The Daily Bulletin Archive

By Mary A. Durlak

The new interdisciplinary microscopy lab, located in the Science Building, went online in fall 2008. “It’s the finest microscopy lab in all of SUNY,” said Gary Solar, associate professor and chair of the Earth Sciences and Science Education Department.

“We have 12 student stations, and all the equipment is new as of 2008,” he said.

The college’s Investments in the Future fund paid for the room’s renovation and the equipment, which includes 10 petrographic microscopes, eight stereo microscopes, a comparison scope bridge, and two research-grade microscopes.

“The optical quality is the same on the student and research microscopes,” said Solar, “but the research units have more features.”

The room has been outfitted with a computer teaching station, a projector, a whiteboard, new furniture, and an air conditioner, which is necessary to reduce the risk of heat-related damage to the delicate mechanisms in the microscopes.

The lab was proposed jointly by the Biology, Chemistry, and Earth Sciences and Science Education departments. A driving force behind the proposal was the need for equipment to support the college’s new master’s program in forensic science, according to Scott Goodman, associate professor and chair of the Chemistry Department. Also, many of the microscopes used in the geology program were obsolete; replacement bulbs were no longer available. Gregory Wadsworth, associate professor and chair of the Biology Department, said biology students will use the lab in a senior-level microscopy course.

The new microscopes can be equipped with cameras and software that enable the entire class to share what one student sees. Randal Snyder, associate professor of biology, teaches an ichthyology class in which students might use a microscope to examine a fish’s bones to determine its age, because fish bones grow like rings on a tree. “Sometimes you can tell if a fish population is healthy by seeing how large they are for their age,” said Snyder.

The petrographic microscopes enable geologists to look at thin slices of rock (typically 0.03 millimeters) at magnifications ranging from 40x to 400x. These microscopes are compound polarizing microscopes that filter and bend light rays, revealing different minerals as different colors. The colors make it possible for researchers to identify the mineral. The magnification also reveals other characteristics of the rock, which in turn enables geologists to decode its history and thereby reveal something of the earth’s 4-billion-year-old story.

The comparison scope bridge, a $10,000 item, can be affixed to two petrographic microscopes to enable a forensic scientist to compare two specimens at once, making it easier to determine if the items are identical. “This lab goes a long way to furthering interdisciplinary research efforts,” said Goodman. “We’re very excited about it.”