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South Africa launches Center for High-Resolution Electron Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2011

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MRS Bulletin , Volume 36 , Issue 12: Laser micro- and nanofabrication of biomaterials , December 2011 , pp. 960
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Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

The National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa has announced the opening of the Center for High-Resolution Electron Microscopy at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth on October 11, 2011. The center, headed by Jan Neethling of NMMU, is designed to operate as a world-class facility focused on key areas that the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) has identified as grand challenges.

The Center for High-Resolution Electron Microscopy opens at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa.

The grand challenges include research in energy such as nuclear, clean coal, and coal-to-liquid as well as fuel cell and catalyst research for use in the hydrogen economy. Research priorities also include space science, particularly in the area of semiconductors and optoelectronic devices. The DST also emphasizes research in biotechnology.

With nanotechnology rapidly becoming an important area of research and development, the center will enable South Africa to take a lead in the exploration and evolution of this new scientific frontier, according to the NRF.

Scientists from South Africa, Africa, and other regions of the world will be able to use the research instruments in the center. Among the major equipment are a double Cs-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) with energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDXS) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) detectors; a TEM with EDXS and EELS; a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with EDXS, wavelength-dispersive x-ray, and electron backscatter detectors; and a focused ion beam SEM. An atomic force microscope and a nanoindentation instrument, as well as various sample preparation equipment, are available to users. The center plans to include additional SEMs and TEMs for more routine work.

In order to fulfill its objectives, the center will train postgraduate students at master’s and doctorate levels as well as staff and students from other institutions and private companies. The center will engage in basic and applied research, with emphasis on multi- and cross-disciplinary, grant-funded research undertaken in cooperation with local and international collaborators. The center will also conduct contract research with the aim of solving industry-specific problems.

The facility is the result of cooperation and funding from the DST, NRF, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and Sasol, addressing a critical need in the country’s efforts to become a global leader in the field of science and technology, according to the NRF.