 | |
| Vol. 18, No. 2 | Sept. 10, 1998 |
| |
| Vol. 18, No. 2 | Sept. 10, 1998 |
A transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging facility will be added to the state-of-the-art Colburn Laboratory, providing new research opportunities into molecular-level phenomena, thanks to $1.02 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles, according to Eric Kaler, chemical engineering.
"We are especially pleased to receive another important grant from the Keck Foundation. This award is further testimony to the exemplary nature of the chemical engineering program and related programs at the University," President David P. Roselle said. "The new facility, which will complement the existing imaging instruments for molecular-level phenomena, will be used by chemical engineering and also will enhance research in other disciplines, such as marine studies, chemistry and the Materials Science Program."
The chemical engineering department has consistently been ranked as one of the top 10 in the country, most recently by the National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences, U.S. News and World Report and others. The faculty has received numerous awards and recognition and includes nine winners of National Science Foundation awards for young investigators and four members of the National Academy of Engineering.
According to Kaler, some of the strengths of the chemical engineering department are in the study of catalysts and surfaces, polymers, colloids and biomaterials. The department already is equipped with scanning, tunneling and atomic force microscopes, as well as optical and confocal microscopes and optical and electron spectroscopic instruments. The critical missing tool has been an electron microscope, which can provide high quality and high resolutions images that are otherwise unavailable.
The grant also will be used to help fund an electron microscope specialist faculty member with an interest in chemical engineering and materials problems.
The W. M. Keck Foundation is one of the nation's largest philanthropic organizations, established in 1954 by the late William Myron Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Co.
The foundation's grants are focused in the Western portion of the country and primarily address medical research, science and engineering. The foundation also maintains a program for liberal arts colleges and a Southern California Grant Program.
