Founded: 1981
Full Time: 2
Part Time: 1
Budget: 250,000.00
Director: Dr. Thomas C. Pesacreta
P.O. Box 42451, 300 Saint Mary Blvd.
Rms. 134, 136, 137, 138 Billeaud Hall
Lafayette, LA 70504
Telephone: 337/482-5233 FAX: 337/482-5834
E-Mail: tcp9769@louisiana.edu
Research Areas:
The mission of the Microscopy Center is
primarily to facilitate the structural research of University
staff and secondarily to interact with other academic and
commercial investigators. The Center is headed by a Ph.D. who is
also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Biology Department and
is a Graduate Faculty member.
Ongoing projects in the Center are a reflection of the interests
of USL faculty members for the most part and include, in addition
to the above areas, geology, corrosion, ion implantation, and
invertebrate structure. In addition, we have cooperated with USDA
investigators who have done research on wood and cotton fiber
structure. The primary commercial involvement of the Center has
been a long term relationship with local firms that specialize in
petroleum-related investigations that pertain to well
productivity, and with a precious metals fabrication company.
Areas of Expertise:
Expertise is in all aspects of structural research.
Special Capabilities and Facilities:
The strength of the Center is that it is a centralized, and therefore cost-efficient, facility for University research. As such, the needs of a wide variety of investigators are accommodated with a complete suite of microscopy instruments. The centralization of the facilities has also allowed the University to maintain one of the most modern instrumentation arrays for macro- to microstructure research found in the State. The provision of a Ph.D. level Director who is himself involved in ongoing research, stimulates the contemporaneous development of an appropriate equipment base.
Research Equipment:
Transmission electron microscopes (2),
thin sections and electron diffraction
Scanning electron microscopes (2), high-resolution, elemental
analysis, cryo-stage, variable pressure.
Confocal microscope with argon-krypton laser
Epi-fluorescence microscopy with a high
resolution color camera, a low-light sensitive black and white
CCD camera, and a microinjection system.
Conventional dissecting light microscopes,
Ultramicrotomes, a vibratome for fresh
sectioning, and a sliding microtome for wood sectioning.
Atomic force microscope, morphology, hardness testing, magnetic
microscopy
Darkroom with a Durst diffuse source enlarger and a Durst point source enlarger.
Computers and printers for image analysis and production
Keywords:
1002001 Biological Anatomy
1002004 Biology, Cellular
1002011 Biology, Systematic
1002024 Instrumentation, Biological
1002040 Plant Sciences
1002097 Cytoskeleton
1002118 Morphology
1003001 Atomic and Molecular Structure
1003002 Biochemistry
1005014 Instrumentation, Earth Sciences
1009155 Materials Sciences Ultrafine Microstructure
1013017 Optics
1013038 Electron Microscopy
1013039 Microscopy
1014001 Science, General, Instrumentation