Expert Details
Electron Microscope, Light Microscopy, EBEAM Lithography and Nanofabrication, Scanning Electron
ID: 107629
Pennsylvania, USA
He is an expert in cryofixation techniques. His experience includes; high-pressure freezing, plunge, metal mirror, and jet freezing technologies. He has used thin-metal film replication techniques on freeze-fractured surfaces for high resolution TEM studies of emulsions and gels. He has used SEM and cryo-SEM to examine fractured surfaces of food emulsions, paper products, aerogels, dispersions, and powders. Expert utilizes photographic and computerized image analysis and specializes in 3D imaging using confocal and electron microscopes. He is currently involved in cryo-preparation studies for surface compositional analyses of biological materials using TOF-SIMS (time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry). His current research area involves detecting and imagining areas containing small molecules (<500 Dalton molecular weight) on biological and polymeric surfaces. He uses quick-freezing and cryo-techniques to prepare biological materials for direct examination. A liquid metal ion beam is used to direct a pulsed beam of gallium ions at an angle to the sample surface. This beam removes <1% of the top molecular layer from the sample surface. The molecular surface ions are directed into a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer for mass identification. Simultaneous ion images can be generated for selected molecular and fragment ion species. His research applications include biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food, and agricultural industries.
He is very familiar with tissue fixation, dehydration, and drying for SEM and TEM applications. He also is an expert at negative staining of viruses, bacteria, lipid suspensions, and extracted whole and fractionated cells. His research and use of advanced equipment has a practical effect. He currently has consulting arrangements with several industrial clients.
Expert's current main areas of work lie in electron-beam lithography and field-emission SEM. He conducts research with and for both academic and industrial clients. Expert uses Adobe Photoshop as his main image manipulation software to aid his clients in viewing their microfabricated materials. His microscopy and electron beam experience helps his clients who are interested in starting new nanofabrication research projects.
Expert uses electron beam lithography to pattern electron-beam-sensitive resists for producing nanowires on silicon or modified silicon surfaces. 20-50 nm wide nanowires have been fabricated using ebeam lithography techniques. Expert uses Leitz Ergolux light microscopes coupled with Polaroid digital microscope cameras to capture and manipulate images on Apple PowerPC computers. Adobe Photoshop is his software of choice for handling acquired images.
Expert has access to the PSU Nanofabrication Cleanroom facility for conducting all phases of nanofabrication research. Equipment includes: a Leica EBPG-HR5 Ebeam lithography system, a LEO1530 FESEM, light microscopes, metal deposition systems for both ebeam and thermal evaporation, reactive ion etch tools, oxide furnaces, and vapor deposition and thin film characterization tools. Clients may either come in as registered users (after proper training) and perform their own research can act as a client's agent and conduct research as a remote project.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1983 | Degree: Ph.D. | Subject: Nutritional Sciences | Institution: University of Illinois |
| Year: 1975 | Degree: B.S. | Subject: Microbiology/Chemistry | Institution: University of Illinois |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 1998 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Undisclosed | Department: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics |
Responsibilities:Expert's responsibilities include training, mentoring, and supervising PSU graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from the Departments of Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy. He works with electron beam lithography (Leica EBPG-HR5), and scanning electron microscopy (LEO1530-FESEM) nanofabrication project design, implementation, and evaluation for outside academic and industrial clients. He is involved with light microscopy, e-gun, and thermal metal evaporative coating. He does e-beam photomask production, processing, and resist characterization, as well as nano- and micro-fabrication applications development for semi-conductor, photonic and biological materials. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1995 to 1998 | Employer: Pennsylvania State University, University Park | Title: Undisclosed | Department: Department of Chemistry |
Responsibilities:Expert's responsibilities included exploratory research on biological and material science samples for elemental and molecular identification and imaging using static time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), and light- and electron microscopy. Applications included polymers, glasses, doped silicon, plant and fungi physiology and chemistry, mass spectrometry, and chemical imaging. He worked on the development and application of specimen cryopreparative techniques for biological surface analysis using TOF-SIMS. He also performed concomitant cryo LVSEM (low voltage scanning electron microscopy) and FESEM (field emission SEM) analysis. He was also involved with equipment and cryo-accessory design. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1993 to 1995 | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Director of Electron Microscopy | Department: Undisclosed |
Responsibilities:Expert was responsible for overseeing the service and research activities involving electron microscopy applications. He performed management of lab operations and technical service staff, user training, scheduling, and budget administration. The fields of application included cell, neuro-, and molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, virology, and food science disciplines. He performed cryofixation and freeze-fracture surface replication. He was a consultant on external projects in food ingredient structure and related fields. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1989 to 1993 | Employer: University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Title: Undisclosed | Department: Advanced Microscopy Facility |
Responsibilities:Expert performed service and research activities involving electron microscopy (EM) applications, user training, and budget administration. He also managed the technical service staff. He conducted user training, advising, research, and technique development in TEM and SEM; fluorescent, confocal, and DIC (Nomarski) microscopy; and high-pressure cryopreparation (Balzers HPM), freeze substitution, and freeze-fracture/etching. He was an independent consultant on external projects involving EM studies in materials and food science fields. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1984 to 1989 | Employer: University of Illinois, Urbana | Title: Undisclosed | Department: Veterinary Medicine Electron Microscopy Facility |
Responsibilities:Expert was responsible for overseeing the service and research for electron microscopy applications. He performed SEM and TEM research project design and implementation, and maintenance and acquisition of electron microscopes and support equipment. He also conducted user training and technical service staff management. He performed immunology and immunochemistry research on virus-cell interactions using colloidal gold labeling of viral and cytoskeletal antigens. He also did independent consulting involving EM studies in food science and related fields. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2007 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Undisclosed | Department: Materials Science and Engineering |
Responsibilities:Expert is responsible for the daily operations of a centralized, multi-user Materials Characterization Facility in the College of Engineering. He is mainly working with Scanning Electron Microscopes in both high vacuum and variable pressure modes. |
|||
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Expert is an active member of the Microscopy Society of America, the Appalachian Regional Microscopy Society, the Microbeam Analysis Society, the Philadelphia Society for Microscopy, and the American Chemical Society. |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Expert has 28 publications, including abstracts presented at scientific meetings. |
Additional Experience
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Expert has been an invited speaker at electron microscopy meetings and has assisted in teaching microscopy short courses and workshops. He frequently attends meetings and workshops to keep abreast of current applications and technologies. |
| Vendor Selection |
|---|
| Expert has experience locating vendors of microscopy-related products and supplies; SEM, TEM, and fluorescence microscopy specimen preparation equipment; and cryo-preparation equipment for electron microscopy. He has access to print materials, personal contacts and the Internet to aid him in vendor selection. |
Fields of Expertise
microscopy, electron microscopy, microscope, electron microscope, electron microscopy sample preparation, electron resist, scanning electron microscopy, surface analysis, tissue fixation, electron-beam lithography, semiconductor mask, semiconductor material processing, semiconductor wafer processing, imaging, nanofabrication, nanowire, optical microscopy, 3D imaging, confocal microscopy, electron beam, cryofixation, nanomaterial, 3D visualization, biological static TOF-SIMS, microscopy sample preparation, etch rate, food emulsion, chromium sputtering, copper sputtering, aluminum sputtering, etching material, nanostructure, hard semiconductor mask, colloidal gold, microtome, microtomy, carbon film, bright-field illumination, fixative, embedding medium, film forming technology, analytical electron microscopy, phase-contrast microscopy, TEM analysis sample preparation equipment, SEM analysis sample preparation equipment, phase-contrast microscope, field-emission microscope, secondary ion mass spectrometer, electron probe microanalysis, microscopy reagent, microfabrication plasma etching, sample preparation, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, nanotechnology, thin-film technology, secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, atomic-force microscopy, dehydration, etching, cryopreservation, microscope, powder, fluorescence microscopy, virology, transmission electron microscopy, qualitative biochemistry, process chemistry, photoresist, paper product, optical microscope, microstructure, microlithography, microfabrication, lipid, food technology, food microstructure, culture maintenance, cell culture, cell anatomy, biomarker, antigen-antibody interaction