California State University, Northridge

The College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) at California State University Northridge (CSUN), in collaboration with the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), will acquire a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). This system will provide the fundamental tools needed by faculty and students in the interdisciplinary Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) program to investigate the complex phenomena that occur at the nanosize scale, and should advance the overall goal of bridging experimental and theoretical approaches to nanotechnology in research and teaching. The FESEM-NUE project will greatly enrich both colleges undergraduate curricula, increase early student exposure to nanotechnology, provide opportunities for student participation in sophisticated academic-industry research collaborations, and grant diverse students a competitive advantage for graduate studies and careers while meeting their financial needs. The project builds upon earlier curricular advances and student research engagement achieved with advanced computing equipment and sensitive microanalytic instrumentation acquired under a prior W. M. Keck Foundation grant.