wayne State University researchers are also lined up to use it, along with scientists from General Motors who are working on lithium ion battery technology.

"We will see a pretty broad impact from this microscope," says Yawen Li, assistant professor of bio-medical engineering at Lawrence Tech and one of the principals responsible for obtaining the grant.

The electron microscope can be used to scientifically characterize wet, oily, porous, and soft materials, which are traditionally considered impossible to study under conventional microscopes. This greatly enhances a variety of research activities in areas such as biomaterials, orthopedics, tissue engineering, construction materials, automotive components, and lithium ion batteries.

This microscope can produce very high-resolution images of a sample surface, revealing details less than a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) in size. The maximum magnification of more than 500,000 times is about 250 times the magnification limit of the best light microscopes. This piece of equipment has a large depth of field, yielding a three-dimensional image that is useful for studying surface structure.

Source: Yawen Li, assistant professor of bio-medical engineering at Lawrence Technological University
Writer: Jon Zemke

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Related Company

General Motors
P.O. Box 33170
Detroit, MI 48232 Website
Lawrence Technological University
21000 West Ten Mile Road
Southfield, MI 48075 Website
Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202 Website
Beaumont Hospitals
3601 W. Thirteen Mile Road
Royal Oak, MI 48073 Website