NSF Award
2408093
An award is made to Occidental College to acquire a Rigaku CT Lab HX130 microCT scanner to support a wide array of biological research and enable non-destructive sampling within three on-site natural history collections. The microCT scanner will be transformative for faculty and student research endeavors at this undergraduate-only institution and will enrich the STEM and art curriculum by providing students with an opportunity to gain authentic, hands-on experience operating the microCT, expose students to cutting-edge analytical techniques in interdisciplinary research methods, and strengthen classroom-based research training. Integration of the microCT scans into the digital specimen records for the Marine Biodiversity Collection, Cosman Shell Collection, and Moore Lab of Zoology Bird and Mammal Collection will enable broader public and scientific access to digital specimens which will serve as a valuable learning tool for educators and non-profit organizations.<br/><br/>Faculty and students will use the microCT instrument across a wide range of applications including understanding the anatomy and physiology of organisms, evolutionary studies, visualizing textiles for art, and identifying minerals and sediments in geologic samples. Specifically, the microCT will be used to estimate calcium carbonate budgets on oyster reefs, compare morphological changes in skeletal systems as fish age, determine whether ocean acidification has impacted larval fish and otolith density over the last century, and gain insight into the evolution of the cone snail prey capture mechanism. Other planned uses include the non-destructive description of specimens collected from the deep sea, visualizing changes in water movement across leaf surfaces under drought conditions, imaging sediment cores for thin section micromorphological analysis, and observing the internal structure, diagenesis, and growth axis of cave formations. The microCT will be used to create 3D images and provide detailed morphological data to aid in the description of specimens from the museum collections housed at Occidental College that collectively have over one million specimens, many of which are undescribed.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
