Initial Visit: Concord REU Greenland
The National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) hosted the Summer 2024 Concord University Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) students for a one day visit. Students met with NanoEarth and Virginia Tech (VT) Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory (NCFL) staff they will work with in July, after conducting field research in Greenland. "Arctic REU Greenland" will have a broad research focus including glaciology, environmental change, and geomicrobiology from 2024 - 2026.
Concord University Distinguished Professor of Geology, Chair of the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, and Director for the Arctic REU Greenland program, Joseph Allen, Ph.D, brought students to VT as an introduction to NanoEarth’s labs and VT’s graduate school offerings. Students met with VT Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology Laboratory (SuN) Director, Weinan Leng, Ph.D. to learn about the X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Afterwards, they toured the Field Emission Electron Probe Microanalyzer (Microprobe), led by the Electron Microprobe Lab Manager, Lowell Moore, Ph.D.
During the early lab tours, Allen and NCFL’s Instrument Specialist Steve McCartney, analyzed field samples under the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). During the SEM lab tour, McCartney led the students through an SEM and an Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) session to look at points on the sample and create an EDS map.
The group then met with Graduate Admissions and Academic Advisor, Jennifer (Jenn) Million, CPACC. Million led the students through life in Blacksburg, the admission process, and different academic career paths at VT. NCFL Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and SEM Laboratory Manager, Jarret Wright, Ph.D. showed the students how the FIB works and how they can use it to aid their summer research. Lastly, NanoEarth’s Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) Specialist Charis Horn, Ph.D., described the types of samples NanoEarth studies on the TEM. She then looked at some AICu alloys with the students.
