As some students kick back to sip a cup of coffee at the Academic and Research Center’s café, their peers down the hallway are studying objects atom by atom through microscopes.
The nanOstUdio, located in the ARC’s project hangar on the first floor, is an exploration and research lab that demonstrates the presence of nanomaterials and nanotechnology in everyday life, said Colleen Carow, senior director of communications and identity management.
The studio will be open to Ohio University students and faculty on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The lab will also be available for reservations for local middle and high school classes.
“The concept came from a clear need for nanotechnology to become more accessible to our undergraduates,” said Savas Kaya, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science who was the driving force behind the studio. “Nanotechnology has been strong at OU’s campus. We wanted to push this up into the undergraduate level more by giving access to advanced tools and microscopes that are only available for … graduates normally.”
Students and faculty members were invited to an open house Tuesday, where Kaya and several student workers explained the studio’s potential through several demonstrations.
The $200,000 project was funded by both the National Science Foundation’s Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education program and OU’s 1804 Fund.
Approximately $120,000 of the money was used to purchase the studio’s equipment, which includes, among other tools:
A tabletop scanning electron microscope, which uses electrons rather than light to create an image.
A tabletop Nanosurf Naio Atomic Force Microscope, which, unlike electron microscopes, can take images of samples in air and under liquids.
A tabletop Nanosurf Naio Scanning Tunneling Microscope, which is an electron microscope that produces three-dimensional images of a sample.
Interactive educational multimedia and nano-visualization tools, which include two flat-screen monitors.
Kaya said he hopes that the equipment will help OU students pursue research and expand their knowledge about nanotechnology.
“Aside from just taking my 2000 level classes, 3000 level classes, I can actually learn on my own,” said Amin Yachnes, a sophomore studying electrical engineering working at the studio. “You don’t need a lecture hall to learn.”
The nanOstUdio is maintained by faculty members and eight to 10 engineering students who are employed about 10 hours a week and paid $10 an hour through the remaining $80,000 in funds.
Besides being able to benefit from using the studio for their own education and research, students also have the opportunity to host demonstrations for guests.
“(Under a microscope) lots of things don’t look at all like they do in real life,” said Erik Merle, a sophomore studying electrical engineering and a student worker. “This is the user-friendly version of most of this stuff.”
The studio also has a YouTube channel, “OU.nanOstUdio,” which allows visitors to look through several playlists of simplified videos pertaining to nanotechnology.
The student workers hope to use these videos as a way to facilitate demonstrations for students from the middle school through college level.
“My pinnacle achievement is an undergraduate coming in here and ... learning these tools, getting involved in research and publishing a paper and going to graduate school,” Kaya said.
@dinaivey
db794812@ohiou.edu
