The Evolution of Accessibility: The San Diego State University Electron Microscope Facility

A microscope facility at teaching institutions needs to be more than an isolated refuge of researchers. Students must be given easier access to the equipment and an increased awareness of the power of these tools for understanding the scientific principles taught in their lecture classes. The San Diego State College of Sciences supports a shared instrumentation Electron Microscope Facility, a suite of seven rooms that occupies 1500 square feet. The laboratory is fully equipped for all aspects of sample preparation for examination by confocal scanning light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Historically, specialists with many years training in equipment operation, sample preparation, and research protocols have had exclusive access to EM facilities. At SDSU, however, every effort is made to encourage inclusivity via familiarity with and hands-on access to equipment in the EM Facility. in all, over 1000 SDSU students and several hundred community members participate each year in opportunities to access the SDSU EM Facility.