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Friday's Internet Edition, November 21, 2008.
GHS science students see through electron eye
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Galt High School forensic science student Nicole Moon prepares some slides for viewing at the Delta College electron microscopy laboratory as part of a recent field trip to Delta.
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On April 30, Galt High School’s forensic science class took part took part in a field trip to San Joaquin Delta College’s electron microscopy lab. The Center for Microscopy and Allied Sciences (CMAS) put on a day of hands-on activities working with millions of dollars worth of high tech microscopes and other equipment for the twenty high school students.
Craig Anderson’s forensics class was invited to not only tour their new facility housing nine electron microscopes, but to work in small groups with Delta College staff members and advanced microscopy students to actually prepare samples, examine them using the different types of microscopes and then take digital images revealing the incredibly small details of everything from computer chips to bacteria to plant cells.
Delta microscopy teacher Frank Villalovoz and the center’s lab technician Cathy Davis, who keeps the equipment running, had recruited a former microscopy teacher and several current advanced students to lead the high school students through each step of the process that can result in more than just a photograph.
Their Focused Ion Beam instrument that the students worked with actually can be used to “re-wire” the circuitry of prototype computer chips, working on circuits no wider than a fiftieth of the diameter of a hair. The Atomic Force Microscope can trace the contour of objects all the way down to the level of a single atom.
The applications of their Scanning Electron and Transmission Electron microscopes are far-reaching, from determining the elemental composition of gunshot residue, to examining tiny crop pests, to medical research, to working on military spy satellites and tank armor.
The enthusiasm shown by the forensic science students that Anderson and fellow science teacher Oscar Corona brought to the lab was evident by their interest and concentration shown all day.
Sadie Jefferies said, “I hope to enter the program because it will be a real asset to my future as a scientist to have this knowledge and set of skills.”
Tiffany Pinkham expressed how it affected her this way, “I enjoyed the hands-on experience. Honestly, when could a 17-year-old ever really get to operate such expensive equipment … ever?”
All the students could be said to have shared the Nancy Alonso’s feelings, “It was an awesome, hands-on experience.”
The Delta College electron microscopy program is the only one operated by a community college west of the Mississippi, and even compared to four year institutions, their range of nine instruments compared to other colleges offering the use of one or two such microscopes makes this a very special educational experience, indeed.
Two-year certificates are offered in both biological and materials segments of microscopy, making their graduates in high demand not only in the United States, but also internationally.
“Just as forensic science/criminalistics uses a wide range of types of lab science, electron microscopy is becoming more in demand by all sorts of business and research applications,” said Anderson. “Look at everything from computer chips to the new nano-technology, you have to be able to see and manipulate very tiny things. Educationally this program, right here in our back yard, is a terrific educational opportunity for our students at Galt High.”
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